Goodbye Ronald McDonald?

[cme1201]

www.foxnews.com/health/2011/05/18/mcdonalds-pressure-ronald/?test=faces

Why do the so called experts always lay the blame at the corporations and never where it should squarely be laid on the shoulders of parents?

Seeing as it is 550 health care professionals, is it hard to imagine once 2014 rolls around and the new healthcare rules take effect, people like these will have more pull in removing these bad influences from our lives?

Only time will tell.

[ed1066]

Why are liberals obsessed with making parents irrelevant?

[Deleted]

Because we are stupid, Ed, and do not know how to stop our cars from going to McDonalds and THEN picking the fries and coke over the fruit and milk. We need help. Ronald McDonald did it, and I think Bush put him up to it.

[marshabar1]

May 19, 2011 13:37:38 GMT -5 @ed1066 said:

Why are liberals obsessed with making parents irrelevant?

Because they are fascists and fascists always like to control the youth.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Do they also want to get rid of the Ronald McDonald Houses?

[Driftr]

May 19, 2011 13:41:52 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

Because we are stupid, Ed, and do not know how to stop our cars from going to McDonalds and THEN picking the fries and coke over the fruit and milk. We need help. Ronald McDonald did it, and I think Bush put him up to it.

My girls (4 & 7) can't stand soda (at a party tried to get them to drink a sprite cause the water tasted funny and they really can't stand the bubbles) and while they'll each take a few fries from one of the meals they get (once or twice a month), they argue over who 'got more' apples from the other meal. I'd tell my wife to get both apples, but I get what they don't eat from the one small fry, so there's no win/win if we do that.

It's really not that hard.

[wyouser]

isnt there also a thought out there that charities are bad and should be replaced with government programs that know better how to help others and "redistribute" the wealth

[wyouser]

lets see if the pricipal in health care is to take 1/2 trillion out of medicare to pay for insuring the uninsured..could they not strip a half trillion out of food stamps so they can subsidize "good" fruits and veggies for the 40+ million folks needing food assistance? that way everyone will have 50 cents to buy a dollar piece of fruit...or wait...will we have to ration access to fruit the way we may soon ration acess to doctors???

[wyouser]

thats clear as mud...

[Deleted]

I stayed out of state with my entire family in a Ronald McDonald house in TX for about 2 weeks when my 18 YO son got burned over 40% of his body in an accident. Wonderful, wonderful place. My son would have been alone in a burn unit without it. I ALWAYS throw a few $$$ in when I hit McDs, and ALWAYS will.

BAD Ronald McDonald!!!!!!

[wyouser]

one for you Krickett

[Deleted]

Makes me tear up to even remember it, W. Wonderful place. My son came out okay, thank God, but there were people there with little BABIES and small children dying of cancer and stuff.
Yeah, let's trash McDs. SHAME on these do-gooder control freaks!!!

[pepper112765]

Why are they just picking on McDonald's? All fastfood restaurants have kid meals. This is just ignorant. As if people eat at McDonald's everyday.

[Value Buy]

Hey I protested the protesters today.
Stopped, ordered the number one meal, supersized it, added two McDoubles and threw $5 into the charity box at the drive up.
We had the misfortune to spend a week at Ronald's house years ago. Over Valentine's day at that.
Will carry that week to my grave, and when it was all said and done, wrote a check I thought would cover cover our stay a few year's later when we could afford it.
Ronald McDonald forever!

[mmhmm]

Not all their food is garbage. A hamburger isn't the worst thing one can eat, and their angus deluxe is delicious. Mother insists on one a week. ;D

[nutterbutter]

May 19, 2011 23:08:40 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Not all their food is garbage. A hamburger isn't the worst thing one can eat, and their angus deluxe is delicious. Mother insists on one a week. ;D

It's all the chemicals and other crap they throw into and on the burger that makes it unhealthy. The original McD made fresh burgers and fries for the consumers, slices of tomatoes and fresh lettuce and onions. Today McD is all processed and frozen junk stored in warehouses where they chemically treat some of the food to give them back their flavor.

I don't at their food because my mouth breaks out with sores.

[jkapp]

May 19, 2011 23:42:00 GMT -5 @nutterbutter said:

May 19, 2011 23:08:40 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Not all their food is garbage. A hamburger isn't the worst thing one can eat, and their angus deluxe is delicious. Mother insists on one a week. ;D

It's all the chemicals and other crap they throw into and on the burger that makes it unhealthy. The original McD made fresh burgers and fries for the consumers, slices of tomatoes and fresh lettuce and onions. Today McD is all processed and frozen junk stored in warehouses where they chemically treat some of the food to give them back their flavor.

I don't at their food because my mouth breaks out with sores.

Yeah I stopped eating at the fast food places (at least the burger places) once I realized that everything in the bag was pretty much frozen and then reheated. Well, hell, I can do that at home!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Why are they just picking on McDonald's? All fastfood restaurants have kid meals. This is just ignorant. As if people eat at McDonald's everyday

Cause Ronald McDonald is a clown that is obviously marketed towards kids. He's a big neon sign to people who want to pick a scapegoat.

The Burger King probably makes children cry, I know he creeps me out. I'd hit him with a baseball bat if he showed up in my bedroom, I don't care if he has a breakfast sandwich! If people want to ban The Burger King I am all for it.

[973beachbum]

I don't mind Ronald McDonald or even McDonalds or any other fast food joint.

What I hate are the ads on kids shows and movies!!! It isn't just one or two it is a constant barage.

[Driftr]

May 20, 2011 8:31:46 GMT -5 973beachbum said:

What I hate are the ads on kids shows and movies!!! It isn't just one or two it is a constant barage.

True they can be annoying. Also useful as teaching moments for 4 & 7 year olds asking to go to get the 'new' toys.

Me: Well sweetie, we don't want to eat there every day or you'll end up with a belly like me.
7yr old: Oh....
4yr old: So can we go?

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Here is an interesting story from the LA Times:

McDonald's Happy Meals and other happy lunches -- let's take a look

www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-ronald-mcdonald-health-20110519,0,5721199.story

By Marissa Cevallos, HealthKey / For the Booster Shots blog

May 20, 2011, 5:30 a.m.
Ronald McDonald has been getting heat this week from an advocacy group irate at the company's continued marketing to children. The group wants the fast-food giant to retire the mascot and, perhaps more to the point, stop hawking food high in calories, fat and salt to kids.

But the fast-food chain says the clown is "an ambassador for good," adding that it has no plans to get rid of Ronald. The company's chief executive also said that consumers have piped up, defending their right to eat what they choose.

For an idea of what all the fuss is about, let's take a closer look at the food in question -- what a child might order at Mickey D's. You might know it by the term Happy Meal.

A cheeseburger Happy Meal -- a small cheeseburger with small fries and 8 ounces of 1% milk -- has 640 calories, 26 grams of fat and 1,040 milligrams of sodium, according to a nutritional menu from the McDonald's website.

Also available, we should point out, is a 4-piece chicken-nugget meal, complete with apple dippers and low-fat caramel dip and apple juice, at 380 calories.

For comparison, Burger King's much less easily parsed menu (at least when it comes to the contents of a BK Kids Meal) says that a small cheeseburger with value-sized fries and fat-free milk will pack 620 calories. A comparable chicken-nuggets-and-apple-slices meal with apple juice is 360 calories.

Now, for the heck of it, let's take a look at a traditional PB&J lunch served up at home.

For the sandwich, let's use two slices of Wonder bread (70 calories each), two tablespoons of Jif (190 calories) and one tablespoon of Welch's grape jelly (49 calories). Add half an apple (47 calories). And a cup of 1% milk (102 calories). According to CalorieCount.com, that lunch comes in at 528 calories.

[Deleted]

Thank you, SF. Yes, unless a parent is feeding their kids nothing but rabbit food-- which is not a complete diet for a healthy growing child, it is all about the same. A smart parent will make smart choices for their kids, and a dumb one will not, no matter if it is McDonalds or at home.

[Deleted]

rmhc.org/

Check out the Ronald McDonald House website. McDonalds is THE biggest contributor. See what they do for sick children all over the world. I challenge anyone to tell me that we should mess with Ronald. Of course, gov't does not much like private charities, because they help people the gov't wants to own. They would rather take the money for themselves, by force, then dole it out where they want, which may or may not be for terminally ill children that do not contribute to society. Yes, I did say that.

[jkapp]

>>For the sandwich, let's use two slices of Wonder bread (70 calories each), two tablespoons of Jif (190 calories) and one tablespoon of Welch's grape jelly (49 calories). Add half an apple (47 calories). And a cup of 1% milk (102 calories). According to CalorieCount.com, that lunch comes in at 528 calories. <<

Pretty slim PB&J

I don't think too many parents measure out that stuff with tablespoons - they most likely take a gob of PB and another gob of jelly and slap it on the bread. Most likely pushing that calorie count a bit higher

[Cookies Galore]

A cheeseburger Happy Meal -- a small cheeseburger with small fries and 8 ounces of 1% milk -- has 640 calories, 26 grams of fat and 1,040 milligrams of sodium, according to a nutritional menu from the McDonald's website.

Oh my god, that's almost an entire day's worth of fat and sodium for a child! Eep.

I do think it is ridiculous to go after the company mascot, though. I love all the old McDonald's characters! Parents need to make better food choices, simply put. No amount of banning clowns is going to make someone feed their kid an apple instead of a Dorito.

I do work near a Ronald McDonald house and my company makes a generous donation to them every year. It truly is a wonderful charity.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Oh my god, that's almost an entire day's worth of fat and sodium for a child! Eep.

One can go to any French or Italian restaurant, pick nearly any entree off the menu and get the same or more fat in the meal.

[wyouser]

really any difference at a Mexican, Chinese or German restaurant ? Burritos or tacos low in sodium? Watch the soy sauce on the rice. Look out for the c count in a Bratwurst.