Turn that smile upside down, McDonald’s!

So apparently McDonald’s Happy Meals in Santa Clara County (where we live) will be banned in 3 months.  I have never been a fan of McDonald’s food (I think I have eaten there fewer than 5 times in my life), but I admit that I do occasionally enjoy fast food.  What I do not enjoy, however, is fast food for my children.  I fully understand how cheap, convenient and easy it is to just pick up some fast food for kids.  Many times I have sat there trying to get that last bite of Broccoli into Reese’s unwilling maw and wished for easier meal times.  But this is the one time in my life when I have almost total control over their diet and I plan to make the most of it.

It has kind of become an accepted evil in our society.  Every parent knows it’s wrong to feed their kids fast food too often, if at all.  Even ignoring physical effects, there are significant social problems as well.  There’s no denying that obese kids, no matter the reason for their obesity, have on average a tougher social life and that it can affect them for the rest of their lives.  I just hope Meghan and I can be strong (stronger than we are with our own diets at least) and give our kids a good, healthy start to a healthy life.

The root of the problem though, as Aubree pointed out in the comments, is that a salad costs more than a hamburger.  Why?  Our government massively subsidizes multiple levels of meat production, but mostly ignores the healthier alternatives.  So why do they do it?  Because the meat and dairy industry pay off politicians.  Lobbying for economic profit and an unhealthy America!  Hooray!