San Francisco’s mayor has vetoed legislation that would ban toys from fast-food children’s meals, though it’s still expected to become law.
Earlier this week, city supervisors passed the measure, which prevents toy giveaways for meals that don’t meet nutritional guidelines. Advocates have accused fast-food restaurants of predatory marketing to children and contributing to higher obesity rates.
The supervisors’ 8-3 vote is enough to override Friday’s veto by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who previously said he opposed the measure.
Newsom says that while the ban has good intentions, it’s parents – not politicians — who should decide what their children eat.
The ordinance is slated to take effect in December 2011.
Hmm, this is obsurd. Next, we will be removing toys from the unhealthy cereal boxes because eating so much sugar as a kid causes diabetes. Or fruit snacks shaped like Disney characters(stunt the developmental skills in young children. Let’s make them shaped like letters and numbers to provide educational value this will definately change the ingrediants.
What I’m saying is it can’t be narrowed down to one chain of fast food restaurants that caused our nation’s obesity. Remember 30 years ago when mom or grandma was home all the time cooking healthy meals for the family. That trend started changing in the late 80’s when divorce escalated or both parents had to work, home cooked meals became a thing of the past. Now, with unemployment rates so high, one if not both parents are back in the home stuck in a bad habit called convenience.
Toys in happy meal boxes are not causing obesity when we have freedoms to make choices each day on what we eat.
Home-cooked meals can still be fattening, depending on what’s in them, or if one eats too much. Kids also used to walk to school and spend most of their free time running around and playing, or riding bikes. But agreed, people have to make good choices for themselves and teach their kids the same good habits. When I was a kid, we did not drink Coke every day. That was for Saturday afternoons only, when Dad came home from a half day at work (also common back then!) did some chores around the house, and made popcorn for us–it was a quality-time ritual.
Having the government mandate everything for us is not going to encourage that kind of judgment and responsibility. Already, many people seem to assume that everything not forbidden must be compulsory. Time to learn to say “I don’t care what everyone else is doing, I’ll do what works for me.” That’s what makes you a grownup.
Finally a politican that is using comment sense.