• Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 10:42 AM

Happy Meal toys and other promotions that fast-food chains target to children will be banned in parts of California's Santa Clara County unless the restaurants meet certain nutritional guidelines, according to a law approved Tuesday by the board of supervisors, Sharon Bernstein reports. The board agreed to put off implementing the measure for 90 days, giving the restaurants time to come up with a voluntary program for improving the nutritional value of their meals.

"This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children's' love of toys" to sell high-calorie, unhealthful food, says supervisor Ken Yeager, who sponsored the measure. "This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes."

Supervisor Donald Gage voted nay. "If you can't control a 3-year-old child for a toy, God save you when they get to be teenagers," he says. The 65-year-old, overweight Gage also pointed out that fast-food restaurants were not responsible for his own obesity since there were none when he was growing up.

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