What About The Children No One Thinks About The Children . . . . .

In Spain, Taking Some Joy Out of the Happy Meal

"Ana Idolo may be too young to order her own food, but the 2-year-old knows what she wants. As her father Marco unpacks the Happy Meal he ordered for her at a Barcelona McDonald's, she ignores the chicken nuggets and French fries, and instead holds out her hand in eager anticipation for the best part of the meal: a small plastic statue of the Star Wars character Yoda. "Sometimes I think we just buy these for the toys," says Marco.

Toys in children's food may be as old as Cracker Jack (the caramel-covered popcorn has had "a prize in every box" since 1912), but in Spain, the tradition may soon go the way of liquor commercials on TV and smoking in restaurants. Concerned about rising rates of childhood obesity, the Health Ministry is backing legislation that, if approved, would ban restaurants and food manufacturers from including toys and prizes with their products. It's an initiative sure to make multinational corporations — to say nothing of untold millions of children — unhappy, but one that health experts say is necessary."

(Time)