Are we protected from Junk Food Corporations?

From: DonQuijote1954 (nolionnoproblem_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 08/29/04 

Date: 29 Aug 2004 14:58:34 -0700

The legislation is moving to protect, of course, the rights of the
food corporations not to be sued. How can they ever be on the side of
the public? Even the new sugar intake guidelines is watered down to
say nothing that offends big food corporations. They argue that
whoever eats junk food is responsible for it...

It happens though that you can argue the same thing for cigarettes,
whose manufacturers are very much liable for it. And then there's the
other issue of smoking being a decision that you take when you are an
adult, not a helpless child in front of the television screen who's
bombarded with "Happy Meal" propaganda.

Sure enough, there's legislation banning advertising on children
television in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. Should others
be protected as well?

Eateries Push for Obesity Suit Protection

Sat Aug 28, 4:33 PM ET

By IRA DREYFUSS, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Bills to protect restaurants and food companies against
lawsuits by people who claim the meals or snacks made them fat are
moving ahead in the states like hamburgers passed out a drive-thru
window.

Measures known as "cheeseburger bills" bar people from seeking damages
in court from food companies for weight gain and associated medical
conditions, including heart disease and diabetes.

Supporters say the proposals shield businesses from having to pay to
defend themselves against frivolous suits. Opponents contend the
claims often are valid and ought to be heard in court.

Two cases against McDonald's accused the company of causing obesity in
thousands of children. In dismissing the cases last year, U.S.
District Judge Robert Sweet in New York said consumers ought to know
that eating lots of fast food can make them fat and that they cannot
ask courts to "protect them from their own excesses."

That ruling has not stopped lawyers from holding conferences on how to
win such claims. Also, the possibility of a legal defeat haunts the
food industry, whose leaders say they should not be held responsible
for people's eating decisions.

Many lawmakers agree.

So far this year, a dozen states have enacted laws against such suits,
according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

A Washington state law prohibits people from suing food manufacturers,
sellers and advertisers based on claims arising from people's weight
gain, obesity, or related health conditions.

The law, backed by the state restaurant association, keeps the
responsibility for eating where it belongs, said Democratic state Rep.
Patricia Lantz.

"It was so common sense," said Lantz, a trial lawyer who heads the
House Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) in her state. "Most
people don't see any reason to impose liability for an individual's
inability to push himself away from the dinner table."

Similar bills have won approval in other states. But efforts at
passing a national shield have faltered in Congress.

One bill, sponsored by Rep. Ric Keller (news, bio, voting record),
R-Fla., was passed by the House. A second, sponsored by Sen. Mitch
McConnell (news, bio, voting record), R-Ky., is before a Senate
Judiciary Committee subcommittee.

The prospects that a ban will pass are not good because time is
running out on the congressional calendar and lawmakers are facing
re-election in November.

The issue is politically charged. Republicans say companies need
protection from greedy lawyers. Democrats say that the courts should
decide whether the cases are worth hearing.

Some consumer advocates also oppose the laws. "These cheeseburger
bills are shameful efforts to deprive the public of the right to have
a day in court if they feel they have been aggrieved," said Michael
Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public
Interest.

Class-action lawyers will find ways around the state laws, and big
fast-food companies could be their targets, predicts John Banzhaf,
professor of public interest law at George Washington University.

Banzhaf, who favors the suits, said companies could be vulnerable for
failing to tell customers how much fat is in their food.

"Is it a shoo-in? No," said Banzhaf, who helped mastermind suits
against the tobacco industry. "But if we pick our plaintiffs
carefully, the guy who eats there every day, we can make our cases
stick."

http://committed.to/justiceforpeace

more...

http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php3?threadid=94094

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