This Mother’s Day marks the two year anniversary of #MomsNotLovinIt. That’s when I joined with other mothers in campaigning against McDonald’s unethical marketing to children. While many health professionals had already spoken out about McDonald’s predatory marketing to kids, they were ignored by the corporation which continued to target children with fast food ads. That motivated action by … Continue reading
Yesterday, a national panel of experts convened by Healthy Eating Research (HER), a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released Recommendations for Responsible Food Marketing to Children. Marion Nestle had a blunt response to the report’s recommendations aimed at the food industry’s voluntary guidelines for what and how junk foods can be marketed to kids: … Continue reading
We’re winding down the last days of 2014 and looking ahead to a fresh new year. Dr. Alan Greene invited me to contribute a guest post in the series “One Thing I’d Change in 2015.” Here’s what I chose, why I chose it, and how you can help make it happen: The one change I’d like to … Continue reading
2014 has been a watershed year for the food movement pushing back against fast food marketing to kids. When McDonald’s unveiled the twitter hashtag #RonaldMcDonald in April to revive slumping sales, they met backlash over their marketing to children. In May, we took the #MomsNotLovinIt campaign to McDonald’s Annual Shareholders Meeting. The CEO, Don Thompson, made a tactical error by responding … Continue reading
“Food Justice is communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat healthy food.” ~ Just Food Today is Food Day and this year there is a focus on food justice. It has special significance because voters in Berkeley and San Francisco are deciding whether to approve a measure to tax sugary beverages like soda. Some of the authors of these measures have … Continue reading
I’m heading behind enemy lines. Here are the details of the #MomsNotLovinIt trip to McDonald’s headquarters: It’s happening. This Thursday, six brave mothers will take their concerns directly to the source: the McDonald’s shareholders’ meeting at Hamburger University — McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, IL. These women will stand in front of the CEO of … Continue reading
Instead of being insulted by the way that corporations are trying to co-opt them to do marketing for free, they’ll be insulted by the fact that someone objects to the campaign. They’ll side with the corporation instead of siding with their fellow moms. How’s that for coming full circle on the supportive environment? Annie Urban made … Continue reading
