Keywords
toy ban, Happy Meal, government regulation, obesity epidemic, restaurant industry, fast food consumption, marketing, public health, childrens health
Document Type
Comment
Abstract
Obesity among children in the United States has tripled over the last thirty years. Incidentally, the world's largest fast food restaurant, McDonald's, first introduced its children's Happy Meal thirty-two years ago. Shortly thereafter, the first Disney inspired toy found its way into Happy Meals and the hearts of the "billions and billions served." Although the iconic Happy Meal and accompanying toy have become "a staple of Americana akin to baseball and apple pie," the continued existence of the practice is being threatened in light of the powerful influence toys have on children's food choices, thus contributing to the current obesity epidemic. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has become the leader of the Happy Meal insurgency by enacting the Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance, effective December 2011, outlawing the accompaniment of free toys in children's fast food meals ("kids' meals") unless those meals meet certain health standards.
Recommended Citation
Price, C. (2021). The Real Toy Story: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Healthy Food Incentives Ordinance. Journal of Food Law & Policy, 8(2). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jflp/vol8/iss2/9
Included in
Consumer Protection Law Commons, Food and Drug Law Commons, Jurisprudence Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legislation Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, Public Law and Legal Theory Commons