(Image source: McDonalds)
BY LEXA DECKERT
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Mommy can I get a 6 piece Happy Meal -- with carrots? Sound Strange? This could be what the future holds for your McDonalds visits. Fox 19 reports...
“McDonald's is making changes to its famous Happy Meals due to pressure from children and health advocacy groups ...the fast food chain will begin adding a fruit or vegetable to all of the meals, and shrink the portion of French fries.”
The Happy Meal evolution begins in September and will be fully implemented by April -- but how much of a difference does it make? ABC has details...
“All of the meals have 20% fewer calories, 15% less sodium and 20% less saturated fat. Not that it’s healthy... (FLASH) 89 grams of sugar -- that’s a happy meal. A little bit of apple -- does that really make a big difference in a meal?”
“A little bit makes a little difference and every little bit counts. A big difference would be actually replacing a whole bag of fries for an apple.”
The new fruits will depend on the time of the year and what region you live in. Chicago Business lists the new options...
“The new side item could be apples, carrots, pineapple, mandarin oranges or raisins...”
Even though some people are calling for bigger changes -- McDonalds president says a small change is all customers will permit. The Herald Sun reports his observations...
“McDonald's... first tried using a serving of fruit or a vegetable as a replacement... but customers rebelled. People come to McDonald's and... they want the choice and the control to be theirs, but their expectation of a Happy Meal does include a fry... When we did it without fries, there was a huge disappointment factor."
The food is not the only thing that people are criticizing -- some disapprove of they toys and good ol’ Ronald McDonald -- saying it relates a reward with unhealthy eating. Huliq reports...
“Some areas... have already banned kids’ meals from including a toy with the meal if the meal does not meet certain nutritional standards... These steps have been taken... in response to the growing obesity crisis in the United States.”
A writer for WTMJ points out, though, that McDonalds shouldn’t shoulder all the blame.
“...McDonalds is in the business of selling burgers, shakes and fries. It's up to parents to decide how much of it their kids ingest. I have yet to see Ronald McDonald pushing mini-vans full of families toward the cash register at gunpoint, insisting they order their body weights in Big Macs before showing them the door.”
Prices won’t change because of the new foods -- though McDonalds says it was forced to raise prices as the price of commodities has shot higher.
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