Bill would bar suits blaming restaurants for obesity

[Kadie]

Posted on Sun, May. 01, 2005

Bill would bar suits blaming restaurants for obesity

STEVE LAWRENCE



Associated Press


SACRAMENTO - Californians couldn't blame restaurants hawking triple-decker cheese burgers, super-sized fries and giant shakes for their weight problems - at least not in court - under a bill awaiting a vote this week in an Assembly committee.

The legislation by Assemblyman Guy Houston, R-San Ramone, would give food and beverage manufacturers, distributors, advertisers and sellers immunity from lawsuits blaming them for weight gain or health problems caused by long-term consumption.

Houston calls the bill the "Common Sense Consumption Act" and says restaurants and food manufacturers shouldn't be the culprit if people overeat. Instead, the state should be educating people about how to eat healthy diets.

"I think people should take responsibility for their own actions and own decisions," he said. "If you're that naive that you do whatever the TV commercial says, that's not right. You've got nobody to blame but yourself."

more...
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/11539145.htm


here is a link that you don't need to register at...
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/11539145.htm


:crazy:

[tritsofme]

1. If you eat that crap every day

and get fat or sick its your own fault.

You have no right to sue fast food companies.

[SmokingJacket]

4. But why should restaurants get special protection from lawsuits?

Does anyone else have it? It seems like a bad precedent to set.

Maybe we should let the judges decide which lawsuits are valid, and which aren't.

(I'm not in favor of suing them, btw: I just hate giving big disgusting companies legal protections that other business don't have.)

[Hello_Kitty]

8. I don't like it either

Today it's the Common Sense Consumption Act. Tomorrow it's the Common Sense "Hey If You Buy A Vehicle And Drive It You're Taking Your Chances On It Rolling Over Or Catching Fire" Act. Bad precedent.

[Joebert]

19. Furthermore, if you are a cynic...

You could see this work out.

2005: You can't sue the restaurant because you overeat there.

2007: Restaurant releases food enhanced with something to make you overeat (therefore buying more, at whatever the cost)

It should be left open. If you sue the restaurant because you had no self-control, it will be tossed out. If you sue the restaurant because your self-control has been chemically blocked, you would be able to do so.

[dudoll]

30. Anyone can sue anybody...

But if a judge actually rules in favor of the plantiff in these cases, it is ridiculous... IMO

[blogbear]

9. That's right! Afterall, they call themselves fast food and not fat food..

[Owl]

10. Absolutely agree with you.

If you want to eat 10,000 calories a day, it's your own business. Just don't blame someone else when your heath goes to hell. It's your own responsibility and your own mouth the calories go into.

I can't believe the courts even could entertain such stuff.

[Kadie]

12. according to the article

snip...
They also suggest that Houston's bill is a solution in search of a problem because there haven't been any lawsuits filed in California that would be covered by the bill. Most of the suits filed in other states have been dismissed, they say.

[candy]

14. I agree,both fast food with restaurants and cigarette companies----

If you eat too much and get fat and sick. Tough!

If you smoke and get cancer,COPD,or heart disease. Tough!

Caffeine stimulates the heart and acts as a diuretic. Is Starbucks next?

I believe in personal responsibility for adults and that adults should give their own children a good example.

[KittyWampus]

29. Does Starbucks Even Advertise On TV? Are They Giving Free Gifts To Kids?

with every Happy Meal?

Does Starbucks make deals with the Movie Industry?

Personal responsibility is great, but please consider this:

Americans are on the recieving end of what is very close to being a forced mindfuck.

Corporations like McDonalds are polluting our Collective Psyches with nonstop advertising.

And it's not fair to lay the responsibility solely on individual people who are being bombarded with propaganda.

[Iowa]

13. Bull!

The Republicans will exempt everyone from lawsuits except the average Joe. When they're done, corporations and physicians will be able to gravely injure us without any consequences whatsoever. But the RIAA will be free to sue grandmothers for a small fortune because a grandkid downloaded a few songs on her computer. That's bullshit! Let juries decide on the merits. No special protections for corporations!!

[KittyWampus]

27. McDonalds Spends MILLIONS Annually To Brainwash People

and they wouldn't do it if it didn't work.

Blame the victim?

[tritsofme]

34. To brainwash people into thinking what?

That a double quarter pounder with extra cheese and lard on the side is healthy for you when eaten with a Diet Coke?

If you eat yourself into a heart attack, how is it someone else's fault?

[KittyWampus]

40. No, They Spend Millions To Make People Think Their Garbage Is Food

[bemildred]

2. You can't make this stuff up. nt

[applegrove]

3. Doesn't bother me. Americans sue too much. If you smoked after

it was common knowledge that it was bad.. your fault too. Now if they market to kids and put funny addictive chemicals.. then I don't know.

But you have to walk in every day to a McDonalds to get fat.

[tom_paine]

5. I have no problem with that. I agree with it wholly

The Cigareete manufacturers are one thing. They lied like Bushes for DECADES in order to conceal the truth.

THAT is why lawsuits against them are meritorious, the LYING, the purpsoeful suppression ofthe data.

But this bill heads the "Oh poor me, I stuffed my face at Mickey Ds every day for years and I had no idea!" bullshit off at the pass.

And I wholeheartedly agree.

[dudoll]

31. And to expand on that point...

Fast food restaurants even go out of their way to post the calorie intake of each of the items on their menu... and people STILL sue these restaurants because they "didn't know"... the ignorance and stupidity of some people...

[DulceDecorum]

6. Forget McDonalds, I wanna sue my grocer.

[pnutchuck]

7. I lived in Paris for 2 yrs

I just recently returned to the US. One of the most obvious absences in their advertisements (other than clothing) is the fact that there are no fast food, or restaurant advertisements. They have advertisements for grocery products like cheese and dried sausages, but no happy, fantastical lands promising adventures and toys to unsuspecting children.

You just don't have this epidemic of obesity in EU (sans UK, where they have restaurant and fast food ads) as you do in the US. Perhaps legislation should be passed regarding advertisements like they did with tobacco restricting them to print ads only.

[Cha]

11. Reminds me of this book we're selling at the

co-op because someone recommended it..




<snippet>

"Variety: Eating the greatest possible variety of good foods is the KEY to losing weight. She writes that "such variety will go a long way toward compensating you for those things you miss -- you will actually find yourself not missing them so much." She compares eating the same old thing to a bad romantic rut. "Losing that spark -- and just as likely to get you in trouble," she writes. This is a good opportunity to try your hand at cooking, trying new flavors, foods, herbs, etc. And again, CHOOSE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY. PICK THINGS IN SEASON. "A final trick of variety: Since the pleasure of most foods is in the first few bites, eat one thing on your plate at a time, at least at the start of the meal when you can concentrate and enjoy the full flavors. The mouthful of melange (blend of foods) defeats the purpose of variety."



More at..
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/12/earlyshow/leisure/books/main666429.shtml

[pnutchuck]

15. Funny I never saw that book

but every time I go to France for any length of time, I gain weight! I guess you could call me a melange eater. I'd never thought of it before seeing this, but even my own (French) boyfriend doesn't like his food to mix. And come to think of it most of my French friends are fussy about it too.

Hmmm, thanks for that.

[Cha]

16. Lucky you..getting to go

to France with a French boyfriend yet!

[jody]

23. "If you don't watch your figure, I won't". My standard advice to

lady friends who are reluctant to exercise and watch their diet.

[NorthernSpy]

38. "Okay, but what's the catch?"...

... is what all those "lady friends" are secretly thinking, I bet.

:eyes:

It has always struck me as funny that when a man sizes up a woman on the contents of her blouse, it's okay; he's just pursuing his preference. But when a woman sizes up a man on the contents of his wallet, she's a shallow, gold-digging hussy. And it's essentially the same behavior!

[Turley]

36. Are you sure about that?

I'm fairly certain I've seen TV adverts for Mickie D's, Quick, and BK in France.

[pnutchuck]

39. Not once. They have those type of adverts posted on the street

in those revolving small billboards. You know the ones that change from a new movie, to a beer, to a fast food place.

But since I've been on DU, I've had this discussion about food several times and I made it a point to watch for any restaurant commercials. I've never seen any. If there are any at all, because obviously I can't watch TV 24 hrs a day, then they are few, very few, definitely not at the same level of saturation as in the US.

Who knows, maybe it's not a ban on them, but that publicite is just too expensive for them, or that it's just not culturally acceptable.

[entanglement]

17. Common Sense Consumption Act

How I wish they passed something like this for gas!

[tinfoilinfor2005]

18. Honest, I Swear...when I read the thread line I thought

you were talking about Bill Clinton...that Bill would bar suits blaming restaurants for obesity...because of his fondness for fast foods. Had to chuckle at my mix-up.

[Roland99]

20. Good!

[OzarkDem]

21. The other NRA

http://www.restaurant.org/

just as bad as the other, if not more so. They oppose raising the minimum wage, workplace safety, like to steal tips from employees, illegal aliens displacing American workers ...

Big donor to Repubs of course. If you ever lobby on Capitol Hill, you see them everywhere.

[truthisfreedom]

22. umm... but all of my suits blame restaurants for my obesity! i guess i'll

just have to get a new wardrobe.

[Mondon]

24. lol!!!

[YDogg]

25. Can't we just get back to the runaway bride?

;-)

[KittyWampus]

26. I Predicted Such A Lawsuit Might Be Coming After That Times Editorial

& bullshit Research story came out about how overweight people live longer.

The Editorial basically said it's fruitless to change your diet in middle age in an attempt to improve your health. The best you can do is improve the odds...

That 'research' only factored in weight and age of death and ignored any other factors.

Many ill people loss weight before death. This would effect the averages.

[dudoll]

28. People make their own decisions

If they choose to eat foods that make them fat, then that is their own decision. Are they going to start suing groceries stores next for selling fattening food? Or companies for manufacturing the food? This whole thing is ridiculous!

I think ever restaurant out there, offers salads... it's not like people HAD to eat the fattening foods...

[sakabatou]

32. I hope this passes...

I'm sick and tired of people not taking resposibility for their obesity, or at least not doing anything to try and lessen it.

[mbperrin]

33. Sure, you knew that doctor was no good when you hired him,

so no suing doctors, and mining is dangerous, so forget black lung suits, and you know that credit costs money, so no suing for usury or fraudulent contract, and eBay is full of thieves, so nothing you can do about receiving nothing when you paid already; you know that machinery is fallible, so when your diabetes test kit doesn't work, you shoulda known that; you certainly know Catholic priests are dangerous around kids, so no fair suing for child molestation; in fact, you know murderers kill people, so why should they be prosecuted when their victims knew damn well they should have stayed away from them, and you certainly should know better than to want to sue for election fraud when you knew the GOP was a bunch of cheating thugs, right?

It's called the Era-of-no-one-has-responsibility-except-for-the-schmucks!

For more details, send me $10 and I promise to get right back to you with the secrets of the universe!!

[philosophie_en_rose]

35. This is a waste of legislative time.

If Joe Schmoe sues McDonald's for making him fat, he has to prove it. He has to spend his own money hiring attorneys to face a battalion of corporate lawyers who are already on McDonald's payroll. He probably has to reimburse McDonald's for legal fees, when he loses his case.

I don't feel sorry for McDonald's at all. This is not about whether fast food or self-control affect obesity. It's about providing the opportunity for a person have his or her day in court.

If there is a situation where a fast food company does make people fat (such as mislabelling food or targetting children), then people that rely on that information deserve to petition for relief. Remember, the burden of proof is on the petitioner and McDonald's is already protected by a presumption of innocence.

Considering the social injustice in the world, focusing on protections for poor, unfortunate fast food conglomerates :sarcasm: is the silliest waste of time.

[depakid]

37. Special rights for fast food purveyors

I expect hypocrisy and foolery from Republicans, but DU'rs on these threads never cease to amaze me.

Aside from not understanding the legal theories (many of which have little to do with people voluntarily walking into McDonalds every day) or the practical reality that there have been how many? lawsuits against fast food vendors- people here still seem to want to grant abusive (and ight wing) corporations blanket immunity that other businesses don't have. Yet.

I think it must be related to sort of a learned helplessness thing, where people make excuses for and protect their abusers from the ordinary consequences of their behavior. Why or example, should McDonalds be immune from a false advertising claim or from products liability? Other businesses aren't (although they sure as hell will be clamoring for it once the sleeze food industry gets its exemption).

And I suspect that's the real motivation here- to sucker otherwise reasonable people onto a slippery slope

[Iowa]

42. Great post depakid!

Couldn't agree more. I, too, was surprised to see how many here bought into the concept of blanket immunity for a large corporation.

[Bragi]

41. I think the point is...

that this legislation attempts to remove any notion that food companies should assume any responsibility for advertising and promoting unhealthy products, and unhealthy eating habits, to consumers, especially kids. There is really no other reason I can see to give them preemptive immunity from civil litigation.

- P