# Fast Food Lawsuit **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 25, 2002, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741 "2002-07-25T12:16:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/1 "2002-07-25T12:16:29Z")
First the tobacco companies, now the fast food companies: > [@](#): > > July 25, 2002 – A group of overweight and infirm New Yorkers is suing four giant American fast-food chains, accusing them of knowingly serving meals that cause obesity and disease. > The potential class-action suit, filed in Bronx Supreme Court yesterday, claims McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken mislead the public by enticing them with greasy, salty and sugary meals. > > Lead plaintiff Caesar Barbar said he was a fast-food junkie up until 1996, when a doctor told him his diet could kill him. > > “The fast-food industry has wrecked my life,” said Barbar, a maintenance supervisor from The Bronx. “I was conned, I was fooled, I was tricked.” > > The 5-foot-10 Barbar weighs 275 pounds, has had two heart attacks and suffers from diabetes. He blames his ills on the four fast-food franchises, which he has frequented for years. > > “I always thought it was good for you,” he said. “I never thought there was anything wrong with it.” So far, seven plaintiffs have joined the suit, and lead lawyer Samuel Hirsch said he believes millions of junk-food junkies are eligible. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/2 "2002-07-25T12:21:37Z")
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] ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/3 "2002-07-25T12:28:57Z")
I wonder if liquor companies have ever had a class-action lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/4 "2002-07-25T12:31:00Z")
PS: It’s not a parody ~ it was in today’s paper. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/5 "2002-07-25T12:35:34Z")
Well, in that case… > [@](#): > > “I always thought it was good for you,” he said. “I never thought there was anything wrong with it.” So far, seven plaintiffs have joined the suit, and lead lawyer Samuel Hirsch said he believes millions of junk-food junkies are eligible. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/6 "2002-07-25T12:52:09Z")
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? > [@](#): > > “I always thought it was good for you,” he said. “I never thought there was anything wrong with it.” 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_!!! ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/7 "2002-07-25T12:53:54Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/8 "2002-07-25T12:57:01Z")
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.)? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/9 "2002-07-25T13:25:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*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 ---
**Author:** ![simonlb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@simonlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simonlb)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/10 "2002-07-25T13:33:39Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/11 "2002-07-25T13:35:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MGibson \* > \*\* > > Tobacco products have had warning labels for years and various state governments have sued them successfully. > > \*\* 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. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/12 "2002-07-25T13:53:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by simonlb \* > \*\*This cannot possibly win can it? > > \*\* In front of the right jury, anything is possible. I am hopeful that a smart judge thows it out. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/13 "2002-07-25T15:17:03Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/14 "2002-07-25T16:00:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LolaCocaCola \* > \*\*PS: It’s not a parody ~ it was in today’s paper. 😛 \*\* What paper? ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/15 "2002-07-25T16:27:41Z")
Its also on [Foxnews](http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,58652,00.html). 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” ---
**Author:** ![xyzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e36b37/32.png) [@xyzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xyzzy)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/16 "2002-07-25T16:50:47Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/17 "2002-07-25T17:42:04Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/18 "2002-07-25T17:56:13Z")
Then they would have sued the restaurant (boy am I using _that_ term lightly) for discrimination. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/19 "2002-07-25T17:58:41Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741/20 "2002-07-25T18:13:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > **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?** 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! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fast-food-lawsuit/120741.md?page=2)