NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Ronald McDonald, the orange and white face of the popular fast-food chain that bears his name, is under attack by nutrition advocates who want him to be retired.

Their beef, so to speak, is that McDonald’s uses clowns and toys to sell unhealthy food to impressionable children. The company argues that its marketing practices are responsible, and that its food is “high quality.”

The push to retire Ronald is being led by a group called Corporate Accountability International, which plans to introduce a resolution calling for the clown’s ouster at the company’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday.

“Through this initiative, the public health community is rallying behind a simple message to McDonald’s: stop making the next generation sick — retire Ronald and the rest of your junk food marketing to kids,” said Steven Rothschild, a professor at Rush Medical College and a backer of the resolution.

McDonald’s is already being sued by a group of consumers and health care professionals over the toys that come in the Happy Meals marketed to kids. The group filed a class action suit late last year in California that claims the company’s marketing practices violate state’s consumer protection laws.

In addition, a group of Philadelphia nuns filed a proxy resolution in March asking McDonald’s to investigate its “policy response” to concerns about the link between fast food and childhood obesity.

See more on CNN.

Interesting how they claim their food is ‘high quality’…..remember Snack Girl’s experiment on McDonald’s burgers?!?  Gross. 

What are your thoughts?? Does Ronald contribute to obesity in children?

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Matt

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Matt has been involved in the fitness industry for over 10 years and has worked with, and helped countless individuals improve their lives. After college, Matt started his fitness career working in the trenches as a personal trainer for a big corporate gym. It was here he saw how impersonal Big Fitness really was. Clients weren't people, they were just sales waiting to be made. After branching out and starting his own personal training business in San Diego, Matt soon developed the idea of Share It Fitness and started our (now highly successful) blog. A fitness junkie himself, Matt knows the importance of incorporating exercise into your life. When he isn't working at Share It Fitness, you can find Matt running, biking, taking yoga, or pumping iron around San Diego.

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