Public health advocates have written an open letter to McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner, asking the fast food giant to stop marketing its high-fat, high-calorie food to children.
Signees include 43 Minnesotans -- mostly doctors, dentists and pediatric nurses -- including the U of M's Dr. John Harkness and Dr. Robert Acton, North Memorial's Dr. Kristen Helvig and HealthEast's Dr. Thomas Kleven. A segment of the letter states:
The campaign -- timed to McDonald's annual shareholders meeting -- is being led by Corporate Accountability International, a non-profit organization that presses companies to serve the public interest. The campaign included full-page ads in several newspapers across the country, including City Pages in Minneapolis.
At a press conference announcing the open letter on Wednesday, Dr. Steven Rothschild of Rush Medical College in Chicago demanded that McDonalds "stop making the next generation sick (and) retire Ronald and the rest of the junk food marketing that is going on to children."
The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity has long studied the influence of fast food marketing on children and their diet and health. State and local governments have proposed so-called Happy Meal bans -- which would prevent fast food restaurants from giving away toys with kids' meals -- but an L.A. Times article points out that the fast food lobby has effectively resisted that movement.
In a written statement, McDonald's defended its marketing and menu options for children: "We are committed to responsible advertising and take our communications to children very seriously. We understand the importance of children's health and nutrition, and are committed to being part of the dialogue and solution. We serve high quality food, and our Happy Meals offer choice and variety in portions just for kids. Parents tell us they appreciate our Happy Meal choices."
Interestingly, there is some talk that Ronald McDonald is an outdated marketing vehicle, anyway. But obviously the campaign is about any form of marketing fast food to kids -- and not just the big red-haired clown.
