Burger King Pulls Soda From Its Kids' Menu
:upscale()/2015/03/11/759/n/1922398/046fe7dc_Screen_Shot_2015-03-11_at_10.13.29_AM.png)
Fast-food giant Burger King just announced it has removed all soda products from its kids' menu, leaving tots with beverage choices of fat-free milk, low-fat chocolate milk, or Capri Sun Apple Juice.
The decision, effective immediately, comes after longtime requests from MomsRising and the Center for Science in the Public Interest — and many other parents across the country, no doubt — to have healthier options than sugary drinks for children at fast-food restaurants.
With Burger King agreeing to remove soda products from its children's menu, three of the biggest fast-food burger chains — Wendy's, McDonald's, and Burger King — now join Subway, Chipotle, Arby's, and Panera in providing healthier options as the default beverage in their children's meals.
Monifa Bandele, senior campaign director of MomsRising's Food Power project, issued the following statement on Burger King's decision:
"Parents and families across the country are applauding as one by one, restaurants are listening to parents and public health experts and starting to do their part to help keep America's kids healthy.
"Ensuring that our children can make healthy choices is an important part of raising them. When restaurants offer up sugary drinks as a default choice, it undermines those efforts. While Burger King is now offering better default beverages, we need more restaurants to do the same because sugar-sweetened beverages uniquely promote heart disease and type 2 diabetes. MomsRising and its members aren't done yet!"
Of course, there are healthier choices for your child's lunch or dinner than fast food, but removing sugar-loaded soda — which can contribute to obesity, kidney damage, and elevated blood pressure — is a step in the right direction to providing better options. What do you think of Burger King's decision?