gavstone21

However, the meals still round out to about 600 calories, which experts say is way too much for small children. Also, public health experts say that while they are satisfied with McDonald’s adding apples to every meal, they are concerned that the company is “health washing” kids by “rebranding” the Happy Meal foods as “healthy” when, in reality, they are just “less unhealthy.”"-http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/13/mcdonalds-happy-meal-facts_n_4936593.html

      Maybe we can allow them to sell toys with their meals once they start using the toys more responsibly. 

                  Waste and Environment

    "Happy Meal toys are contributing to the demise of Cordova's salmon fishery. China's coal burning factories that produce Happy Meals toys create air pollutants that form acid rain, which in turn increases both ocean and freshwater acidity. This leads to reduced salmon egg viability, juvenile growth, and ocean food availability. As a fishing town, Cordova is highly dependent on the income derived from Copper River Salmon fisheries. A decrease in fisheries will be felt by 77% of Cordova residents. We propose to replace existing toys with more eco-friendly alternatives. Replacing plastic toys with paper toys reduces the overall energy demand, plus paper toys are recyclable and will reduce household clutter"

       "Cordova is a small, isolated coastal community located in Prince William Sound. The economy is heavily based on salmon fisheries. If the salmon population were to suffer due to the combined effects of acid rain in their fresh water environment and ocean acidification in their salt-water environment, Cordova's economy and residents would be greatly affected.

Cordova's population doubles during the salmon fishing season of May through September, swelling from a 2,500 year round population to a whopping 5,000 for the small town. This increase is highly dependant on fisheries through the jobs in commercial harvesting and processing. The summer boost is a predictable event that many Cordovan businesses rely on, especially when some businesses are only open during this season. If Cordova's fishing industry were to experience a harsh decline, not only would local businesses be affected, but permit holders, processors, and the crews for both, as well as the Cordova School District.

Permit holders are already experiencing issues in the number of salmon returning. This past year, the Copper River system experienced a salmon return of half of the previous 10-year average."

     "Another factor to consider is the families that depend on the income earned from the fishing industry. The average family in Cordova consists of about 2.5 persons (http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/1462). If each Cordova-based permit holder had a family that depended on the outcome of the past fishing season, an approximate total of 1,920 Cordovans of all ages would feel the direct economic burden. This number is 77% of Cordova's population."

https://seagrant.uaf.edu/nosb/papers/2009/cordova-fish.php.

       This Co2 burnt also contributes to global warming. 

When kids get their toy it is normally the cheapest piece of plastic you have ever seen. Most toys are thrown away, a little bit after it is taken out of the package. This is very wasteful. We should be conserving our precious resources. 

                  Labor

"The report, one of the most extensive undercover looks at conditions in Chinese toy factories in years, concluded that despite
improvements in some areas, which are largely linked to regional government mandated wage hikes, many conditions have largely
remained unchanged. Issues such as wage theft, occupational safety infractions and the used of financial penalties as punishment for
minor infractions have worsened in recent years, the report contends.
The 127-page study based on photographic evidence and workers’ testimonies collected by undercover labor rights activists found a
litany of violations of China’s own labor laws, including inadequate occupational safety requirements, theft of overtime wages and
retirement benefits, and cramped housing conditions."

"Working up to 66 hours per six-day work week for as little as $1.88 an hour, living in cramped living quarters and facing a litany of labor
abuses, Winson’s factory workers have little reason to be as cheerful as the children who receive the toys they assemble. That’s
especially true for laborers like Mrs. Li, a Winson factory employee who spoke to an undercover labor activist posing as a worker to gain
access to some of China’s largest toy manufacturing facilities. [Li’s full name was withheld to protect her from retaliation by her
employer."

"These were some of the findings of an extensive months-long investigation by labor rights advocates who went undercover at five
Chinese toy factories. A report released Friday by China Labor Watch in New York includes the description of Li’s working conditions and
chronicles the lives of thousands of employees making American Girl and Barbie dolls, toy spinoffs from the Disney films “Star Wars” and
“Frozen,” Fisher-Price Little People doll houses and McDonald’s Happy Meal trinkets"

http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4308&context=globaldocs