Hey there, Vic here and I’m about to go on a little rant about one of my favorite targets – McDonald’s. Just like I lambasted them for their “wholesome” oatmeal, I’m now putting a close eye on their impending changes to the Happy Meal.
The New York Times recently reported that McDonald’s will be altering its Happy Meals due to pressure from parents and consumers. The changes set to take place in September include cutting the amount of french fries with each Happy Meal by more than half and giving the option of requesting vegetables instead of fries.
I have to admit, I like the sound of parents having the option to choose vegetables instead of fries. Unfortunately, statistics show that most are unlikely to make that choice.
The New York Times article reported that McDonald’s has long offered parents the option of asking for fruit instead of fries. But a study by Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that only 11 percent took advantage of that option. I don’t think that I’m going out on a limb by guessing that even less will choose vegetables over the fries.
Also, McDonald’s will keep shoving those cute little toys into each Happy Meal. And let’s face it, that’s the real reason most kids beg their parents to eat at McDonald’s.
So McDonald’s is reducing the amount of fries that come with each Happy Meal. . . but the “main course” is still going to be a hamburger, cheeseburger, or chicken nuggets.
And they’re going to offer vegetables instead of fries. . . even though they currently offer fruit as an option instead of fries and almost no one takes it.
And the main draw to the Happy Meal – the one thing they could eliminate to reduce the number of kids eating the stuff – they insist on keeping. . . even though cities like San Francisco have banned toys in children’s meals unless they meet certain nutritional criteria.
It all sounds like smoke and mirrors to me. It sounds like they are trying to appease those concerned with the childhood obesity epidemic without actually changing a damn thing that matters.
But then again, why should they?
McDonald’s is not in the business of providing healthy food choices for children or anyone else. They are in the business of providing cheap, fast, and easy food-like-substances that turn a profit regardless of the health consequences to the consumer.
It’s up to YOU to make the tough choice in the face of the pleas (and maybe even tantrums) of your children to avoid McDonald’s and make the best food choices possible.
What do you think? Is McDonald’s reducing the number of fries and offering the option of vegetables for their Happy Meals a good thing or is it just smoke and mirrors? Let me know in the comments below.
Train Hard!
~ Vic
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my children all love mc.donalds, as do i, and although i am very aware of how unhealthy it is i don’t think there’s anything wrong with it as a treat every once and a while…and by that i mean once a month or less!! i think that be refusing your children of something like that will just make them go for it even more when they get older, if for no other reason than to rebel against things we as parents push on them as young children.
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I’m happy to say we’re off that place. It took a number of years but we don’t even stop there when we’re on the road. Our little one used to get the fruit when we would stop. But now I’m happy she does not get any of it. Our fruit is at home, and organic. The husband is off those burgers and cutting down on burgers elsewhere, even at home. Slow, but steady progress.
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On my trips abroad from India, I was shocked to see places like Mc. Donald’s stuffed to the hilt , with barely space to move , and all the fresh food restaurants , running virtually empty. Firstly the price of the available food is so ridiculoulsy low , compared to a fresh meal of “cooked food”. Now I understand why such large sodas are needed to digest the totally unwholesome food down one’s drain. I’m glad to come back home, where thankfully the decadent Western food habits are yet to make inroads into our country.
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i guess my decision to let them have the occasional junk food meal is largely down to the fact that they are all healthy children with not a weight issue in sight, think if i had weight and diet concerns with them i would probably re-think it.
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monggoose Reply:
July 31st, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Rebecca, don’t just look at their weight. Diabetes is a bigger issue here!!!!!
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rebecca dabb Reply:
August 2nd, 2011 at 4:51 am
true, but i just don’t think parents should be made to feel bad and like they not doing the best for their children by allowing them the OCCASIONAL take out/ fast food meal.
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I never eat in McDonalds or take the kids there. If I did, I would take up the option of vegetables, (depending on what they are like)., and not eat the bun. (Apparently these are so full of preservatives they look virtually the same a year later). Offering vegetables IS an improvement, as most people wouldn’t eat fruit with their main meal., and so is offering half the amount of fries. Even kids might choose the veg. option for health reasons, in England, anyway. I’ve seen pizza restaurants advertising a thinner pizza base, a fewer calorie option. Restaurants are having to offer healthier options to attract customers as attitudes are changing.
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HEY VIC, Thanks for telling your group about them . I’ve known for years there nothing but Garbage, thanks for bringing more of there lies to light. I do stop an buy there coffee sometimes an half sweet tea, but that about it. I despise them for luring kids an dumm parents in there to buy that happy meal, and you wonder why cancer is on the increase. Whats in that junk to sustain any kind of life?
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Fewer fries? Great. Vegetables? I am wondering how many sulphites will be added for them to stay fresh in the preparation of (likely bagged) veggies. I can’t stand the smell that emits from the bags of apples they sell. I am willing to bet that ‘fresh’ veggies will not be an option. I would suggest an article on the nature of sulphites if it hasn’t already been written.
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I think,is not only Mc Donalds, but also every fast food restaurant, that is out there. We can;t just blame one business.
But mainly it is not the restaurant fault. It is the consumer who goes there, and makes the option of eating out.
I think if all the people prepares their meals and bring them to work, on the road, etc. It would be a different place.
But a business is a business, and as well you cant just blame it on them.
They are providing a necessity to clients. Of course it is not the healthy s option, but they do offer salads.
Why can’t you compare Pizza Hut or other places with the same junk food??? As a business women, I really do not like to blame a business for what really is going on, and for who’s really is the fault…
There are many other burger places that might not offer toys, but offer the same grease, fat food.
Again, its all matter of what you eat, how many times a day, etc…
Like Rebecca said. My kids also like McDonald. Of course I do not take them every day!!.. Also my kids don’t like the fries so much. And I like to order a salad.
Any way. I am trying to follow your meal plan Vic. But please, it is very bad from you to blame just one business. Its like the movie out there….?? Come on… do not blame business for what you put into our body!!!!… Then lets blame other products that we use every day that are bad for our bodies and health as well!!.. Like deodorants, chemicals in detergents, in cleaning products, disinfecting products etc…
Is up to each individual to try to educate, learn more to live and eat healthy… Do not blame other business.
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Dave Reply:
July 30th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Martha has a good point Vic. I also have mixed feelings about MCD, candy manufacturers, ice cream shops, and even pancake houses. None of these businesses are focused on the bodies need for nutrition.
They are growth businesses supported by people at large because they fulfill a need or desire that people have. Anyone that has kids or spends time with them can see the allure of MCD with their play areas and tasty food.
I’m pretty sure MCD is not motivated to include a message to the parents explaining the risks of fried foods, sugars, buns, or processed meats. I haven’t seen them provide any workout routines to burn of that unwanted fat either. Traditional grocery stores haven’t do that either as they make better margins on unhealthy foods. I think the real problem is that people continue to make bad food choices, mainly because they don’t know or are not ready to make the lifestyle changes that are required.
Vic and many others are doing a fantastic job. They are leading a movement that allows people to know what causes fat and what do do to get rid of it. This is motivating people to make better choices and their actions will prove that out on Wall Street. As consumer trends change, so will the fast food industry change. All of the companies performing in the international trading markets are turning a profit by fulfilling needs. There is nothing wrong with that. The markets drive corporate growth. If anyone has a business model that can fulfill customer needs and support consumer trends with health, nutrition, and exercise product (and/or services), then jump on that. Maybe this is the time. People are waiting…
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The big target for criticism of McD’s is their “stuffing” toys in the Happy Meals. Face it – It is a great marketing gimmick, and all businesses (including on-line, health gurus) use one. The “statistic” that the toys are the reason kids want to go there is subjective at best. The REAL reason they go there is their parents don’t have the guts, or will to say NO. They know they can yell, scream and beg until they get their way.
I agree that stuffing yourself with Big Macs is really bad, and that our kids don’t need to be eating this stuff on a daily basis. Keep up the rants Vic!
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Nutrition versus Income,
I truly believe in this, you see obesity in the lower income. People are living on limited income these days. Can most lower income people afford to go to Whole Foods or Trader Joes, NO, Heck they are expensive. I myself went to trader Joe’s the other day and I said OMG what a rip off, an apple by the piece, I could get a whole pound for the same price elsewhere. More and more people are going to the 99 cents store, where here in my city they are almost just like a supermarket which is good, you can get all your fruits and veg for much cheaper, but then on the other hand all the junk food also is 99 cents. They go to McDonalds because of the cheapnest of foods. You go to the movie theatre and they urge you to get the gigantic size for a few pennies more with FREE UNLIMITED refills. People have become CHEAP, most by not choice these days. BAD food is cheap, GOOD Food is expensive, until we see food prices coming down and the economy picking up I am afraid to say we will be seeing more and more people flocking to fast food joints and people getting bigger in size. I love Vic’s program as I have lost 30 pounds so far and have 20 more to go.
I am a waiter and I see people everyday their routine of ordering for their families and themselves, People are cheap, 4 people sharing 1 coffee, a whole family of kids sharing 1 soda, family sharing 2 dinners, families go where they get the most for their money, so they can share it, they just don’t have the amount of money they used to make.
One last point before I stop ranting,lol
Have you ever been to a food bank? It is all PACKAGED FOOD.
Nothing healthy, this is what we give to the poor, no wonder they keep getting fatter.
I hear about educate the individual, “HOW DO YOU EDUCATE SOMEONE TO BE HEALTHY WHEN THEY CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY HEALTHY”
Done, sorry so long
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Dave Reply:
July 30th, 2011 at 11:47 am
There is some profound irony in you comments Ronnie. Sadly, food is ridiculously cheaper now than it was in the early 1900′s due to the world’s ability to produce and distribute in huge volume. That’s why so many mom and pop stores haven’t faired so well. The demand for lower priced food is a consumer demand. We are the ones that want cheaper and faster food. The businesses of the world are merely responding to that demand. Fresh produce without preservatives will always be expensive. Grass fed beef and poultry is expensive to raise. Organically certified products will cost even more. If this quality can only be produced in smaller quantities, then these products will always cost more. But their taste is superior and they should cost more.
I don’t believe the economy has anything to do with it. Vic has demonstrated how easy it is to eat right without going broke. I spend less on food now than I did before starting Vic’s program. I’ve lost 13 pounds, beefed up a bit, and changed my eating habits. I’m buying quality that tastes better and saving money not by choosing cheap food, but by choosing a better lifestyle with better information.
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Oh c’mon Vic.
Are you serious? You’ve got to stop these kinds of attacks on our American businesses. MCD is simply fulfilling a need. And they should, quite frankly, stop worrying about trying to make themselves a healthy place. No one restaurant can be everything to everyone. And when they try, they go out of business. It’s not their job to make sure my family has a healthy meal in front of them. They exist for when I want pure crap and I want it now! I am one of those who never knew they would substitute vegetables for fries and that’s because I didn’t know MCD had vegetables there. And now that I know, I still won’t get them because I don’t want them from MCD. That’s not why I’m in the store.
I actually am one of the ones who was upset when they got rid of the super sizes as a meal option. Now I have to pay more money to get the amount of fries I want. I blame people like you for that – thanks a lot!
It just isn’t there fault that American’s love fatty, greasy, cheap foods. If most of us loved, and could afford organic what-ever-the-heck, MCD and the like would be out of business – and so would you. Your business is supplying alternatives to the MCD lifestyle. You sound like one of those people who protest TV or radio programs that they don’t like instead of just turning the channel. There’s something for everyone here in the good ole U-S of A. If you don’t like the stuff at MCD… don’t go there. But let me enjoy it because I do like it. And give people some credit too. Most people do realize that MCD products are unhealthy. We get it. But it’s like the old coconut candy commercial… Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.
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I like their dollar menu, and I like their senior coffee prices. By vegs, I assume you mean more tomato, pickle, lettuce, which is okay. (Subway will give you as many vegs as you like on a sandwich.) I haven’t tried their apples recently, don’t know how they can provide them without something that will keep them “looking” pretty. Giving half the fries makes sense, even if you still give the toy. Kids won’t melt down so much if they have some soother! The oatmeal? I’m not aware of the problem there, which I only ate there once anyway. Overall, I am planning more, and that is what Vic promotes liberally, so it’s been good. Thank you!!!!!
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I think Vic is using MCD as an example here. what these companies call food is a big joke!!!!! We americans need to wakeup to what is real food, live, energy giving food. Fast foods and processed foods in our grocery stores do not offer this to any means!!!!!!!
If you keep eating these so called “convenience foods”, then you all deserve the medications you will be taken in the near future!!!!!! SORRY!!!!
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McDonalds is a business, and they should not have to conform to what some people want their kids to eat. Its our own personal choice to just say no..just as we would to alcohol, drugs, or doing anything that is not good for us. parents just need to grow a pair…and just say no to their kids.
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http://youtu.be/UTSdUOC8Kac
What ever happened to the McDLT? Hot side hot, cold side cold!
If I could get a Bison burger on sprouted grain bread with a spinach salad I would but I doubt they would sell many. Unfortunately if you want to eat good you have to make it yourself and plan your meals.
My daughter will never eat anywhere but McDonalds when we are out because of the stupid toy that is given with it.
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The capitalist dream. Make more money regardless of the health of the world. Consume, dump and die…. Might b a song in there somewhere. Isn’t it strange how people treat their motor vehicles better than they treat their bodies (a MUCH more complex machine). Ahhhh well….
Train hard!
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