Marketplace did a piece on the conference in Boston called "Legal Approaches to the Obesity Epidemic"[warning: pdf]. Silliness abounded.
John Banzhaf III, a lawyer who was at least partially responsible for the giant tobacco lawsuit settled in 1998, has his eyes set on this new big fish. He estimates that the public health costs of the obese amount to $115 billion per year and that "most of it is payed by people who are not obese."
I find that statement particularly interesting because we are told over and over that at least 60% of Americans are overweight. I don't know if you've looked at a BMI chart lately, but the line between overweight and obese looks very thin indeed. (no pun intended. OK, it's intended.)
The good news is that the government is here to help! Federal legislation has been introduced in the House called the "Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act". The gist of this bill is:
PREVENTION OF FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS- The manufacturer, distributor, or seller of a food or non-alcoholic beverage product intended for human consumption shall not be subject to civil liability, in Federal or State court, whether stated in terms of negligence, strict liability, absolute liability, breach of warranty, or State statutory cause of action, relating to consumption of food or non-alcoholic beverage products unless the plaintiff proves that, at the time of sale, the product was not in compliance with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
I would like to point out that food sold for instant consumption does not require a nutrition label. McDonald's posts "nutrition card" type information on the wall in the restaurant, but this is entirely voluntary. If you're old enough to pay for your super size fry, you're old enough to know it's providing an awful lot of calories. Most people simply don't care. Food is used for comfort in many situations, and most people convince themselves that they "deserve" that supersize Big Mac meal, for whatever reason.
Marion Nestle's (chair of the Food Studies Dept. at NYU) claim that "kids can't tell whether food is healthy or not" just doesn't hold water. Kids don't do the grocery shopping. What kind of parent buys their kids the Chocolate Chip Eggos thinking they are nutritious? Of course they don't think crap like that is healthy; they are "treating" their kids. Perhaps this is parental guilt showing. I know I often think this when I see kids out too late at night allowed to make asses out of themselves in public places like grocery stores and restaurants. Can't spend time with your kid? Show them you love them by making them fat and raising them to be rude and annoying!
Mr. Banzhaf has already figured out that the House bill will keep him from getting anything from McDonald's, Burger King and Yum Brands. He's already decided to go after Pepsi and Coke instead.
Posted by nicole at June 24, 2003 06:04 PM