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2003/05/08, 02:48 PM
Lawyers are beginning to target the restaurant industry to attempt to hold it accountable for the nation's drastic obesity epidemic, legal representatives said Thursday at a food policy meeting.
'We have a new movement,' said John Banzhaf, a professor of law at The George Washington University Law School in Washington who helped lead litigation against the tobacco industry. The fight against restaurants, he told the audience at the National Food Policy Conference, has just begun.
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Free Branded Business
http://www.Maliburep.com
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2003/05/08, 03:58 PM
Ditto, wolf.
Some people compare this to tobacco industries - but big tobacco always implied that their products wouldn't harm you and denied their addcitiveness. They outright lied - and they've still never really owned up to any of it. The fast food companies, however, have presented no delusions of the quality of their food. Everyone knows it's bad for you. Everyone knows that it makes you fat. And everyone's known that for a long time. The restaurants don't falsely represent their food as tobacco companies did with cigarettes and they sure don't force it down anyone's gullet.
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"Don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters!"
-- Bob Dylan
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2003/05/08, 04:03 PM
Ravenwolf and Mackfactor I could not have said it better, Dotto, Ditto
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I will lift my own weight someday!!!!!
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2003/05/08, 04:47 PM
Whatever happened to taking responsibility for your actions? Are people really going to say they were that stupid and didn't know that fast food would make them fat over time? Things have gotten completely out of hand with lawsuits. And, they do nothing but drive the prices of everything up to the consumers.
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As far as genetics go, the skies the limit. You are limited only by your mental perception of it.
Ron
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2003/05/08, 04:49 PM
Go go Ron, That is just one more area where we are compatable, I feel the same way.
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I will lift my own weight someday!!!!!
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2003/05/08, 04:51 PM
That lawsuit against McDonald's already happened actually...and the obese person won, millions. Just doesn't seem right
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2003/05/08, 06:23 PM
Why work? lets see who we can sue! LOL!
Maybe we can sue Molson or Smirnoff, and collect for all the burnt out livers! NOT!
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We must become the change we want to see.
Ivan Montreal Canada (aka SpongeBob Square Pants to some!)
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2003/05/08, 06:43 PM
Each individual is responsible for their own actions, period. That's all I better say about this, else I may say things I would later regret. :) These things make me angry.
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~Jennifer
http://www.gwindalyn.com
If you dont stand for something, you will fall for anything.
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2003/05/08, 06:51 PM
I agree, everyone has the right to their own misery
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2003/05/08, 07:17 PM
Can I sue the sun for making me tan?
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--There are no versions of the truth.--
Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic Park II
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2003/05/08, 07:18 PM
Can I be your lawyer Ogun?
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We must become the change we want to see.
Ivan Montreal Canada (aka SpongeBob Square Pants to some!)
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2003/05/08, 08:14 PM
Well let's go class action, there are several billion tan people that will want a chunk :D
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2003/05/09, 10:31 AM
I think I'll sue the guy who made this comfortable chair I'm sitting in. That's probably contributing to my laziness, making me fat. You guys are all right on target!
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. . . to crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women . . .
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2003/05/09, 10:56 AM
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Quoting from tarab21:
That lawsuit against McDonald's already happened actually...and the obese person won, millions.
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Actually, the lawsuit against McDonalds was thrown out by the judge in February. The interesting thing is that the judge said they might have a viable argument that McDonald's processing makes the food more dangerous than an average person would expect. Regardless, that was the only suit of its kind to actually make it to court, and if any more do, they'll probably be thrown out also.
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OSU Law Rugby....specializing in personal injury and pain & suffering.
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2003/05/11, 11:52 AM
actually, although I think the lawsuit is stupid, I also think that companies serving food should be more responsible. Coming from another culture, I was shocked to see there are very very very few places you can get healthy lunch in the US. You also have to read all the labels at the grocery store. So many chemicals, additives etc are in our food. For example in Turkey you can easily find a place where they serve home made mediterrenean dishes everywhere. also most companies serve their employees food. I gained 14 lbs after I moved to US. and I didn't eat McDonalds or BurgerKing one single day. but all you can get for a healthy dinner is a sandwich. (if you can find one without mayo). I live in the South, so even places who serve homemade dinner serve fried chicken, gravy etc.
anyway, my point being, I think people who serve food also have the responsibility to process and pay more attention to the peoples needs. I am especially upset about McDonald's advertising and promotions towards kids. I worked in advertising for 5 years and I know they specifically target kids and most kids don't know that it is not healty for them. I will be happier to see them serve peanut butter sandwiches at least for the health concerned parents.
sorry this is too long
gokce
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2003/05/11, 12:27 PM
Part of the problem with these lawsuits is that these juries are awarding HUGE awards...in effect rewarding people for their own stupidity!! Remember the woman who sued McDonalds because she put her coffee between her legs while driving, it spilled, and burned her? She won a huge amount because she was stupid! Why do you think that there are such assinine "instructions" on appliances? IE: "Don't iron clothes while wearing them." Because if there weren't, somebody would do it and sue someone because it hurt! It's also a matter of greed. As long as their are people who refuse to take responsibility for their own actions, there will always be a lawyer around to take the case or solicit it, and a jury that will actually award for it. (Not to mention companies who settle to avoid going to court.) If you want to be obese, eat too much fatty food, but don't blame anyone for it but yourself. If you want your kids to be healthy, feed them foods you fix yourself and don't take them for Happy Meals! My daughter gets one happy meal type outing once a week and that is all. It's a treat for her and one she looks forward to. But once a week is it! Okay. I've blown off enough steam! I'm leaving the computer to go work out!!
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2003/05/11, 08:52 PM
i agree with you kkor on the lawsuit part. however, McDonalds and Burger King etc can make the meals healthier with using better quality ingredients. I don't agree with people who sue them, but there again the foods that you find at those places are not healthy for anyone. not the thin, not the kids, not the grown ups. So if serving food that is not clean is not allowed, I think also food that is prepared with low quality, bad ingredients should be regulated more. to be honest with you, I wouldn't even let my kids have it once a week. One time one of our friends left her kids happy meal drink on our marble table (we sell marbles) and it etched it in 10 hours. I don't think it is healthy to serve that kind of food to our kids.
Health department monitors regular resturants very strictly, but I don't think they are paying the same attention to fast food places. If you are eating a hamburger for 99 cents I cannot imagine what they are putting in it. people on this list, very well knows how much quality protein costs.
of course, I agree with the fact that lawsuits go to an extreme side of things, but again it is not only the consumers responsibility what to consume, the companies also should share the same responsibility...
think of yourself as a restaurant owner, would you be willing to serve people good food, or crap? and then pay millions of dollars in advertising to make that crap look like something good.
I hope I am not offending anyone. I am just horrified with the low quality of food eaten by people.
gokce
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2003/05/13, 11:23 AM
You're not offending at all gbaser. I also wish that there were convenient alternatives to greasy fast food. Unfortunately, in this country, there is a lack of demand. There's far too many folks that just don't know better and far more that just don't care. I think that the government should require fast food companies to pay to educate people on the dangers of trans fats, in particular (much like tobacco and alchohol companies are required to educate folks on the dangers of their products). It would benefit the folks who don't know any better and give the folks that claim not to know nothing to shrug their shoulders about.
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"Don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters!"
-- Bob Dylan
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2003/05/13, 11:44 AM
just heard on the news this morning that nabisco is getting sued to bann oreo cookies in california cause they are bad for your health. i agree with all of you this is just another prime example of how truly pathetic some humans can be!!! it is such a shame! like the reporters said, if they don't want to eat that food, then don't BUY IT!!! Jesus, we are all going to turn out like those people on Sly Stallone's movie "Demolition Man" where you will only take pills at mealtime for the right supplements....
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Bettia.... The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
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