Michelle Obama & Food Police Nod Approval at McDonald’s Changes to Happy Meals… Purely Voluntary, Of Course
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on July 26, 2011
Food Police update: McDonald's is now stepping in line with Michelle Obama's Nanny State food police - fewer fries, more apples in Happy Meals
First Lady Michelle Obama is quite pleased that fast-food giant McDonald’s will be adding her beloved, grease-loaded fat cakes in upcoming Happy Meals… strike that, adding apple slices sans dipping sauces.
The First Lady was, I believe, never once photographed munching on a plate of any of the myriad species of vitamin-rich, fat-free African fruits and vegetables while on her half-a-million-dollar African trip last month, but WAS seen buying fat cakes and fries from a Botswana cafe. Just a few weeks ago, the First Lady ordered a fat-loaded hamburger, chocolate shake, and French fries (no cameras allowed) at the Shake Shack in DC — a whopping 1,700 calories at one sitting. She ordered an equally fattening lunch at Miss Katie’s, a Milwaukee café. She has confessed that she sneaks out of the White House for cheeseburgers — POTUS also binges on high-cal, high-fat foods when out lunching. The First Lady reportedly orders lobster and other fattening dishes when out to dinner.
When parents buy a Happy Meal for their children, they’re apparently too stupid to make decisions for their children. When Michelle Obama, however, binges over and over again in public dining venues, she’s applauded for it, is allowed to fall off the wagon or relax or indulge, according to the liberal media that doesn’t see the hypocrisy in all this.
Apples, while popular and tasty, aren’t bursting with an abundance of vitamins. I have nothing against apples for children, but they are in the bottom hemisphere of nutrition.
So despite the glowing accolades being heaped upon McDonald’s from FLOTUS, let’s not get all oogly-googly over this “it’s not really mandated, wink wink” change in kid meals at the Golden Arches. Because if fewer fries and more apples are good enough for the children, adults may soon be faced with the same “do as I dictate, not as I do” changes in menus, would could very likely be “suggested” in the near future by the wife of the president or her Food Police minions.
Thank goodness Africa still has its fat cakes.
Deep-fried fat cakes and French fries for lunch for Michelle Obama while she was on her Africa trip
From Reason Magazine, McDonald’s to Kids: Apple Slices For All, Whether or Not You Want Them:
Every Happy Meal shall henceforth contain apple slices, according to a decree from McDonald’s HQ today, which boasts that the change is part of “a comprehensive plan [that] aims to help customers—especially families and children—make nutrition-minded choices whether visiting McDonald’s or eating elsewhere.”
And while USA Today reports that the company is claiming the apple incursion is “absolutely not” a response to growing regulatory threats from local, state, and federal governments, the Associated Press is reporting that First Lady Michelle Obama is pleased. The redesigned meals also happen to come within striking distance of the standards crafted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, initially designed to make existing Happy Meals illegal within the borders of the City by the Bay.
[...]
McDonald’s changes are voluntary, but they happened because McDonald’s exists in a world where trans fat bans are a reality, and junk food taxes are fodder for The New York Times op-ed page. Regulating food intended for kids is an easier sell, but the state is really just taking away parents’ choices. And once adults are no longer free to choose for their kids, why let them go on choosing for themselves?
Happy Meal Changes
Michelle Malkin weighs in:
With the approval of First Nutritionist Michelle Obama, McDonald’s is getting rid of caramel apple dip, reducing the French fries portion, and adding more apples to its Happy Meals offerings.
Mrs. Obama expects more:
“McDonald’s is making continued progress today by providing more fruit and reducing the calories in its Happy Meals.
I’ve always said that everyone has a role to play in making America healthier, and these are positive steps toward the goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity.
McDonald’s has continued to evolve its menu, and I look forward to hearing about the progress of today’s commitments, as well as efforts in the years to come.”
They won’t rest until the Happy Meal has undergone the total Berkeley makeover.
Next up: Goodbye, hamburgers. Hello, tofu burgers.
Stunning information from the United Kingdom, reported by The Guardian, Fast-food study finds calories count for little for most customers:
Only a minority of people eating at fast-food outlets such as McDonald’s or KFC are put off the more fattening options when the menu shows the calories of each meal, research in New York has found.
Some fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, KFC and YO! Sushi have signed up to the UK government’s public health responsibility deal on food, which includes a commitment to labelling their meals with the calories they contain from September. The UK deal is entirely voluntary. In New York, on the other hand, calorie labelling on the menus of fast-food restaurant chains has been compulsory since 2007.
But a study carried out at lunchtime in 11 fast-food chains before and after the New York legislation came in has found that calorie labelling does have an effect – although only on about one in six customers and only in certain food outlets. At McDonald’s, KFC and the sandwich store Au Bon Pain, customers cut down on the calories. But overall, there was no reduction in the calorie intake of more than 8,000 customers, and at Subway the calorie intake actually went up by 17.8%.
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