San Francisco Delays Vote on Controversial Toy Ban

Update 11/11/10: After more than 300 Change.org members petitioned the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, lawmakers voted in favor of the Healthy Meals Incentive ordinance. Beginning Dec. 1, 2011, restaurants in San Francisco can only offer toys with kids' meals that meet certain nutritional requirements. Read the full story here.

San Francisco is aiming to become the largest city in the country to restrict the use of toys in promoting fast food to children — but not for at least another two weeks.

The city's board of supervisors voted on Tuesday to postpone the vote until November 2, Election Day. Supervisor Eric Mar, the controversial bill's main sponsor, told the San Francisco Chronicle, "We have built a strong coalition of supporters and strong majority support on the board. We are committed to delivering on the ordinance's vital health protections and continue to work with colleagues in firming up a strong implementation plan that responds to concerns raised by the restaurant industry." So why the delay?

Well, it's probably just a political calculation. Outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom has promised a veto, and only 7 of the 8 required votes to overturn a veto are secured. Putting off the vote until after Election Day could make it a little easier to vote in favor of this bill. It could also be a sort of gift to Mayor Newsom, who is currently running for Lt. Governor of the state and has been labeled by his opponent as "chief of the food police." Politics will be politics, but the important point is that this legislation has a real chance of being passed.

Several months ago, Santa Clara County, about an hour south of San Francisco, enacted a similar measure. If passed, the San Francisco measure would ban restaurant toy giveaways aimed at kids unless meals meet certain fat, sugar, and sodium content guidelines and contain fruits and vegetables. The sponsors of these bills believe that children choose a kids' meal first-and-foremost based on the toy. As a former child myself, I can confirm this. So by breaking the shameless connection between unhealthy food and free toys, we can start to move in the right direction regarding childhood obesity. Remember, this is not about taking toys away from kids, it's about making the food they get with those toys better for them. Hold the nanny state accusations. This is just common sense.

As I've written previously, restricting advertising or banning toys is not going to solve the problem of childhood obesity, but it will send a strong message to companies and force them the change the way they do business. More importantly, it will be a step in the right direction to stop putting the interests of mega-corporations over the health of our children.

If you support the toy ban legislation, you can sign Corporate Accountability International's petition asking San Francisco's Board of Supervisors to vote in favor of the ordinance.

Photo credit: gadgetdude via Flickr