A class-action lawsuit has been filed in New York Cityclaiming that fast-food chains knowingly serve meals thatcause obesity and associated illnesses.
Caesar Barber, who weighs 250 pounds, says four food chains– McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s and KFC — havejeopardized his health with their greasy, salty food. As aresult of all the fast food he’s eaten, Barber has had twoheart attacks and is diabetic. He filed the lawsuit in theNew York State Supreme Court in the Bronx on behalf ofmillions of obese Americans who buy fast food.
Barber?s lawsuit is the first broad-based action takenagainst the fast food industry.?This lawsuit has the potential to put the fast foodcompanies on the run,? says John Banzhaf, of GeorgeWashington University Law School, who has worked on tobaccolitigation.
The suit claim that fast food companies “negligently,recklessly, carelessly and/or intentionally engaged in thedistribution, ownership, retail, manufacture, sale,marketing and/or production of food products that are highin fat, salt, sugar, and cholesterol content which numerousstudies have shown cause obesity, diabetes, coronary heartdisease, high blood pressure, strokes, elevated cholesterolintake, related cancers, and/or other detrimental andadverse health effects and/or diseases.”
Food industry spokesman John Doyle says, “He must be awarethat fully two-thirds of all foods consumed in America areconsumed in people’s homes. Is he proposing that we sueAmerica’s moms? To win his suit he has to convince a jury ora judge that people are too stupid to feed themselves ortheir children. If people are so stupid, should they beallowed to vote or go to work in the morning?”
There have been at least three previous lawsuits against thefood industry. McDonald’s just settled a $12 million lawsuitand apologized for wrongly describing its French fries asvegetarian. A similar lawsuit was filed against Pizza Hutfor allegedly using beef fat in its Veggie Lovers’ Pizza.Another class action law suit claims that the makers of thecorn and rice puff snack food “Pirates’ Booty”under-represented its fat content by more than 340 percent.But Barber’s lawsuit is the first to claim the fast foodindustry has contributed knowingly to the problem of obesityin America.
Banzhaf says, “We know from the tobacco litigation thatinitial suits have real difficulties because the public hasreal problems accepting new ideas and new concepts. It tookus many years to get us to the point of educating juriesabout tobacco, so now they are.?
Class action lawsuits are filed on behalf of a group ofpeople, so if you?re fat and can?t stop eating fast food,you could benefit from this lawsuit too.
How safe are the foods we eat? Find out from ?Eating in theDark? by Kathleen Hart,click here.
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