Lawyers pushing Attorneys General to sue"Big Food"

ndj1979

I saw this on the news this morning and my head almost exploded. Apparently, lawyers are pressing Attorney's Generals, in several states, to plan a class action law suit against "big food" along the lines of the tobacco class action law suits of the early 90's.

So a bunch of people over eat and become obese, and now a bunch of lawyers want to jump in and enrich themselves and sue "big food" for making people fat. News flash, they just put a product out there if people eat consume it to the point of obesity how is that the companies fault? People did not think that if they sat around and ate 5000 calories a day of ding dongs that they might get fat, really?

here is the premise of their argument:
"The central argument is that food and beverage companies have, to some extent, contributed to the nation’s obesity crisis, and they should pay for the costs of that portion."

I will tell you what contributed to the obesity epidemic….drum roll please….people overeating food.

What ever happened to the notion of personal responsibility in this country? We have become such a litigious society it is freaking disgusting. burn yourself on some hot coffee, sue; want to have transgender restrooms, sue; and on, and on and on …

I used to be fat and out of shape, I recognized it, changed my life, and transformed myself into a person that is healthy and athletic. Never once, did I think that "big food" was to blame for me being fat and out of shape. The reason that I was fate and out of shape is because I liked to consume a whole package of pasta + a whole loaf of bread + meatballs + sauce and then sometimes for lunch order two Philly cheesesteaks and fried mozzarella when I could of done with just a cheese state and no fired mozzarella…I never once thought that I should go over to the guy that owns the sub shop and sue him….I just made horrible decisions and paid for them with being fat and out of shape...

here is the full article:

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/02/food-industry-obesity-health-care-costs-103390.html

neanderthin

It lays groundwork and of course Americans love to sue people and companies........l.....I suspected this was going to happen and it's going to continue to happen over and over again.

lucasmoten

I can't wait for this to happen. Because I can't wait for the cost of food and my taxes to go up as a result.

ndj1979

It lays groundwork and of course Americans love to sue people and companies........l.....I suspected this was going to happen and it's going to continue to happen over and over again.

the thing that is frustrating is that if they do this, the people that are going to pay is going to be the consume. They will sue, the companies will probably settle because they do not want to go to court, and then the companies will pass on the costs of the settlement in higher food prices…

so a bunch of lawyers will get paid, some obese people will get checks, and the rest of us get stuck with higher costs…legit...

hesn92

Those "Big Food" corporations wouldn't be there to put out a bunch of crap food if everyone would stop buying it....

SunofaBeach14

Please resist the temptation to generalize to all lawyers on this.

Many of us strongly support the concept of personal responsibility.

neanderthin

It lays groundwork and of course Americans love to sue people and companies........l.....I suspected this was going to happen and it's going to continue to happen over and over again.

the thing that is frustrating is that if they do this, the people that are going to pay is going to be the consume. They will sue, the companies will probably settle because they do not want to go to court, and then the companies will pass on the costs of the settlement in higher food prices…

so a bunch of lawyers will get paid, some obese people will get checks, and the rest of us get stuck with higher costs…legit...

It's not going to happen, it will have monumental shifts in agriculture and as we both know it's difficult to get 2 people to agree on the ramification and any one ingredient on health........It's mostly an ethical question, if any. Should the 4 or 5 Companies that control 95% of processed foods be allowed to misrepresent health outcomes when consumed in less than ideal ad lib scenarios....they have no control, therefore they're not responsible.

ccrdragon

Personal responsibility has left the building in this age of the 'victim' culture... I sure as h*** hope this dies before it gets life!

ndj1979

Please resist the temptation to generalize to all lawyers on this.

Many of us strongly support the concept of personal responsibility.

point taken brother! From now on when I refer to "lawyers" I am referring to the idiots in this article that are pushing for this..

I know some lawyers - some of them are my friends - so I know that you all are not a bunch of scumbags….:)

SunofaBeach14

Please resist the temptation to generalize to all lawyers on this.

Many of us strongly support the concept of personal responsibility.

point taken brother! From now on when I refer to "lawyers" I am referring to the idiots in this article that are pushing for this..

I know some lawyers - some of them are my friends - so I know that you all are not a bunch of scumbags….:)

Cheers, bro. We are like any other profession, some good, some bad, but it's our job to advocate so we often create enemies. That said, I have a problem with pure greed dressed up as advocacy.

in_the_stars

Yeah...

copied from a post I made last year -

July 22, 2013 11:04 am

NuSI, Taubes and Lustig, is supposedly nonprofit yet take a look at their contributions, and who they're coming from. Once again, no money left from the tobacco suits, there's been groups of attorneys+ chipping away at big food for 20+ years now.

" Why would a billionaire energy trader-turned-philanthropist throw his foundation's dough behind a new think tank that wants to challenge scientific assumptions about obesity?
John Arnold, 38, whose move from Enron to a spectacularly successful hedge fund got him on the list of wealthiest Americans, isn't crazy about talking to the press. But certainly his decision with his wife Laura to back a newly launched operation called the Nutrition Science Initiative, or NuSI, is an intriguing one." $5 million."

...and so on.

ndj1979

Please resist the temptation to generalize to all lawyers on this.

Many of us strongly support the concept of personal responsibility.

point taken brother! From now on when I refer to "lawyers" I am referring to the idiots in this article that are pushing for this..

I know some lawyers - some of them are my friends - so I know that you all are not a bunch of scumbags….:)

Cheers, bro. We are like any other profession, some good, some bad, but it's our job to advocate so we often create enemies. That said, I have a problem with pure greed dressed up as advocacy.

I hear ya man…there are bad apples in every industry ….

Ang108

Those "Big Food" corporations wouldn't be there to put out a bunch of crap food if everyone would stop buying it....

Yet each and every day I read threads where people advocate crap food, because it's so delicious, especially proudly bragging that they eat thousands of calories of it.

neanderthin

Yeah...

copied from a post I made last year -

July 22, 2013 11:04 am

NuSI, Taubes and Lustig, is supposedly nonprofit yet take a look at their contributions, and who they're coming from. Once again, no money left from the tobacco suits, there's been groups of attorneys+ chipping away at big food for 20+ years now.

" Why would a billionaire energy trader-turned-philanthropist throw his foundation's dough behind a new think tank that wants to challenge scientific assumptions about obesity?
John Arnold, 38, whose move from Enron to a spectacularly successful hedge fund got him on the list of wealthiest Americans, isn't crazy about talking to the press. But certainly his decision with his wife Laura to back a newly launched operation called the Nutrition Science Initiative, or NuSI, is an intriguing one." $5 million."

...and so on.

Reminds me of the panel that represents Get With The Guidelines on cholesterol and medical intervention and when it should be administered.......surprising quite a few are compensated by the same companies that provide medical intervention, aka, statins.

Anyway, both Taubes and Lustig believe sugar causes obesity.......I hope they bring something else to the table to argue.

Mr_Bad_Example

Hey, maybe they'll help keep us from getting fat by banning soda next... oh wait...

ndj1979

Those "Big Food" corporations wouldn't be there to put out a bunch of crap food if everyone would stop buying it....

Yet each and every day I read threads where people advocate crap food, because it's so delicious, especially proudly bragging that they eat thousands of calories of it.

who is advocating that someone eat 'thousands' of calories everyday of "crap" food…?

IMO there is no "crap" food, there is just food that you use for energy…and there is nothing wrong with high calorie foods in moderation ...

cmriverside

Well, last time I checked it was possible for me to gain a quick ten pounds by eating lean meat, dairy, nuts, fruit and vegetables to excess...N=1, but still. So, where do they stop when it comes to 'food'.

I seriously hope that a court would refuse this type of argument. Seems frivolous.

Soccermavrick

The sad truth is, pretty soon some idiot is going to sue over the air we breath. The legal system is broken, and part of that can be pointed back to there being too many attorneys, so you have thousands of people running around looking for their next payday. Hence you get these stupid suits, because people have nothing else better to do.

in_the_stars

Yeah...

copied from a post I made last year -

July 22, 2013 11:04 am

NuSI, Taubes and Lustig, is supposedly nonprofit yet take a look at their contributions, and who they're coming from. Once again, no money left from the tobacco suits, there's been groups of attorneys+ chipping away at big food for 20+ years now.

" Why would a billionaire energy trader-turned-philanthropist throw his foundation's dough behind a new think tank that wants to challenge scientific assumptions about obesity?
John Arnold, 38, whose move from Enron to a spectacularly successful hedge fund got him on the list of wealthiest Americans, isn't crazy about talking to the press. But certainly his decision with his wife Laura to back a newly launched operation called the Nutrition Science Initiative, or NuSI, is an intriguing one." $5 million."

...and so on.

Reminds me of the panel that represents Get With The Guidelines on cholesterol and medical intervention and when it should be administered.......surprising quite a few are compensated by the same companies that provide medical intervention, aka, statins.

Anyway, both Taubes and Lustig believe sugar causes obesity.......I hope they bring something else to the table to argue.

Ohhhh... there's groups all over working on bringing big food and fast food down.

Another post of mine copied.

July 2, 2013 2:21 pm

yes. My apology if it's already been said, but In 1996 or 97, the obesity epidemic can be accounted for by a change in the definition of "obesity." When the CDC changed the definition, 30 million Americans who had been of normal weight now found themselves to be obese, all without gaining a pound.

Tobacco fight $ had disappeared. Big food was the next target. My daddy didn't go into it, but a family friend that worked with him in law did, Richard Berman. I've learned quite a bit about food politics from him.

Yes, Dr. Evil. lol. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Berman

vanguardfitness

Surprised it hasn't happened sooner

rogerhartford

So where do you sign up to get a big FAT check?