Stricter Health Laws take the happy out of "Happy Meals"

Recently, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8 to 3 in favor of a bill that forces fast food meals that come with free toys to not contain any more than 600 calories. Another sector of the bill states that each individual item in the meal cannot contain more than 200 calories, and that it must include fruits and vegetables, along with a beverage with limited amounts of sugar. If this bill is approved, it will take effect in December 2011, much to the chagrin of several fast food executives.

Fast food executives such as McDonald's franchise owner Scott Rodrick have made it public knowledge that they are not happy with the decision of the Board of Supervisors, claiming that it will "take the happy out of Happy Meals". Even the National Restaurant Association publicly opposed the legislation. On the other hand, supporters of the bill want to stress that the bill is important in "improving the nutritional value of kid's meals and addressing childhood obesity".

In my opinion, although this bill is aimed at helping fight obesity and health risks, it should not be made into a law. It is unfair to subject fast food restaurants to changing their menus and legacies to fit new laws on health. Happy Meals in particular have been around for many years, and changing that now is unfair to the corporations. Although I believe it is crucial to fight childhood obesity, I think that there are other ways to go about doing this, such as changing the meals served in schools and the vending machines available to students, rather than changing the entire fast food system.

http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/11/03/san-francisco-cracks-down-on-happy-meals-and-their-ilk/?KEYWORDS=restaurants