McDonald's Promises to Remove Soda From Happy Meals—But For Real This Time
On September 26, McDonald's, in conjunction with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, released a statement announcing the company would stop marketing, promoting and featuring soda as a beverage choice on its Happy Meal menus. Instead, it would only promote water, milk and juice.
And so the world rejoiced. Okay, not entirely—it's still a Happy Meal, but with soda removed from the menu at least it would be less unhealthy, right? Not exactly.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which went to the trouble of reading the fine print on McDonald's announcement, what the company actually agreed to do was remove photos of soda from its Happy Meal advertisements and in-store signage—but the sugary drinks would remain listed on its kids' meal menu boards.
CSPI quickly cried "false advertising!", arguing that if the compay is keeping soda on the kids' menu, it is in fact promoting it as a drink for kids. McDonald's CEO Don Thompson—who earlier this year was publicly shamed by a nine-year-old girl for marketing unhealthy food to children—actually agreed.
As a result, on October 11, McDonald's released an updated agreement, specifying this time that soda will be phased out of its kid-targeted meals altogether, as part of its five-year plan to promote better nutritional choices to its smallest customers.
As much as the cola conglomerates would like the public to believe otherwise, soda has long been linked to increased incidents of obesity and diabetes in children and adults. CSPI is hoping that other fast-food chains—looking at you, Burger King and Wendy's—will follow suit and remove sugary sodas from their own kids' meal lineups.
So is this the start of a healthier new McDonald's? Let's not get crazy—no. The company has been suffering through an identity crisis of late; on the one hand, trying to assuage critics by promoting its healthier menu options, while on the other, phasing out some of those options because let's face it, (almost) no one goes to McDonald's for the salad.
Related stories on TakePart:
• An ‘Industry First’: Taco Bell Drops Kids’ Meals From Menu
• Gulp! Kids Drink 7 Trillion Calories in Sugary Drinks Annually
• Drinking Ourselves Fat: Students Demonstrate the Damage of Soda
• Soda Companies: Don’t Give Up That Big Gulp!
Original article from TakePart
