The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to ban fast-food meals with toys, such as Happy Meals, unless they change to meet nutritional guidelines set forth by the board.
Santa Clara is south of San Francisco in the area known as Silicon Valley. The board’s members appear to be all white, except for one guy with a Japanese surname.
“This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children’s’ love of toys” to sell high-calorie, unhealthful food, said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. “This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes.”
Upper-class white people hate McDonald’s. I think this is because they look down upon the people who like it most. This includes busy working parents and single parents, who need to save time feeding their kids. That’s why I ate a lot of McDonald’s growing up — it was easy for my dad to drive through after work. My brother and I did not get fat, maybe because we were active. Or maybe because a 250-calorie burger and one of those soft-serve hot fudge sundaes twice a week wasn’t really that bad for us.
But they don’t hate all fast food. For instance, they love IN-N-OUT Burger ( menu here). It’s just as unhealthy as McDonald’s, but the marketing isn’t kid-friendly. They affect a California-beachy attitude in their marketing. And for some reason there are always lots of young white people working there.
In-n-Out Burger is also, if memory serves, not as fast, because the burgers are cooked to order. Tasty though.
Comment by DaveinHackensack — April 29, 2010 @ 5:56 am
I don’t eat nearly as much McDonald’s as I used to, mostly because of the never-anything-but-crap customer service you get from their employees, most of whom don’t speak the same language I speak.
I eat Burger King rarely; their food quality’s been going downhill again.
I eat Wendy’s, but not as much as I used to - food quality again, following Dave Thomas’s demise they really seem to have lost their way.
I miss Hardee’s, and it’s hard to find a good Arby’s these days
Comment by web — April 29, 2010 @ 5:57 am
Unless they’ve recently discontinued the practice, In-N-Out has Bible verses on their food wrappers. Doesn’t sound like the sort of thing SWPL’s would like.
Comment by Peter — April 29, 2010 @ 6:13 am
Peter, SWPL’s also seem to like Chick-Fil-A… and that’s a company that’s closed on Sundays specifically because the company founder/owner wants all his employees to go to church and respect the sabbath.
Comment by web — April 29, 2010 @ 6:27 am
WebGuy,
Is there a Five Guys where you live? They have some really good burgers. They’re big on quality control, apparently. I’ve read that they send secret shoppers to each location twice per week.
Comment by DaveinHackensack — April 29, 2010 @ 7:49 am
As far as fast food burger restaurants go, McDonald’s is (along with Wendy’s) among the least unhealthy. It’s no Safeway, obviously, but a majority of Burger King’s burgers and Jack in the Box’s have more calories than the most calorie-rich burger at McD’s.
Comment by trumwill — April 29, 2010 @ 7:50 am
I’ve read that they send secret shoppers to each location twice per week.
Jack in the Box used to be really into that back when they were in the process of repairing their reputation.
Comment by trumwill — April 29, 2010 @ 7:53 am
McDonald’s offers more healthy options because it’s the biggest chain, and the prime target of nutrition nannies. While McDonald’s draws the fire, that lets Burger King get away with stuff like stackers, etc.
Comment by DaveinHackensack — April 29, 2010 @ 8:47 am
Is there a Five Guys where you live? They have some really good burgers. They’re big on quality control, apparently.
I was flying from New York to Florida in December 2008 with a change of planes in Washington. The weather was bad and my flight from New York had been delayed, which meant that I missed the original connection and my planned 45-minute layover in Washington would be more in the nature of four hours. As I trudged off the plane in Reagan National Airport my mood was pretty bad, but it brightened immediately when I saw, directly ahead of the gate, a Five Guys burger stand. It was like an oasis to a traveler in the Sahara.
Now, when I glanced at a nutrition-facts poster while waiting for my order and saw the calorie count for a Five Guys cheeseburger and fries, my mood immediately sank like the Titanic, but that’s another story for another time.
* = to mix transportational metaphors
Comment by Peter — April 29, 2010 @ 11:06 am
McDonald’s offers more healthy options because it’s the biggest chain,
True, but I should point out it’s not just having healthier options, but having fewer extremely unhealthy options. Jack in the Box has a lot of grotesquely (deliciously) unhealthy items and comparatively few healthy ones. Wendy’s appears to have the most balanced menu of the Big Four.
Comment by trumwill — April 29, 2010 @ 12:29 pm
Hey don’t diss In-and-Out. They only hire legal American citizens and do not pander to Spanish-speaking illegal aliens like the other burger outfits in California do.
But the Happy Meal thing is ridiculous. Perfect example of anarcho-tyranny. Easy sentences for murderers and other criminals, no enforcement of our immigration laws, but let’s make sure to ban Happy Meals!That’ll show ;em.
Anarcho-tyranny could describe the current whole state of California, ith the exception of the very conservative white people who live in the mountains.
Comment by Maria — April 29, 2010 @ 1:02 pm
In-and-out really tastes better, although it is unhealthier of course.
Comment by ecco — April 29, 2010 @ 4:26 pm
I’ve jokingly said that In-and-Out is a Happy Meal for adults. It’s a simple burger that tastes really good, which matches the experience of young children who love their simple little Happy Meal burgers.
FWIW, I don’t eat at McDonalds unless I’m rather cheap and want something off the dollar menu, or Wendys isn’t close by (i.e tollway service areas). Otherwise, I’ll go to Wendy’s, or I’ll splurge on Five Guys. Burger King tastes like recycled Chinese newspapers, KFC is something I’ll eat very infrequently to remind myself of I why I don’t eat it too often, and White Castle is for Saturday nights when I’m just desperate to get out of the house and go somewhere.
Comment by David Alexander — April 29, 2010 @ 10:56 pm
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to ban fast-food meals with toys, such as Happy Meals, unless they change to meet nutritional guidelines set forth by the board.
I’m looking forward to happy meals with educational artefacts of material culture coming soon. The anti-fast food people aren’t entirely wrong. If convenience food is less convienient, people will eat less of it. If the chains adapt, then we’ll eat veggie/fruit burgers and whole wheat buns. It won’t be a huge change, but it’s better than nothing.
Did anyone else notice that roughly 5 years ago, McDonald’s finally learned to nail French fries? The style isn’t a universal favorite, but they are always hot and fresh.
McDonald’s image must have changed since I was a kid. My family would have been upper-middle or lower-upper class, and we ate McDonalds or other fast food maybe every week. My fave fast food is Subway, they actually have vegetables.
Maria, I don’t mean to be rude, but what’s your ethnic background? When you said knowing Diego Rivera was a plus when you meant your husband, I figured you were second or third generation Mexican-American. I also don’t think I’ve ever heard a woman mention anarchy-tyranny before.
Comment by rob — April 29, 2010 @ 11:30 pm
I don’t know how many of you remember this from the ’80s, but McDonald’s use to have the tastiest desert ever — deep fried apple pies. They were the same shape as the current, lame, baked apple pies, but they had a real crust, that was bubbly and crispy from the deep frying.
Comment by DaveinHackensack — April 30, 2010 @ 12:43 am
Let’s cool it on the immigration talk.
I do remember the apple pies. Fortunately, there is regional chain in Delosa that offers really good apple pies, so I didn’t miss them as much as I otherwise would have. I actually kinda like the new McD apple pies too in their own way. Then again, I like Spam. So I’m probably not the best judge of edible character.
There’s no excuse for eating at KFC when Popeye’s exists. Of course, in Callie I eat KFC from time to time, but it’s one of four “fast food” places here (and it’s less a “place” than a kiosk at a convenience store). McDonald’s is the only burger join, so I’ve been remaking my acquaintance with it. Dairy Queen is also here, though it’s unbelievably popular and crowded. Subway rounds out the national chain options. There’s also a regional chain that takes the place ordinarily filled by Taco Bell (except it’s better and more expensive).
Comment by trumwill — April 30, 2010 @ 2:51 am
Kennedy Fried Chicken has to be the most downscale fast-food chain anywhere. Its outlets are mostly in the New York area and almost all of them are in the ghetto, generally in locations that are too poor to support a “real” KFC. The typical customer is a skell who panhandles enough loose change to buy a chicken leg.
Comment by Peter — April 30, 2010 @ 3:25 am
“They were the same shape as the current, lame, baked apple pies, but they had a real crust, that was bubbly and crispy from the deep frying. ”
Yes, they had cherry too. I miss those. They were more like turnovers.
They had to make the pies “healthy,” but it’s totally PC to add high-calorie coffee-based drinks (”frappes”) to the menu thanks to Starbucks.
“Kennedy Fried Chicken has to be the most downscale fast-food chain anywhere. Its outlets are mostly in the New York area and almost all of them are in the ghetto, generally in locations that are too poor to support a “real” KFC. The typical customer is a skell who panhandles enough loose change to buy a chicken leg.”
Now I’ve heard it all: A chain that caters to panhandlers.
Fried chicken is not a part of my eating universe, but I’ve been craving KFC ever since that South Park episode a few weeks ago. Maybe I’ll try Popeye’s instead, per Will’s comment.
Comment by stone — April 30, 2010 @ 10:10 am
“There’s no excuse for eating at KFC when Popeye’s exists.”
You forget the sorry, unclean, yucky state of the Popeye’s next to Southern Tech campus, Will. Most of the ones in Colosse are like that these days - lousy waitstaff, not properly cleaned, and incredibly long wait times for food.
I’ve just about given up on Popeye’s, simply because if I order there, half my lunchtime goes by waiting for them to screw my order up twice.
Comment by web — May 1, 2010 @ 7:47 am
In the 70s, they were ultra-squeaky clean and middle-class. They also had a delivery service just like pizza chains.
They had a competitor called Chicken Delight which I believe no longer exists. Chicken Delight also delivered. Their slogan was “Don’t cook tonight, call Chicken Delight.”
Comment by Maria — May 6, 2010 @ 11:28 am
I’m as “Anglo” as you can get. I have a BFA in art and I like artists of all nationalities. Not a particular devotion to Diego Rivera actually.
Ethnic background really doesn’t have anything to do with liking a particular artist. The Japanese are totally crazy about French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism BTW. They drove the price of Van Goghs to astronomical heights in the 80s.
re: anarcho-tyranny. Well, you can’t really describe the state of California as anything else these days. I just read an article today that LA City Council was going to crack down on people walking “violent” dogs on city streets. In LA — where 100,000 violent gangbangers create mayhem every day and night, they are worried about “violent” dog walkers. Lord help us all.
Comment by Maria — May 6, 2010 @ 11:35 am