A lawsuit has been filed by the Center for Science in the Public Interest – fancy name – against McDonald’s in the liberal bastion of San Francisco. The lawsuit alleges that McDonald’s practice of including toys with its Happy Meals is deceptive advertising. From now until the time this lawsuit is dismissed in eight years, people will call it the McDonald’s Happy Meal lawsuit.
Happy Meal Lawsuit Another Foolish Lawsuit
I will focus group this lawsuit. Hold on. I’m back. Jury’s back. Everyone thinks it is stupid. Notably included in that group are mainstream progressives like myself. We are not libertarians. But liberals are Americans, too. (A few tort reformers heads just exploded but let’s move on.) We are a people who are historically opposed to others deciding for us when we have all the facts available for us to make our own decisions and most of us think the behavior is okay.
The counterargument to this is that times change. Is feeding your kids Happy Meals the same as not putting your kids in car seats/seat belts was 30 years ago? Maybe. The difference is in the data. We were overwhelmed by the data of the deaths and injuries to children in car accidents who were not secured to where now I think everyone agrees that the state must intervene on this decision and require children be properly secured in a car. (Yes, we can argue about the details. But I think we agree on the premise).
Happy Meals are different. The data is not that definitive yet. I don’t think the evidence is there that shows Happy Meals portend bad things for kids. I think I’m a better parent than I am anything else in this life. By far. My wife and I spend a lot of energy, sometimes to the point of battle, trying to get our kids to eat healthily. We’ve even sneaked wheat germ and vegetables into their food to the point of excess. But do I slip my kids a few Happy Meals? Sure, occasionally. Why do I do this? Because I don’t think an occasional bad meal is a death knell for children. And because the toys in those Happy Meals are cool.
- Canada thinks they are so great but they have a Happy Meal lawsuit that is dumber than this one
- Less fun: McDonald’s getting sued for systematic discrimination in 2020