happy meals

    By Jim Royal, The Motley Fool

    | 1:30PM 12/23/2011
    McDonald's and other fast-food establishments recently garnered praise from First Lady Michelle Obama for making great strides toward "making America healthier." But how admirable have their efforts really been? Here's a closer look at the likely effects of changes to the happy meal -- and a different business's better efforts.

    By Alex Salkever

    | 3:45PM 10/09/2010
    Forget California's huge budget deficits, high unemployment levels and nasty political campaigns. One of the most polarizing issues in the Golden State today is about a proposal to ban Happy Meals toys in San Francisco.

    By Jonathan Berr

    | 5:00PM 10/06/2010
    In June, the Center for Science and the Public Interest threatened to sue McDonald's Corp. over the use of toys to promote Happy Meals. Now, it looks like it will finally happen.

    By Linda Doell

    | 8:15AM 10/05/2010
    San Francisco's proposed ban on toys in McDonald's Happy Meals and other kids' meals unless the food meets certain nutritional guidelines has been expanded to include breakfast as well. The changed proposal now targets meals including breakfast and also adds another requirement that if bread is...

    By Jorgen Wouters

    | 4:00PM 9/20/2010
    A marketing campaign for McDonald's Happy Meals in the name of supporting charities has a small note that reveals just how tiny that support is -- one penny per meal. A penny. "It's a little disingenuous to claim you are donating money for each sale and then trying to hide the amount,"...

    By Jonathan Berr

    | 6:58PM 7/21/2010
    Under fire by food advocates for using free toys to market Happy Meals to young children, McDonald's has responded to a threatened lawsuit with the argument that parents know best what's good for their kids.

    By Jonathan Berr

    | 5:20PM 6/22/2010
    McDonald's may be forced to defend itself on a new battlefront in the war against obesity. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says it'll sue unless McDonald's stops using toys to promote Happy Meals.

    By Aaron Crowe

    | 9:00AM 7/20/2009
    I'm all for keeping my kid entertained while out at a restaurant. Without some crayons and paper, getting through a meal would be a lot more difficult.But do we really need Happy Meal toys? McDonald's has sold these things since 1979, and after 10 minutes of play, they're long forgotten -- as many...