Happy Meal 2.0: McDonald's to Cut Back on Fries

Healthier Happy Meal makes S.F. ... happy

​San Francisco became the nation's laughingstock -- and public enemy No. 1 for children -- when it rolled out the controversial Happy Meal ban. You might recall the epic Daily Show episode where Aasif Mandvi gave the man behind the ban, Supervisor Eric Mar, crap for taking the happy out of the Happy Meal simply because he couldn't tell his daughter no when the seductive powers of the plastic-wrapped toys called to her.

But now San Francisco is getting the last laugh, because McDonald's took the ban seriously. Buckling under the pressure, it announced it will begin rolling out a decisively healthier Happy Meal in September.

So what does this mean for the average Happy Meal aficionado? You can say goodbye to those gooey caramel Apple Dippers -- the Happy Meal 2.0 offers just plain apples. 

Mar released a statement that tempered his, errrr, happiness about the reform with a reminder that McDonald's will still have to do more if it wants to get his daughter's business again:

"I am pleased that our local grassroots efforts to bring attention to Happy Meals has shaken up the industry. Today's announcement from McDonald's is a positive step as it is important that they have acknowledged their role in fueling the obesity epidemic affecting children in our communities. 

McDonald's and other large fast-food corporations need to do much more to meet basic nutritional standards to cut fat, sugar, salt, and calories especially in their meals targeted to children in which they use toys to lure our youth into habits of eating unhealthy junk food."

Despite cutting 20 percent of its calories, the Happy Meal is still one vegetable serving shy of getting its toys back. But McDonald's said adding vegetables to the menu might not be entirely out of the question.

Which, of course, would mean Smurfs toys for everyone.

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