{"id":2541,"date":"2011-12-02T01:35:48","date_gmt":"2011-12-02T07:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/?p=2541"},"modified":"2015-03-13T15:35:44","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T20:35:44","slug":"score-at-the-end-of-the-second-inning-mcdonalds-2-san-francisco-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markdroberts\/2011\/12\/02\/score-at-the-end-of-the-second-inning-mcdonalds-2-san-francisco-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Score at the End of the Second Inning: McDonalds 2, San Francisco 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

San Francisco was leading at the end of the first inning by a score of 1-0. I think San Francisco thought they had won the game, beating McDonalds soundly. But it turns out that there are more innings to be played, and McDonalds is leading at the end of the second.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Photo from WikiCommons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let me explain what I\u2019m talking about. I\u2019ve been watching with interest a \u201cgame\u201d going on in San Francisco, California. (A battle? A war?) The Board of Supervisors approved a city ordinance some time ago making it illegal to give away toys in children\u2019s meals unless those meals met certain nutritional standards. These standards were drawn to make sure that McDonald\u2019s could no longer give away toys in their Happy Meals. For kids, the meals would become toyless \u201cUnhappy Meals.\u201d Thus, San Francisco would be protecting children from the evils of french fries, fat, salt, and other dangers.<\/p>\n

McDonalds actually changed the contents of its Happy Meals, lowering the number of fries and adding fruit. But, alas, these changes were not enough for the Happy Meals to meet the San Francisco standards. It looked like McDonalds lost the game.<\/p>\n

But McDonalds wasn\u2019t finished playing. According to an article in the New York Times<\/em><\/a>, McDonalds adopted a new strategy. As of today, when the ordinance went into effect, McDonalds would take the free toys out of the Happy Meals . . . and they would sell them for ten cents. Moreover, to rub salt into San Francisco\u2019s wound, McDonalds will donate the proceeds from the sales of the toys to San Francisco\u2019s Ronald McDonald House, a charity that cares for families with children going through difficult hospitalizations.<\/p>\n

So, by the end of the second inning, McDonalds pulled into the lead, 2-1.<\/p>\n

But you can be sure that San Francisco isn\u2019t done with the game. Notice what the Times<\/em> reports:<\/p>\n

Dr. Rajiv Bhatia, director of occupational and environmental health at San Francisco\u2019s Department of Public Health, said McDonald\u2019s strategy did not mean the ordinance had failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to learn from how the industry responds,\u201d Dr. Bhatia said, \u201cand do what\u2019s necessary to improve regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can bet that San Francisco will soon \u201cimprove regulation\u201d to find a way to keep McDonalds from selling the Happy Meal toys. According to Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, McDonald\u2019s new effort will \u201cgut this health ordinance,\u201d and \u201ccontinue to seduce children to eat junk food.\u201d He added: \u201cIn the battle over children\u2019s health, consider this a win for obesity and diabetes.\u201d Oh, and also families with hospitalized children. Ouch!<\/p>\n

Actually, I don\u2019t think there is a win here. The game isn\u2019t over. Wouldn\u2019t it be something if city leaders and McDonalds found a way to sit down and create a win-win solution? Ties count in this game of baseball.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Francisco was leading at the end of the first inning by a score of 1-0. I think San Francisco thought they had won the game, beating McDonalds soundly. But it turns out that there are more innings to be played, and McDonalds is leading at the end of the second. Let me explain what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9565],"tags":[16671,16670,5141],"class_list":["post-2541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cultural-commentary","tag-happy-meals","tag-mcdonalds","tag-san-francisco"],"yoast_head":"\nScore at the End of the Second Inning: McDonalds 2, San Francisco 1<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"San Francisco was leading at the end of the first inning by a score of 1-0. 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