# No Oreos For You! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992 "2003-05-13T17:21:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/1 "2003-05-13T17:21:33Z")
Relevent link: [CNN.com - Suit seeks ban on Oreo cookies](http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/05/13/oreo.suit.reut/index.html) For the love of God…now someone is essentially claiming that people didn’t know that Oreos are unhealthy. I mean, well, shit the bed, Fred, I didn’t _know_ that cookies that contained fatty frosting in the middle could be bad for you! Cookies are not supposed to be good for you. Cookies are supposed to be a treat. If the second or third ingredient on the list contains the word “oil,” it’s a pretty safe bet it’s pretty high up on the food pyramid. > [@](#): > > \*\*“That’s what’s so shocking; that it has been so well hidden,” \*\* Dude, ít’s not as though Nabisco has secretly been putting cyanide and arsenic in their products. It’s FAT! And you’re buying junk food and/or margarine. You thought this stuff was good for you? I mean, shit. I could tolerate the McDonald’s lawsuit because, while I felt that the people were full of shit, there was at least a marginal argument; in other words, there were socioeconomic issues there that I felt were worth exploring. This, however, is the pinnacle of ridiculousness. It’s as though we can’t hold people accountable for reading the nutritional labels on their food. And, also, we can’t expect them to use common sense–they shouldn’t have to know that cookies do not constitute a food group! Christ. And the kicker is, it’s not that they just want to add warnings or anything–oh, no, see, the FDA is already going to do that, and the little attention whores wouldn’t feel justified just waiting for that. They want to fucking ban Oreos. Ban them! They want to ban the favorite cookie of probably millions of Americans for the consumer’s own good. News flash, bucko: the consumer doesn’t care! The consumer knows that the cookies are unhealthy; the consumer buys them anyway. The consumer doesn’t need you to dictate what they can and cannot buy. You are _not_ the food police. (Yes, it’s my favorite store-bought cookie. I almost never get the chance to buy them. Hence, I am quite miffed that some jackass wants to ban them). ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/2 "2003-05-13T17:29:43Z")
Oh god, what a jackass. My favorite cookie of all time, (Storebought, as **Angel** said.). GRRR!!! Dare I say it? “You’ll get my Oreos when you pry them from my cold, dead hands.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bickering\_Annoys\_Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Bickering\_Annoys\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bickering_Annoys_Me)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/3 "2003-05-13T17:32:06Z")
Sad to say it doesn’t surprise me. Times like this, it is embarrassing to be an American. I hope he loses any and all court cases and has to pay Nabisco for its costs. ---
**Author:** ![Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misery_Loves_Co)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/4 "2003-05-13T17:38:03Z")
I’m inspired! I think it’s time that Coke pay, I say **PAY** for the years of suffering I’ve experienced as a result of drinking their products. I’m refering of course to that tickly bite at the back of my throat likely due to their negligent use of carbonation in their product! The trauma I’ve experienced while drinking their product can only be repaid in cold, hard, cash. . . ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/5 "2003-05-13T17:40:31Z")
This guy probably has a 12 year old, 250 lb. brat of a kid who does nothing but sit on his ass, watch TV, and chow down on cookies. He’s probably on such a sugar high that he has searing headaches in the morning, and pitches a fit if his folks ask him to eat an apple or something. It’s certainly not the kids fault. And it can’t be the parent’s fault. Hey, they asked him nicely, twice, to maybe eat a vegetable, so they TRIED. It’s got to be the fault of a multi-million dollar food conglomerate who can be sued for a gajillion dollars, and will likely settle out of court for only a couple hundred thousand dollars (still enough to get fat little Joey that bitchin’ new bike, and daddy can get a new car…).:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/6 "2003-05-13T17:47:15Z")
I used to be embarassed by the string of examples of the excuse-making culture, but then I realized my embarassment wasn’t my fault. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/7 "2003-05-13T17:47:55Z")
…er, I seriously don’t think that’s the case, **Casey** … I think that the guy is a busybody; the high-profile version of your Nosy Aunt Edna that just has to point out the nutritional information of everything you eat at Thanksgiving dinner, along with related commentary. Additionally, he is also either an attention whore or an opportunist (possibly both). He wants his five minutes of fame, and has discovered that he can do so by saving the world from the evils of fatty cookies. Because, you know, it’s important to focus on the things that really _matter_. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/8 "2003-05-13T17:48:04Z")
Oreos do nothing for me as a food. However, what stands out in the article is this following excerpt: > [@](#): > > “The ingredient is used in thousands and thousands of products. In an interview on Monday, Joseph said, “\*\*I am probably full of hydrogenated fat because until two years ago I didn’t know about it. I resent the fact that I have been eating that stuff all my life.” \*\*” [sup]BOLDING ADDED[/sup] This chap is a lawyer and therefore literate. He has spent years originating and holding people to the fine print. Yet he has NEVER BOTHERED TO EVER READ THE FINE PRINT ON HIS FOOD PACKAGES? In the insurance trade, fine print is known as “mouse print.” It is where all the nasty stuff is hidden from easy view. This jerkwad knows it full well. If he doesn’t, he’s incompetent. If he eats food without investigating the ingredients, he may as well be picking stuff up off of the sidewalk and stuffing it in his face. In fact this rather seems to be case, for he is most certainly full of shit and that is often found on sidewalks. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/9 "2003-05-13T17:55:11Z")
For what it’s worth, my understanding is that the guy is unhappy about trans fats, now believed by many to be a tool of the Antichrist. It’s not just that Oreos are fattening, it’s that they have hydrogenated oils. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/10 "2003-05-13T18:04:43Z")
I hope he gets hit by a 18 wheel Oreo truck. The time to leave this country is approaching. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/11 "2003-05-13T18:38:43Z")
Can I seek double damages for eating DoubleStuff Oreos? ---
**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:** [May 13, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/12 "2003-05-13T18:57:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ENugent \* > \*\*For what it’s worth, my understanding is that the guy is unhappy about trans fats, now believed by many to be a tool of the Antichrist. It’s not just that Oreos are fattening, it’s that they have hydrogenated oils. \*\* Yep, that’s his beef. _Trans_ fats are the pop-culture Food Enemy of the Week nowadays, surpassing the grandeur once held by sugar, salt, and even saturated fat. What’s worse, though, is that the AP article writer is **equally biased!** Look at this paragraph from the article linked to in the OP: > [@](#): > > The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine, which advises the government on health policy, said last summer that this kind of fat should not be consumed at all. It is directly associated with heart disease and with LDL cholesterol, the ‘bad’ kind that accumulates in arteries. The NAS IoM said that _trans_ fat shouldn’t be consimed **at all?** Bullpuckey. Here’s what the N.A.S. Institute of Medicine **actually** said in their [10-July-2002 report on _trans_ fat](http://www.iom.edu/iom/iomhome.nsf/WFiles/TransFattyAcids/%24file/TransFattyAcids.pdf) (p. 14): “There is a positive linear trend between _trans_ fatty acid intake and total and LDL cholesterol concentration, and therefore increased risk of CHD, thus suggesting a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of zero. Because _trans_ fatty acids are unavoidable in ordinary diets, achieving such a UL would require extraordinary changes in patterns of dietary intake. Such extraordinary adjustments may introduce other undesirable effects (e.g. elimination of foods, such as dairy products and meats, that contain [naturally-occurring] _trans_ fatty acids may result in inadequate intakes of protein and certain micronutrients) and unknown and unquantifiable health risks may be introduced by any extreme adjustments in dietary pattern. **For these reasons, no UL is proposed.** Nevertheless, it is recommended that _trans_ fatty acid consumption be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.” The correlation between _trans_ fat and serum cholesterol levels, mentioned in the first sentence, **also** exists between **saturated** fat and serum cholesterol levels. By the AP article writer’s twisted reasoning, that would mean the NAS Institute of Medicine also says that saturated fat “shouldn’t be consumed at all.” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/13 "2003-05-13T18:59:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bickering\_Annoys\_Me \* > \*\*Sad to say it doesn’t surprise me. Times like this, it is embarrassing to be an American. I hope he loses any and all court cases and has to pay Nabisco for its costs. \*\* Actually he’s British-born. [Lawsuit Seeks Ban on Beloved Oreo Cookies](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&ncid=583&e=4&u=/nm/20030513/od_nm/transfat_dc) : > [@](#): > > But if British-born attorney Stephen Joseph has his way, that culinary love affair will come to an end, Maybe he figured he couldn’t get paid the same on the other side of the pond? ---
**Author:** ![meara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@meara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meara)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/14 "2003-05-13T19:09:44Z")
It’s pretty unreasonable to hold Nabisco responsible for Oreo-induced heart attacks, but it wouldn’t be horrible to see trans-fat content added to the mandatory nutrition facts (given that it’s alleged to be at least as nasty as the saturated kind). Certainly it would be a more useful listing than Vitamin C. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/15 "2003-05-13T19:12:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dewey Cheatem Undhow \* > \*\*Can I seek double damages for eating DoubleStuff Oreos? \*\* Double damage? Only if you roll a critical hit. (Ha! I kill me!) ---
**Author:** ![Bickering\_Annoys\_Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Bickering\_Annoys\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bickering_Annoys_Me)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/16 "2003-05-13T19:20:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by D\_Odds \* > \*\*Actually he’s British-born. [Lawsuit Seeks Ban on Beloved Oreo Cookies](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&ncid=583&e=4&u=/nm/20030513/od_nm/transfat_dc) : > Maybe he figured he couldn’t get paid the same on the other side of the pond? \*\* But he lives in California and been brainwashed by Americans. But I did err in assuming he is an American citizen (which, of course, he could be - the CNN article does not state either way). ---
**Author:** ![Oreo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c57346/32.png) [@Oreo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oreo)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/17 "2003-05-13T19:23:39Z")
_sniff_ Thanks for all the support, guys. I love you, too! ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/18 "2003-05-13T19:24:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally Posted by Angel of the Lord:_ > And, also, we can’t expect them to use common sense–they shouldn’t have to know that cookies do not constitute a food group! Who says cookies do not constitute a food group? 😃 > [@](#): > > _Originally Posted by World Eater:_ > I hope he gets hit by a 18 wheel Oreo truck. This would be the ultimate in cosmic justice. Beautiful. Just beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/19 "2003-05-13T19:27:15Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally Posted by Oreo:_ > Thanks for all the support, guys. I love you, too! Aww, c’mere **Oreo**. I got some milk for ya. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992/20 "2003-05-13T19:32:41Z")
I thought it was quite a positive lawsuit. He hasn’t sued a couple of other companies because they have lowered transfats. Thousands of western children are dying or suffering ill-health related to poor diet and obesity. Even in the US and Europe, there are FAT children suffering from malnutrition. Millions more will die prematurely as adults because of diet-linked obesity. People on here may be literate and educated enough to read ingredients, or at least have some informed idea about what they are eating. Hundreds of thousands of other people don’t. Especially children. Oreos/cookies/sweet things are often targeted at children - and certainly enjoyed by them. If lawsuits like this make our food less unsafe, so much the better. Don’t you ever wonder why there is so much crap in food? Don’t you ever wonder why some brands are packed with E-numbers and shite, yet others seem to contain more natural ingredients? Cheap, chemical-soup food means higher profit margins for the companies that make them. They can use inferior raw ingredients and artificially flavour the mix to hide this. They can use more watered down ingredients, upping the colour with colourings. They can reduce wasteage with large amounts of preservative. They don’t always pass these savings on to the consumer. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-oreos-for-you/174992.md?page=2)