(Stop) The Cheeseburger Bill

[Jimdavis]

Something is speeding its way through the U.S. House of Representatives at this very moment that has the potential of derailing some real damage to the fast food industry we all hate--the McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's trio and much beyond them.

This is what a group of vegans and vegetarians can do best when united, is to provide a bloc of voters that are committed enough to a particular issue to remember how a Senator or a Congressman voted on it and to tell them that it will cost them votes if they disagree.

The "cheeseburger bill," as it is nicknamed, is an attempt to free the food industry from lawsuits by fat Americans who believe that advertising and the constant message to "eat more, consume more" has done it job and worked, creating Americans who eat badly and consume too much.

This "cheeseburge bill" will block all lawsuits that blame any part of the food industry for Americans getting fat. This is on the heels of the public health officials telling us that obesity is becoming the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

If you don't want your Senator to take away this ability from you and all the omnivores you can convince to sue the industry, then you have to make this a priority and email your Senator with your position on this. I have a sample letter that I wrote to my two Michigan Senators that you can feel free to use as a template for your own letter.

We have a real chance here to throw a gigantic wrench in the cogs of a food industry which has spun out of control in its exploitation of animals, of labor, of the environment, and of us.

Go to your Senator's website... find it here, Yahoo Directory: U.S. Senators (http://dir.yahoo.com/government/u_s__government/legislative_branch/senate/senators/)
Find the way to write them an email from that website.
Write her or him a letter, like this, requesting a response:


YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS

The House of Representatives has just passed what is nicknamed the "cheeseburger bill." As a resident of the state of Michigan, I strongly object to the passage of this bill and hope that you will, after exploring the issue, feel the same and vote not to pass this bill when it comes to the Senate. This is a very important issue to me, a [friend of a] fat American , and I believe there is quite a consitituency of fat Michiganders who feel the same. I will personally consider this issue a litmus test when I next vote for a Senator in Michigan and will try to convince my friends and fellow Michiganders to do the same. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
YOUR NAME

Jim

[Jimdavis]

Here's a link to a news article about this... thanks to Tame.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=1&u=/nm/20040310/ts_nm/congress_obesity_dc_9

Jim

[kpickell]

JSYK, we don't all hate the fast food industry. (Even after reading Fast Food Nation, I still like to get fast food every once in a while.) I think it's a good bill. It's not just these American's appetite for food that's increasing exponentially, but their appetite for money as well, and as a result the number of rediculous lawsuits tying up our judicial system is just getting out of hand.

[Jimdavis]

JSYK, we don't all hate the fast food industry. (Even after reading Fast Food Nation, I still like to get fast food every once in a while.) I think it's a good bill. It's not just these American's appetite for food that's increasing exponentially, but their appetite for money as well, and as a result the number of rediculous lawsuits tying up our judicial system is just getting out of hand.

This isn't about the fast food industry. This isn't about getting fast food every once in a while. This is about the meat industry and the food industry it has spawned and their constant need to get bigger. No fast food you get as a veg*n is really going to be effected by lawsuits concerning obesity. Maybe you feel that lawsuits against the tobacco industry are ridiculous, but they're being pursued not just by individuals but by states because the states are being hit in the pocketbook by insurance and healthcare costs as a result of tobacco. The same will possibly hold true of the advertising and food industry. Why would you want something taken away from people without any real chance for public debate about it?

Jim

[Michael]

Can you explain this statement?


No fast food you get as a veg*n is really going to be effected by lawsuits concerning obesity.

[Jimdavis]

Can you explain this statement?
No fast food you get as a veg*n is really going to be effected by lawsuits concerning obesity.

Any lawsuit that occurs isn't going to be one person vs. an industry... you can't sue an industry, you can only sue a particular company or group of companies. This has class-action lawsuit or governmental lawsuit written all over it, so the lawyers are going to be looking for one thing in particular--DEEP POCKETS.

What fast food does a vegetarian really eat... From McDonald's, nothing really except a side salad. From Burger King, a BK Veggie and fries and whatever salads are available. From Wendys, a salad. From Taco Bell our selection is a little more varied, but still among the healthiest options available.

My point in listing those is that aside from side dishes that are offered with every meal, the items a vegetarian eats off of the menu of a fast food restaurant are usually among some of the healthiest offerings that the company might offer and the least caloric. It's those very options that are going to become more attractive if lawsuits loom. If anything, a vegetarian's options stand to increase with legal battles over the health of fast food.

Jim

[Michael]

What fast food does a vegetarian really eat... From McDonald's, nothing really except a side salad. From Burger King, a BK Veggie and fries and whatever salads are available. From Wendys, a salad. From Taco Bell our selection is a little more varied, but still among the healthiest options available.

Do you also believe that all vegetarians are thin?

[kpickell]

I don't know what you mean by "public debate". I don't think this bill is being handled any differently than any other bill. We don't hold public hearings about every bill and then have the general public vote on it -- We've elected people to do that for us. We can use the media as a public forum for expressing our views, and of course we can write to our representatives to have our voice be heard. I just think many of these lawsuits are getting out of control and the government needs to step in and offer some protection before things start falling apart. Maybe we should put warning labels on the side of Fries similar to those on cigarettes: "Excessive consumption of french fries could result in unexpected weight gain or loss of hearing." ?Ok. // :)

[Jimdavis]

Do you also believe that all vegetarians are thin?

No, of course not. I'm a vegan and I'm fat. Fat, fat, fat! I'm not fat because of fast food, though... I'm fat because I eat a lot of non-fast food. Fast food establishments don't have enough good fatty food for me as a vegetarian to eat to get fat.

What do you think vegetarians flock to McDonald's and eat?
Two orders of fries barely come close to the same sized value meal in calories.

This has the potential to hit McDonald's with a much larger blow than the McLibel trial did.

Did you object to the McLibel result because it might damage a fast food chain?

Jim

[Jimdavis]

I don't know what you mean by "public debate". I don't think this bill is being handled any differently than any other bill. We don't hold public hearings about every bill and then have the general public vote on it -- We've elected people to do that for us. We can use the media as a public forum for expressing our views, and of course we can write to our representatives to have our voice be heard. I just think many of these lawsuits are getting out of control and the government needs to step in and offer some protection before things start falling apart. Maybe we should put warning labels on the side of Fries similar to those on cigarettes: "Excessive consumption of french fries could result in unexpected weight gain or loss of hearing." ?Ok. // :)

I respect that you don't feel the way I feel over this. You too, Michael. But I'm not trying to debate this, which is why I didn't put it in the compost heap. This information is being offered to those people who feel similar and would like to respond to their Senator. If none do, c'est la vie. If some do because they hadn't heard of this and didn't realize what they could do, then I'll be happy.

Jim

[Michael]

Ok, I just wanted to make sure you didn't think that vegetarians were unable to get fat by eating out. :)

I'm not at all opposed to this. To a certain extent I think eating can be an addiction but I think it's more mental than physical. Yes, these companies profit from it and exploit it but I think it can be broken if one has the will power or control.

[dvmarie]

I don't know enough about it, but I'm kind of with Kpickell in that people are are too free to sue for just about anything. Then again, it would hit the industry in the pocketbook if they could - which would force them to make some adjustments in their menu offerings and marketing.

I may write my congressman, but he's from Texas...... so I doubt he wants to hear anything I might have to say ont he matter :sick:

[kpickell]

Okay, I can respect that. =)

[Jimdavis]

I don't know enough about it, but I'm kind of with Kpickell in that people are are too free to sue for just about anything. Then again, it would hit the industry in the pocketbook if they could - which would force them to make some adjustments in their menu offerings and marketing.

I may write my congressman, but he's from Texas...... so I doubt he wants to hear anything I might have to say ont he matter :sick:

I don't always believe that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," and I'm not a fan of frivolous lawsuits, but I do feel the court can decide on what is and is not frivolous and penalize accordingly most of the time without the legislative branch getting involved.... Especially when the mutual enemy of all defendants in a lawsuit would be McDonald's.

Jim

[Jimdavis]

From the sound of it in The Detroit Free Press, which I read because of my location, the lawsuit that happened in 2002 against McDonald's would have been barred by this new bill. The lawsuit was the one which McDonald's settled that revolved around vegetarians and Hindus suing because of beef flavoring in the french fries.

http://www.freep.com/features/food/burger11_20040311.htm

Jim

PS - after further reading of other news articles, it's unclear to me whether that lawsuit would have been affected or not by this bill.

[clairebear]

Just as an aside. I think that a bigger problem here is that the "healthy" options t fast food chains can actually be more fattening than the cheeseburger.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=573&u=/nm/20040309/od_nm/health_mcdonalds_salad_dc&printer=1

[Michael]

Document not found.

[automaton]

because the states are being hit in the pocketbook by insurance and healthcare costs as a result of tobacco.
Jim

I've been wondering about this one. I'd like to see total income the state gets on tax on tobacco vs. extra money spent on more health care due to tobacco use. Which would be more?

[Michael]

My guess is it's closer than it used to be. That's probably the only reason why they're just now cracking down on it. Same with the junk food.

[Tame]

This has the potential to hit McDonald's with a much larger blow than the McLibel trial did.

Did you object to the McLibel result because it might damage a fast food chain?


Uh, you are aware that McD's was the plaintiff in the McClibel trial, right?

[froggythefrog]

If somebody sues a fastfood place for serving "unhealthy, fattening food" and wins, what does that imply for our freedom of choice?

I don't think the cheeseburger bill is such a bad thing.

[Jimdavis]

Uh, you are aware that McD's was the plaintiff in the McClibel trial, right?

Yes, but when a major corporation is either the plaintiff or the defendant in a major trial and suffers a loss, they are damaged. Are you claiming that McDonald's wasn't damaged from the McLibel opinion of Judge Bell even though they weren't the defendant?

Jim

[epski]

I encourage everyone debating this topic to actually read the bill. Make sure you're comfortable with the vagueness of the language, and whether or not it's another new law you'd like to see put on the books of our nation.

Meantime, I'm going to move this thread to a more appropriate forum, Activism and Action Alerts. Anyone wanting to debate the merits of the bill ought to start a new thread in the CH.

[Thalia]

I don't necessarily think any of these fat lawsuits have merit, but I say necessarily, because I think that should be and is judged by the legal system. I think the idea of "frivolous lawsuits" overrunning the legal system is something that is popularly accepted in the media and public without true examination of all the facts.

Here is anothe side of the issue for those who are interested.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/4286
http://www.centerjd.org/
http://www.centerjd.org/issues/factsheets.htm

[Jeffer]

"Yes, I choose to eat the food and become fat so it must be someone elses fault." :rolleyes:

So much for people being responsible over their own actions I guess. :rolleyes:
That's probably why I'm conservative in nature. I don't think the world owes me anything.

Jeffer