County officials in Silicon Valley trying to curb childhood obesity are voting on a ban on restauran

(29 Apr 2010) HEADLINE: Calif. County Tries to Ban Toys in Kids Meals NB. THIS IS A VOICEOVER TRANSCRIPT, NOT A FULL SHOTLIST CAPTION: County officials in Silicon Valley trying to curb childhood obesity are voting on a ban on restaurants giving away toys and other freebies that often come with high-calorie meals aimed at kids. AP's Haven Daley reports. (April 29) (locator - San Jose, CA) FOR MANY CHILDREN, THEY'RE THE BEST PART OF FAST FOOD...TOYS LIKE IRON MAN...FREE WITH EVERY KIDS MEAL. BUT NOW A COUNTY IN CALIFORNIA'S SILICON VALLEY IS VOTING TO BAN RESTAURANTS FROM GIVING AWAY TOYS THAT OFTEN COME WITH HIGH-CALORIE MEALS AIMED AT KIDS. Ken Yeager, Santa Clara County Supervisor, says: "The fast food restaurants spend hundreds of millions of dollars marketing towards children. and all you see is the kids and toys. you don't see the burger the fries and the shake as part of the advertising gimmick. so they know exactly what they're doing by advertising these toys directly at kids. that makes these kids then pester their parents to get to a particular fast food restaurant where they can get the toy and not even really have any awareness of how many calories are in the meals that they'll be eating." Haven Daley, Associated Press, says: "Some people are calling it the Happy Meal Ban. But actually McDonald's is not involved because this ban only affects unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County which don't have any McDonald's." THE CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION SAYS THE BAN IS UNFAIR. FAST FOOD CHAINS ALREADY OFFER HEALTHY OPTIONS FOR KIDS, LIKE FRUIT AND MILK. SOME FAST FOOD CUSTOMERS WE SPOKE TO SAID THE BAN IS JUST AN ATTENTION-GRABBING MOVE AND NOT A REAL EFFORT TO CURB CHILDHOOD OBESITY. Jeff Goodman, Customer, says: "It's really crazy. Actually I think it's kind of embarrassing for the County and it's only in the unincorporated areas so it's kind of an empty statement." John Maclellan, Customer, says: "I think it's ridiculous. I don't agree with it. I think it's up to the parents to control what their kids eat." Ken Yeager, Santa Clara County Supervisor, says: "Certainly we've heard a lot of criticism about the nanny state and this should be a parental choice. and i wish that would be the case, but if you're going to take childhood obesity seriously, then you realize that we need to do everything that we can. the health problems that these kids are going to face are enormous." IF THE BAN PASSES NEXT MONTH, IT'LL GO INTO EFFECT THIS SUMMER. A RESTAURANT COULD FACE FINES UP TO ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR REPEAT VIOLATIONS. HAVEN DALEY, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...