The move comes in partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a nonprofit whose stated goal in the matter is "to increase customers' access to fruit and vegetables and help families and children to make informed choices in keeping with balanced lifestyles."
The commitment applies to the chain's 20 largest markets (including the US), which represents about 85% of their sales worldwide.
The plan is to have the plain implemented in 30 to 50 percent of the affected markets within three years scaling to 100 percent by 2020.
The promise of a vegetable option is a bit interesting because McDonald's doesn't currently offer a vegetable side in the US. They do however offer carrot sticks in the UK and several European countries (along with cherry tomatoes in Spain) and cups of corn in several Asian countries.
Furthermore, as part of the commitment, they've also agreed to curb Happy Meal advertising and promotion. Specifically, McDonald's will:
- Promote and market only water, milk, and juice as the beverage in Happy Meals on menu boards and in-store and external advertising
- Utilize Happy Meal and other packaging innovations and designs to generate excitement for fruit, vegetable, low/reduced-fat dairy, or water options for kids
- Dedicate Happy Meal box or bag panels to communicate a fun nutrition or children's well-being message
- Ensure 100 percent of all advertising directed to children to include a fun nutrition or children's well-being message
In case you're curious, the 20 largest McDonald's market are, in alphabetical order: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong), France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.
Image by: Alliance for a Healthier Generation
