I always do my best to keep this blog focused on positive and proactive things that parents and educators can do to get kids excited about healthy eating because I believe that if we focus on prevention and keeping things positive we will be able to make lasting and effective changes. Feeding our children is a deeply personal part of parenting and is a subject that can get very heated because of the emotions involved. We all want to be the best parents we can be for the sake of our children so if we feel we are being judged or shamed by our feeding choices it can be very difficult. So as I’m about to share this information I hope you’ll keep in mind that it is coming from a place of caring not judging. Remember, I am the picky eater in this house so I fully understand how hard it is to get picky eaters on board with fruit and veggies…it’s far more comfortable for us picky eaters to stick with what we know and love and usually those foods are not the healthiest.
Once in a while there comes a time to take a stand on some issues that have an impact on the health of our children, a time to say ENOUGH and today I am very proud to be part of a campaign by Corporate Accountability International called #MomsNotLovinIt which aims to shed some light on the damaging effects of marketing junk food to children by McDonald’s. In no way is this meant to make parents feel guilty about taking their kids to eat at McDonald’s, this is not about judging parents and how/what they choose to feed their children, this is about holding companies accountable for their dangerous marketing tactics.
Before I give you some alarming facts and information I would encourage you to watch this video by Anna Lappe and be sure to visit her site Food Mythbusters!
For decades, McDonald’s has profited richly at a staggering cost to our children’s health. Its strategy has been to undermine the efforts of whom the corporate executives call “gatekeepers” to feed kids healthfully. Well, these so-called “gatekeepers” are moms, and we are uniting this Mother’s Day to say that we are not “lovin’ it.” All around the world today, moms are calling on CEO Don Thompson to stop McDonald’s predatory marketing to
our kids·
We need a level playing field for parents who are working to make healthy choices for their kids. The efforts of parents simply cannot compete with the enormous marketing budget of McDonald’s…marketing that is designed to undermine parents and get around us at every turn. Ending marketing of junk food to kids is common sense, and this Mother’s Day, the time has come for McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson to give a gift to moms everywhere and
to stop marketing junk food to our kids.
Why are moms sharing this information? Here are some reasons we’ve heard…
• As a mom, we want our kids to be healthy, and getting them to eat healthy food is can be hard enough without McDonald’s wanting them hooked on its fast food.
• McDonald’s has long sought to undermine the efforts of moms to feed their kids healthfully by inundating children with marketing.
• McDonald’s spent about $115 million advertising Happy Meals alone during 2010.
• McDonald’s is clearly working to get around me as a parent and to aggressively market to my kid–from Happy Meal toys to Ronald assemblies in schools to online games–and that’s not okay.
• There are School districts in the USA that can get $1000 for allowing Ronald to “pitch health and wellness” to kids. In one egregious example, schools were paid to print the McDonald’s logo on report cards. And all over the country, McDonald’s has deliberated cited restaurants near schools and sought to market and/or sell its product in schools.
• Cross-promotions with kids’ shows and movies like “The Croods” also ensure whatever has cultural currency for kids is connected to McDonald’s brand. In a 2012 McDonald’s/Star Wars commercial, the corporation tells kids that “when it’s time to recharge, nothing beats a Happy Meal.”
• Celebrities and role models that children look up to have long been employed to build brand loyalty with kids. The latest example is the corporation’s tabbing gymnast Gabby Douglas to promote a new breakfast offering.
• Radio ads also target kids. The most insidious example was the promotion of McDonald’s junk food on BusRadio, which broadcast to 10,000 school buses and one million students in 24 states before going out of business.
• Happy Meal toys. McDonald’s is one of the largest distributors of toys, giving away 1.5 billion toys each year worldwide. It will come as no surprise to parents, but market research indicates that only 16 percent of children under six choose fast food children’s meals for the food inside, while more than one-third of kids choose the so called “Happy Meals” for the plastic collectables!
Here are some sad facts:
• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 3 kids born in the year 2000 are expected to get type-2 diabetes in their lifetime.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts have noted that marketing to children under 8 is “inherently deceptive” and “wholly exploitative.” Kids are not simply little adults; their brains are still developing and they cannot yet distinguish between marketing and reality. What’s more, the American Academy of Pediatrics advocates banning junk food marketing during children’s television programming.
Enough is enough…our children deserve so much better than being bombarded with marketing that is geared to get them hooked on junk food! McDonald’s is RIGHT parents are the gatekeepers and it’s a job we should be proud of…raising healthy kids is one of the most important roles we have as a parent and that comes from setting healthy eating habits and showing our kids that the food they eat makes a difference to their bodies and to the planet!
Visit www.MomsNotLovinIt.org for more information and how you can share your voice! Remember this in not a campaign about judging parents or making them feel guilty – you are doing the best you can – this is about McDonald’s doing the right thing…leaving OUR kids alone!
Happy Healthy Eating
Kia
