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McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner vowed to defend the practice in a letter sent to CSPI and posted on the Oak Brook, Ill.-based quick-serve restaurant's website:
"I am writing to set the record straight regarding the misinformation that CSPI communicated about McDonald's.... You say you want a dialogue with McDonald's, but your tactics and inflammatory rhetoric suggest otherwise. CSPI's twisted characterization of McDonald's as 'the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children' is an insult to every one of our franchisees and employees around the world. When CSPI refers to America's children as 'an unpaid drone army,' you similarly denigrate parents and families, because they are fully capable of making their own decisions. You should apologize."
He added, "The public does not support your lawsuit. Internet sites, blogs and network surveys suggest that public opinion is running overwhelmingly against your premise. Our customer websites and phone lines at McDonald's are also busy, with more than nine out of 10 customers disagreeing with your agenda. Parents, in particular, strongly believe they have the right and responsibility to decide what's best for their children, not CSPI. It really is that simple... You purposefully skewed your evaluation of our Happy Meals by putting them in the context of a highly conservative 1,300 calorie per day requirement. I'm sure you know this category generally applies to the youngest and most sedentary children... Furthermore, your over-the-top rhetoric flies in the face of our 55-year track record of caring for kids, a core McDonald's value."
Skinner concluded, "We will vigorously defend our brand, our reputation, our food and our people. CSPI is wrong in its assertions, and frivolous in its legal threats."
Click hereto read the full letter.
Researchers such as Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, have blamed junk-food advertisements aimed at children for creating a "toxic food environment" that prevents them from being able to make healthy food decisions, said a report by AOL News.
In a largely symbolic action, Santa Clara County in California voted to ban Happy Meal toys in April, said the report.
As with most efforts to regulate food companies, though, opponents decry what they see as "nanny state" regulation trumping personal responsibility in the case of Happy Meals. "McDonald's doesn't make kids fat," John Stossel at Fox Business told the news outlet. "Parents have the power to say no. They can order apples instead of fries, milk instead of soda. They can teach their kids to put down the Xbox controller and exercise."
Happy Meals are not the only facet of McDonald's advertising to come under fire, the report said. Both the website Retire Ronald.com and some McDonald's shareholders have called for the company to do away with its iconic clown, likening him to other controversial mascots such as Joe Camel and Spuds MacKenzie.
In other McDonald's news, the company is warning restaurants to pull back on Smoothie promotions so the chain has adequate supply when the product is launched nationally this month. Smoothies, the latest in an expanding beverage line at McDonald's, will be backed by a national marketing campaign starting July 13, but some restaurants, already stocked with the drink mix, have begun selling the product, in some cases without the company's permission, said The Wall Street Journal.
McDonald's has ordered some stores in the South and Midwest to stop offering free samples in stores and to cut down on tasting events. Some Southern markets are being told to take down posters and other in-store signage promoting Smoothies, unless they have a "Coming Soon" tag. The company has also told stores in the Midwest to ease up on discounts, like promoting $1 Smoothies, when the product is launched, according to minutes of a regional McDonald's meeting cited by the newspaper.
And in a memo sent to franchisees, McDonald's signaled the impending demise of the Big N' Tasty, Mac Snack Wraps and the fruit and walnut salad, among other items, said The Chicago Tribune. According to the memo, dated June 24, the Mac Snack Wrap will be off the menu by August, supplanted by Angus Snack Wraps. The last call for scattered aficionados of the Big N' Tasty is set for September 1, while the fruit and walnut salad will be phased out later this year.
At the same time, McDonald's is gearing up for a planned national rollout in January of an oatmeal breakfast, currently being test-marketed. McDonald's spokesperson Danya Proud told the paper that the $1.99 oatmeal breakfast has been well-received during a test run this spring in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
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