Elected officials in Santa Clara, Silicon Valley, California, voted on a proposal to prohibit chain restaurants from adding toys to their children’s menus.
A final vote is set for next month and the Happy Meal law should go into effect in three months, unless food chains and the restaurant association come up with a better solution.
The measure aims to fight the spiralling obesity rate in the United States which affects one in five children between six and nine. The reasoning is that by removing toys, children will be less tempted to eat high calorie, salty food.
The ban would prohibit restaurants from giving away an incentive item, like a toy, with a meal that contains more than 485 calories, more than 600 milligrams of sodium and excessive amounts of fat and sugars.
County Supervisor Ken Yeager pushed for the ban. He says, "This ordinance does not attack toys. Obviously, toys, in and of themselves, do not make children obese. But it is unfair to parents and children to use toys to capture the tastes of children when they are young to get them hooked on eating high-sugar, high-fat foods early in life."
Not everyone is happy with the proposed ban. McDonald’s is one of the fast food chains that use this kind of promotion. According to spokesman Harlan Levy, this ban means the county does not trust the judgement of parents.