Mc Donald's Happy Meal, to the delight of all of us, seems to be starting to fall apart. And it begins with his nice surprise, banned in a California county with the accusation of encouraging the spread of junk food among the little ones.
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We have seen him impassively resist the passing of time and come out of the experiment intact of those who tried to keep it closed for a year in a drawer. But theHappy Meal di Mc Donald’s, to the delight of all of us, it looks like it's starting to fall apart. And it starts right from her nice surprise, banned in a California county on charges of encouraging the spread of junk food among children.
It happens to Casa Particular in Santa Clara, south of San Francisco where the board of supervisors has banned the game that has always characterized the children's menu of the well-known American fast food chain with the goal, as the head of the commission explains Ken Yaeger al New York Times to “eliminate the connection between unhealthy food and toys".
And so the yellow clown restaurants in the county will have 90 days to comply with the provision, by combining, for example, toys with healthier and less calorie foods because, as Yeager is keen to point out, “The ordinance is not directed against games per se. These are not what make the obese children". The problem for the county authorities would lie in the fact that i children would choose Happy Meal attracted almost exclusively by the gadget it contains. “Why else would they want a hamburger with fries? " the signatories of the law ask. "It's the game they want."
With this conviction, therefore, that war has been declared on the Happy Meal, even if the law will come into full force starting from July 2010, still requiring the final vote scheduled for May.
In the meantime, however, the response of the Mc Donald's market leader: "We are baffled by the decision, our Happy Meal provides children with essential elements for growth, such as zinc, iron and calcium".
But perhaps, documentaries like Food Inc. or the battle sustained by it Michelle Obama against i fast food they begin to take root in the American social fabric. Tough times are ahead for Roland & Co.
Simona Falasca
