Guy sues fast food restaurants for making him fat and unhealthy

The BBQ Pit
101

This is demonstrably incorrect, spooje. Fast food restaurants do have control over whether “irresponsible” use of their product results in harm. I’ve made that point time and again, and you’ve never chose to debate it before now. But since you have, I’m interested in your opinion: What prevents fast food joints from changing their product so that it is less dangerous to those that use it often? Rex pretty much abandoned his bizarre statement that it would ruin the “low cost” benifit of fast food lunch, and didn’t really come up with another reason. I’m curious as to where you are coming from on this.

By the way, I thought your bit about an average joe being able to open a fast food restaurant that can effectively compete with the likes of McDonald’s and Burger King was pretty funny. Unless you were serious, in which case your optimism is admirable, to say the least.

102

You know, Mr. Tarkas, I give myself a moment before I hit “Submit Reply” to imagine what wild and fantastic way you plan on misinterpreting my post. To your credit, you have always managed to surprise me. To answer your questions, in order:

No. No. You shouldn’t ask a question containing a negative – it’s confusing. For example, I could answer either “No, I have no free will,” Or, “No, I do indeed have free will”; even though I answered “No” both times, the answers were opposite. No. No. Trick Question in the form of “Have you stopped beating your wife”, and again with the negative in the question. Whatever fallacy it is when one is given an either/or choice in which other options are available.

103

What prevents them? Nothing.

Do you know of something that CANNOT be abused? Any food or beverage that will not cause problems if over-indulged.

Is alcohol bad? We know there are problems when people consume too much. Should it be outlawed? Or diluted to ‘safer’ level? Or should we expect people to use responsilbly and hold them accountable when they don’t?

Those people that use it too often and whine about it ARE THE PROBLEM. They chose to use it. And they probably chose to live sedentary lifestyles also. If they wanna eat junk and be couch potatoes, I got no problem with that. It’s a free country. But just don’t blame anyone for the results.

I like McDonalds food. It tastes good to me, just like it is. And it’s convenient. And they seem to be making money. An all around good situation. I don’t eat it that often. That seems to be the key. Moderation

Answer me this. Why make them change because of the actions of morons? And that’s what these particular indivuals are. Morons. They make fast food the cornerstone of their diet and they think they are victims??? NO. They’re *morons!!!*We shouldn’t be making changes to save these people from themselves. We should be expecting them to take responsibilty for their own lives. If we do that, America will be a better place.

104

OK, the 3rd paragraph was added in after the 4th.

I meant to be referring to the people who eat the fast food and whine about it.

My bad.

105

Gee, the manufacturers want us to use their product all the time. Let’s see - the hamburgers at Mickey Ds are ground beef. The people who sell it probably want us to eat it six times a day. Protect the people! Ban it! Prohibition on beef! Make vegetarianism a legal requirement!

Potatoes are fine for you if they are baked - ban deep fryers! Sell cooking oil only in very small quantities, enough for a stir-fry, but not deep fat frying! No more than 2 oz. a bottle, and restrict people to 3 bottles a week for a family of 5!

Big Brother is watching OUT for you.

106

I’m going out to eat tonight. I’m going to order onion soup with provolone cheese broiled on top and dinner rolls with real butter. I might even get an order of fried mushrooms if they have them. Then, I’m going to come back home and call my lawyer and sue the hell out of the restaurant for daring to serve me food like that. I mean, how could they? Don’t they know that real butter has cholesterol? Aren’t they aware of the number of calories in fried mushrooms? What right do they have to profit off of my arteries?

107

If you’re going to improve the health profile of a big mac, it’s not just the beef. Out go the cheese and special sauce (no, I don’t want to know what’s special about it, thank you). Then you’ll have to do away with fries, as they’re worse than the burgers nutritionally.

What next? Sugary drinks? 7-11 better downsize their Big Gulps. Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s, Friendly’s and Mr. Softee better start rationing. Do we mail people a weekly coupon for their ice cream allotment?

I’m sorry grim, you’re suggestion doesn’t even begin to solve the problem. The problem is over-consumption. IMNSHO, if Mr. Barber were addicted to pizza, which are not dominated by the big chains, there wouldn’t be a lawsuit because there wouldn’t be a payout. Unless, of course, he only ate Pizza Hut.

Convenient or not, no one forced him to eat fast food. When the weight started packing on and he had his first heart attack, perhaps he should have let the clue stick smack him rather than avoiding it for two more. His fault, completely. He actively avoided good nutritional information and remedying solutions to his condition.

If anyone is going to try fast food joints and drink manufacturers, I would suggest parents of children with type 2 diabetes. Targeting advertising to a more susceptible population and working to provide the product at every turn, while legal, is altogether evil in my book.

108

I think the thing that kills me are the people arguing that some people just don’t have TIME to eat healthily!

Uh? Do you go to the store to buy soap? Toilet paper? Toothpaste? Then you can pick up food there, get up 15 minutes earlier and make your damned lunch.

It’s not the responsibility of fast food places to serve healthy food. It’s the responsibility of individuals to eat healthy food. “I just don’t have TIII-YIIIIME!” is both untrue AND lazy.

I am eating greasy microwave popcorn. I could be eating raw spinach. I even LIKE raw spinach. But I’m not going to sue the goddamned grocery store for selling me the popcorn.

Christ, people. I can’t believe there are folks in here arguing for the right to LAY GODDAMNED BLAME. What happened to personal accountability?

109

It’s politically incorrect. Next buildings will have court-mandated wider doors, so fatasses like this guy can get in without greasing their hips.

110

Ah, the mandatory potshot at political correctness. That’s the real problem – PC nazis who won’t let us mock the fatties. They want everyone to be fat, because they think being fat and lazy is better.

Don’t worry – at the same time we widen the doors, we’ll also put the doorknobs lower, so shitheads like you don’t have to pull their heads out of their asses to enter the building.

111

spooje, this statement by you:

is in direct contradiction to this one, also by you:

Perhaps I’m misinterpreting you. Which statement is the one you believe?

Also, alcohol is a bad example for you to bring up, being as how it’s heavily regulated in distribution, advertising, taxation, etc. If you are saying that alcohol is anagolous to fast food, I assume you support the same heavy regulations for fast food.

lurkernomore, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but someone already did the “Take Fred’s comments to an absurd extreme – with exclamation points!!!” bit. Tar Tarkas did it way back on page two.

D_Odds, you seem to be confusing “All” with “Part”. These statements in particular

Actually, if you’re going to improve the health profile of a hamburger, the beef is as good a place to start as any. The fact that there are other components to a burger is irrelevent to the fact that changing to a healthier patty makes the entire burger healthier. My suggestion does even begin to solve the problem – does it solve the problem completely? No. But it begins too. Your statements are completely incorrect.

Hamadryad:

I never said it was. My position is that it should be the responsibility of fast food places to serve food that doesn’t cause millions of deaths. Do you disagree with this point?

On a sidenote, I find it interesting that in all the talk of “responsibility” and “accountability,” while I have no problem laying blame on Mr. Barbar for his condition, I have yet to see a single other person discuss the “responsibility” or “accountability” that the fast food industry has for their own product, except to claim that the industry isn’t responsible at all for the product it sells. Responsibility isn’t an all or nothing game, especially when it comes to torts. The courts regularly rule that the defendant was not wholly responsible, but rather a certain percent. The question here is, what percent, if any, is the fast food industry responsible for Mr. Barbar, and those like him. I’m willing to concede that it isn’t 100%. Are you guys willing to think about the fact that it might not be 0%?

112

I’ll concede an inch (and no more). It begins to solve the problem, but only in the same way that banning .22 calibre bullets would begin to solve the problem of gun violence. [It’s a start, no one is being shot with .22s anymore]

Whole-heartedly. You take this to the ridiculous extreme (which is what will happen if such a statement is proven true and there are contingency fees to be made) and then there will be no cars on the road. After all, despite all the safety advances that are made, they are still responsible for millions of deaths. Yes, hold the car makers liable if they sell an intentionally defective product (Firestone’s tires on Ford Explorers). Hold McDonalds liable if it sells contaminated food due to sloppy handling procedures. But we don’t hold car makers because an idiot slams it into a wall or another car at 100mph, even though they could conceivably cap maximum speed. It’s an abuse of a product. Just as is basing your nutritional requirements on a diet of Big Macs and french fries. IMO, a person would have to actively avoid information about nutrition not to know that a fast food diet is bad for oneself.

See above. By your reasoning, then cheap ground beef and french fries and Twinkies and any other nutritionally void food should be removed from supermarket shelves also.

At least one point we can agree upon. Just not to it’s application in this proposed litigation.

113

Grim, you seem to be operating under a fundamental misconception - that there is such a thing as “healthy” food. There isn’t. “Healthy” food does not exist! ** Any** food eaten in excess can cause serious problems. A McDonald’s hamburger, eaten occasionally, provides valuable protein, carbohydrates, fats, and other nutrients. Eaten in excess, it may result in health problems - but so will any other food you can name, even celery. Should we require grocery stores to put warning labels on celery - “WARNING! Overconsumption of this food product will lead to serious disease, at it is practically devoid of nutrients! Consume at your own risk!”?

And as for your argument that fast food causes health problems if used the way the fast food companies would like consumers to do - so what? The casino down the road from my house would absolutely LOVE it if I were to spend 8 hours a day, every day, playing their slot machines - but if I do so, and subsequently have too little money left to pay my rent and get evicted as a consequence, it’s MY fault, not theirs. The local shopping mall would also be delighted if I spent this month’s rent on clothes, DVDs, ect., instead of sticking to my budget. Responsible adults control their own behavior, rather than allowing others to regulate it. The man bring this lawsuit is an adult, not a child - and is therefore it is his responsiblity to choose a healthy diet to follow, the same way he must be responsible for making other choices with serious repercussions (such as wearing condoms when having sex, fastening his seatbelt when driving his car, following the prescription directions when taking medications, etc.) That’s what it means to be an adult.

114

All right, I’ll address it. The fast food industry DOES have a responsibility to inform consumers of the contents and nutritional value of their products - a responsibility which they’ve **already met **by providing nutritional information (including total calories in each item, the percentage of calories one serving of said item occupies in a 2000 calorie/day diet, and the percentages and amounts of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and sodium in each item). They’ve ALREADY provided consumers with the information needed to make sensible choices with regards to consuming their products - and that’s where their responsibility ends. If the consumer chooses not to use that information, that’s the consumer’s choice - and the results of that choice are the consumer’s responsibility, not the fast food restauraunt’s.

115

<wholly inflammatory remark>
I should sue the grim spectre of red death for the death of my brain cells…</WIR>…the idea that every place everywhere that sells anything remotely harmful should be liable for the stupid misuse of their products makes me feel stupider. The mere idea that McDonald’s could be held remotely responsible for a supposed adult’s weight gain (and subsequent health problems) is so far-fetched as to be almost incomprehensible.

We can sue ANYONE. You didn’t lock up the Clorox and Baby Junior dies from drinking it? It’s not YOUR fault for not locking it up…sue the hardware store that sold it to you. Your best friend skidded on a sharp turn in the rain and died? Sue the DOT - Division of Highways for not researching more wet-slip-resistant paving materials. It’s THEIR fault. Baby Junior survived the Clorox incident, but he’s flunking Algebra? Sue the school system for not requiring peer-group promotion. Baby Junior miraculously graduates from high school, joins the Army, and gets killed in a knife fight in an off-base bar? Sue the Army for not keeping track of him.

Taking a logical idea to an illogical extreme? Yeah. So’s suing a greasy fast-food joint for making you fat and unhealthy.

Someone should sue this guy’s lawyer for criminal negligence. Through his inability to say “no” to a possible fat paycheck, he’s encouraging this guy’s mental instability.

116

I’ve always felt that the car industry was a better analogy to the current situation, and I’m glad you brought it up. I’m glad because it suits my position better than it does yours.

Car makers are required by governmental regulations to make their products as safe as possible. Car manufacturers can not, for example, save costs by not installing seatbelts in their car. Even better for me, the automotive industry takes into account the irresponsible use of their product, and makes changes to minimize the dangers thereof. Considering your belief that the two industries are analogous, why shouldn’t the fast food industry do the same?

117

No, the PC “everyone is a victim” credo. People have to take responsibility for their actions. If you eat a lot of fried foods, you are probably going to be fat. That was the choice you made when you went there for lunch every day. It’s a result of your own actions. No one forced you to go there. I have several fat friends, who admit honestly they are fat because THEY EAT TOO MUCH!! I didn’t say anything against fat people, just the it’s-your-fault-I’m-fat people.

Oh, who mentioned “lazy”? Are you stereotyping fat people as lazy?

118

Who said people don’t have to take responsibility for their actions? Have you heard some massive outcry that we’ve all missed? How does this lawsuit in any way relate to political correctness?

Whining about political correctness as a debate position is the pathetic strawman copout of mentally incompetent assholes.

119

artemis, now you’re just being silly. There’s no such thing as “health food”? That statement is so demonstrably false I’m not even going to try to discredit it. IN addition, There’s an obvious difference between eating fast food to excess and eating, say, celery to excess: One “excess” is eating twice a week. The other “excess” is eating a pound a meal. You’re not honestly trying to tell me you can’t see the difference there.

Oh by the way,

(bolding my own), did you really mean to include this as an example? Because it’s pretty foolish of you to do so.

Hamadryad, you realize that if you throw one more false analogy at me, you get a free gift? Your analogies are false because in every case the product you mention is used in the way opposite to the manufacturers/person you plan on suing’s intent, whereas eating fast food “in excess” is the obvious intent of the fast food industry. I’ve said this over and over and over again. Do you need me to say it one more time? I guess I will have to:

You will not make any valid points by non sequiter analogies that, other than the fact that they involve harm to a person, have nothing to do with the situation at hand. This will never, ever, ever, work. Stop it.

120

“You will not make any valid points by non sequiter analogies that, other than the fact that they involve harm to a person, have nothing to do with the situation at hand. This will never, ever, ever, work. Stop it.”

The higher up you get on that horse, the more adorable you become. Maybe it’s the view up the nostrils that I find so maddeningly appealing.

Okay. You go to a store. You buy a cubic zirconium. When you get it home, have it appraised, and it’s a cubic zirconium, do you sue the store from which you bought it for selling you a cubic zirconium when you would have preferred a diamond? No. Because you did not BUY a diamond. You bought a cubic zirconium.

McDonald’s (or Taco Bell or Long John Silver’s or Wendy’s or…) has never claimed to be a purveyor of healthy foodstuffs. They do offer salads, should you require a lower-fat alternative to their usual fare. It’s not as tasty as a 20-piece McNuggets with extra hot mustard sauce and a Gawddamn Big Fries, but it is food and it is fast and McDonald’s has it.

I don’t recall any point in time at which McDonald’s has tried to pretend that they do NOT deep-fry their fried foods, or that their sauces are in the same GALAXY as low-fat…except on specific foods (a couple of which have been mentioned in this thread).

There are places where lower-fat alternatives to fast food can be had, should fast food be necessary…one of which is the grocery store.

It’s pretty much a given that deep fried foods are very fattening, and has been for many years. I have no cite, but I can’t imagine anyone leaping to the conclusion that “fried in fat = less fat.”

Therefore, if one eats a deep-fried food at a place which is known to serve food that is high in fat, one cannot claim that one unknowingly partook in foods that were high in fat.

As the Franchise Wars have yet to take place, and McDonald’s does not have control over the nation’s take-out food supply, I think it can be assumed with some measure of assurance that this man knowingly and deliberately ate excessively of foods which were bad for him, even though an alternative was available to him.

I don’t think there’s any way a reasonable person could expect that the store in question be held responsible for his subsequent debilitation.