Another misguided but bombastic effort ostensibly about the fight against childhood obesity comes in the form of a letter to McDonald’s Corp that asks the franchise to stop marketing “junk food” to kids, and, specifically, to retire Ronald McDonald.
The letter, signed by “more than 550 health professionals and organizations,” is being run as a full-page ad in six metropolitan newspapers in the U.S. today. It comes on the heels of federal regulators’ April proposal to limit the sodium, sugar, fat, and calories in products that are marketed to kids ages two to 17.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross is amazed at the latest of these increasingly common occurrences. “These people are making the assumption that Ronald McDonald is the same as Joe Camel. He’s not. Here’s an advisory for them: Fun foods are not cigarettes, and there’s room in everyone’s diet for food like McDonald’s — it just should be eaten in moderation.” Dr. Ross adds that it’s foolish to position Ronald McDonald “as the evil villain in the obesity epidemic.” That, he says, is not going to put a dent in the problem.
Fight activist food nonsense: Save Ronald McDonald!
By ACSH Staff — May 18, 2011
By ACSH Staff