First the tobacco companies, now the fast food companies:
I don’t get it. How is “enticing them with greasy, salty and sugary meals” misleading? It’s not as if those fast-food companies are telling us all of their food is nutritious.
And they probably wouldn’t have much of a case, since eating at fast-food restaurants is a choice, not an addiction (like nicotine).
[sub]Of course, if this is another one of those “parody” threads, never mind. :)[/sub]
I wonder if liquor companies have ever had a class-action lawsuit.
PS: It’s not a parody ~ it was in today’s paper. 
Well, in that case…
Although judges and juries have been known to reward ignorance in the past (such as the “I’m too dumb to understand these directions and so I blew my hand off” ploy), I don’t know if the plaintiff here could find someone to sympathize with his plight to the extent of awarding damages.
Good Lord.
Can NO ONE take responsibilty for their own actions??? This is what’s wrong with our society. (well, plus some other stuff)
This man said he was fooled? Tricked?
Did they TELL you it was healthy stuff to eat? Good for your cardiovascular system? No, they said it was quick and tasty. They told the truth.
Did you ever think to investigate it on your own? Did you ever, say when you reached 240 LBs, think you had better cut back?
I, personally, am offended that they using the term ‘junk-food junkie’ literally. As if they had no control over their own eating habits. Nay, that the fast-food companies had control over their eating habits.
Now I have been to Overeaters Anonymous, and I do believe that people can have food addictions. But those addictions have nothing to do with what food they ate. Rather, it had to do with why they ate it and how it made them feel, emotionally. The food itself has no addictive property.
And the food doesn’t cause obesity. Eating a bunch of it, and not exercising, does. Maybe genetics are involved. You should sue your parents…
This just makes me wanna spit!!!
I agree with you.
I don’t know where in its advertising campaigns do fast food companies actually tell you their food is good FOR you!
Some food, but not their ‘meat and potatoes,’ if you will. They do have salads, and don’t some of them (maybe all) have a nutrition fact sheet for each of their foods (i.e., ingredients, RDA, etc.)?
Tobacco products have had warning labels for years and various state governments have sued them successfully.
Is anyone really surprised that someone is going after the fast food industry in light of the tobacco and firearm manufacturers lawsuits? Soon we’ll start hearing testimony about how Ronald McDonald is a malevolent corporate mascot designed to get children addicted to fast food. We’ll have congressional hearings where the CEOs of fast food corporations stand up and say “I do not believe fast food products are addictive or promote obesity.”
Obesity is a big problem in our nation and I strongly dislike how McDonalds and Burger King targets children for advertising. However I think it is silly to blame fast food for the health of our nation. You can always choose a better diet and lead a healthier lifestyle.
I think I’ll sue FORD, General Motors, and Chrysler. Look how easy they make it for drunk drivers to kill or injur other motorist!!
Marc
This cannot possibly win can it?
These people have only themselves and their gluttony to blame! Just because the adverts try to portray the food as a satisfying, healthy meal, doesn’t mean you have to stuff a load of it down your gullet every time you go past one of their restraunts!
Nobody forced them to eat all that crap, so they just have to accept the fact that it is all their own fault!
Lardy bastards!
Sure, but there have been numerous studies that have proven or attempted to prove that nicotine is highly addictive. How many studies have proven that food is highly addictive?
Understandably, warning labels don’t do a lot for the truly ignorant, but given the product, I think it’s less likely that a successful lawsuit would come about.
In front of the right jury, anything is possible.
I am hopeful that a smart judge thows it out.
This frosts my cookies.
I am big into healthy eating and healthy lifestyle and what not. I have lost and maintained the loss of 28 pounds. I accomplished that in part by not eating so much fast food. I am sick to death that places like McDonald’s market such a huge quantity of unhealthy food as “value”.
But to sue them for “knowingly serving meals that cause obesity and disease” and claiming that they have “wrecked my life” is just absurd. If you are a smart consumer [of anything, not just food], you do your research. And I don’t think I ever have heard anyone who works for fast food establishments claim that an Extra Value Meal was GOOD for you.
Puh-leeze.
This sickens me that we as a society have completely ceased to take any responsibility for our own actions.
For one who’s normally on the side of dieters and healthy habits, I am completely aghast. But I guess I really can’t say I didn’t see it coming.
What paper?
Its also on Foxnews. Can we sue those fat guys for wasting our time and ruining the price of McDonalds fries? Lardy Bastards indeed! I say we beat them for six weeks with bats labeled “Personal Responsibility”
I really really really hope that “the paper” in this case is The Onion.
If the “plaintiffs” win this one, there is no justice.
If I had it my way, anyone who files a lawsuit like that would immediately be thrown in a mental home. If they complain, shrug and tell them, “You obviously cannot control yourself or take responsibility for your actions. Therefore, we will make all the decisions for you. Just sit back and let us do all the work”.
We wouldn’t even have to change too many laws, as there are already laws on the books saying that if you’re a danger to yourself or others, you can be commited against your will…and these people obviously fit that bill.
Bartenders are allowed to stop serving a customer who’s had too much too drink- can McDonald’s (or other fast food businesses) cut off service for an overweight individual? Is that what these plaintiffs wanted the fast food companies to do?
In the immortal words of Bloom County- “Baliff, kick these two nuts in the butt.”
Then they would have sued the restaurant (boy am I using that term lightly) for discrimination.
These foods are good for you.
Sugars, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, these are the things that fuel the engine of your body.
Similarly oil is good for your car’s engine. However if you fill the whole damn thing up, you will blow your seals and your engine will run poorly and then break.
Of course food is addictive! Why, the physical addiction rate for food is close to 100%! And the withdrawal symptoms for food-users who quit using food are extremely severe. Food-users have been known to die from quitting cold turkey!