McDonald's Corp. (MCD) Chief Executive Jim Skinner has rebuffed a call by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to end the distribution of Happy Meal toys. CPSI has alleged that the giveaway promotions contribute to childhood obesity by encouraging the consumption of fattening food.
CSPI garnered headlines last month when it served notice to the world's largest restaurant chain that it would file suit over the toys included in Happy Meals if the practice was not stopped within 30 days. That deadline is due to expire on July 22. A lawsuit has not yet been filed.
"You say you want a dialog with McDonald's but your inflammatory rhetoric suggest otherwise,"Skinner wrote to CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson on July 6. "At McDonald's, we listen to what our customers tell us. For the past 30 years they have told us -- again overwhelmingly --that they approve of our Happy Meal program...CSPI is wrong in its assertions and frivolous in its legal threats."
