SF first major city to ban toys with fast food meals

[Marokai Backbeat]

I'm a bit conflicted on this one. On one hand, the civil libertarian in me hates the idea of doing something like this. It's obviously intrusive and nanny-ish.

But on the other hand, including little toys in happy meals and so on is very effective at getting people to buy their terrible food that literally ruins your body if you eat alot of it. Considering that this is a corporate effort aimed at little kids, basically, for lack of a better word, brainwashing them with a constant barrage of marketing and rewards for wanting the terrible food, I think I can kind of excuse something like this. Yes, parents should be more proactive on this effort, but the sad truth is, they're not. It's for the best.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Should we pass laws banning all promotion of things that are bad for us?  Should we ban beer ads that show people having fun?

Do they market beer to 5 year olds?

[Marokai Backbeat]

I agree this is pretty silly. It's not like getting rid of the toys will get parents to quit buying their kids McDonald's anyway, they do that because it's fast and cheap.

     Which is the main issue with the notion that this will actually do anything. They can include as many toys as they want, five-year olds are still only eating McDonald's because their parents are taking them there. Obviously the kids won't harass their parents to go there quite as much now, but let's not pretend that's a meaningful factor in the consumption of fast food by youth.

I think it will have more of an impact than you suggest, really. Toys are at times a pretty big factor in kids wanting to go to McDonald's. I know I wanted McDonald's toys all the time when I was little, when they had a toy worth getting. Even if it has only a minuscule impact, it's still better than not doing it at all.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I agree this is pretty silly. It's not like getting rid of the toys will get parents to quit buying their kids McDonald's anyway, they do that because it's fast and cheap.

     Which is the main issue with the notion that this will actually do anything. They can include as many toys as they want, five-year olds are still only eating McDonald's because their parents are taking them there. Obviously the kids won't harass their parents to go there quite as much now, but let's not pretend that's a meaningful factor in the consumption of fast food by youth.

I think it will have more of an impact than you suggest, really. Toys are at times a pretty big factor in kids wanting to go to McDonald's. I know I wanted McDonald's toys all the time when I was little, when they had a toy worth getting. Even if it has only a minuscule impact, it's still better than not doing it at all.

     Ignoring that the responsibility for the children eating there rests solely with the parents?

It does, but parents are clearly irresponsible and stupid, anyway. (How dare I.) Removing one element of a child's pestering to go to McDonald's makes the parents, even if only very slightly, somewhat less likely to give in and go there.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Well, in this case, it's fairly clear that they don't.