Nobody seems to like City Councilman's Leroy Comrie's proposed Happy Meal regulations. On Tuesday when Comrie announced the proposed law—which aims to set "nutrition standards for distributing incentive items aimed at children,"—he acknowledged that, weighing in at 335 pounds himself, he was hardly a model of healthy eating (in fact that was part of his point). So no surprise that both the Post (Councilman, Heal Thyself) and the News (City Councilman Leroy Comrie's bill to ban toys in Happy Meals with over 500 calories is fat-headed) today ran editorials decrying the plan as a dud from a self-hating, publicity-hungry tub of lard. And not happy to stop there, the Post went to the next level and got Comrie's weight-watching, yoga-doing wife Marcia on the record to complain about her rotund husband's eating habits.
Growing up did you have a mother who was constantly upset about their spouse's weight and would tell anyone and everyone about it? We did, and honestly her complaints sounded almost word-for-word like Marcia Comrie's: "Unfortunately, no man can live on salads and water alone, and he ends up going in for those quick meals—which I hesitate to even call meals."
But it isn't her fault her man has girth—it is the job! "He's not averse to healthy eating," she said. "He actually enjoys when I make him a wholesome breakfast, and he likes when I cook him tofu...But by lunchtime he could be having spare ribs—or a Big Mac."
Which isn't news if you listen to what Comrie himself has said: "I'm a fast-food aficionado. My typical lunch is getting something from Popeye's or McDonald's."
Anyway, the problem here is that there is a legitimate discussion to be had about restaurants—and any businesses, really—purposely using toys as incentive to lure children into buying unhealthy things. Unfortunately, Comrie's bill isn't very well conceived nutritionally, likely won't go anywhere, and will likely serve to make further discussion of the issues harder.
