Should people be allowed to sue fast food restaurants for causing obesity?

Question

I'm in a debate class and this is the next topic!
So I'm wondering what people might come up with. Please feel free and help!
In my opinion it isn't the restaurant's fault at all.
People make choices. It's sort of the same with tobaccos.

I'm in a debate class and this is the next topic!
So I'm wondering what people might come up with. Please feel free and help!
In my opinion it isn't the restaurant's fault at all.
People make choices. It's sort of the same with tobaccos.
A woman filed a lawsuit to McDonalds because she spilled coffee onto her lap and she said it was "too hot." McDonalds had to pay about 23 m.

Answer 1

While reading through all the responses here I saw a number of great comments. What was especially nice is the almost entirely unanimous agreement of how ridiculous it is that people can sue for just about anything. Before I go on I want to commend DeeJay for her comments on unity. United We Stand or Succeed, Divided We Fall...or Fail.

If on a jury in such a case, or as an attorney debating this case in a courtroom I would have to say "if the belly doesn't fit you must acquit!"

A good book to read on the topic is Confessions of a Kamikazee Cowboy by Dirk Benedict. Must read for every American concerned! Buy yourself a copy. It's the best money you could possibly spend on your heath.

It's absolutely ridiculous to argue that people should be allowed to sue FAT foods businesses because they chose to go there and not only go there but eat that junk. Using advertising or marketing gimmicks (like playgrounds or toys) makes about as much sense as believing Bill Clinton when he said "I did not have sexual relations with that woman."

The fact is - you are what you eat. I think I should be able to sue the people that eat that garbage because they're driving up the cost of healthcare which is a financial burden on other people. Fat food addicts are bankrupting hospitals, driving up medical and pharmaceutical costs and causing health insurance premiums to soar through the roof. See Vanguard's Health Care Sector Fund lately?

These fat food frenzied folks will surely be the death of first medicare and then social security because their on "the TV Guide diet." Whatever they see on TV they use as their menu guide to eat. First they'll cause Medicare premiums to soar and then, on disability and in retirement they'll bankrupt America.

You're absolutely correct. People make choices. They must live, and die, with the consequences of the choices they make. It's exactly the same as it is with tobacco.

Except if I were in charge and I saw a smoker throw a cigarette butt out their vehicle window I'd pull them over and make them pick up and eat 100 cigarette butts even if it killed them. If they disregard my life by passing off second hand smoke then their life is worth less than 1/4 cup of brown rice to me.

Best of wishes with your debate. See you in the future.

Answer 2

If you are going to debate this topic, it seems that the status quo argument is easy. But the other side I would base on "what did they know and when did they know it".
As time has gone by we have learned that fast food places are poisoning us, and they are doing it so smoothly that we can't take all those health clams seriously that tell us that they are not serving us food but obesity, cancer, heart disease etc. The restaurants are clean and the food is served up so pretty and tasty how can we believe that it is bad? They claim as long as it is done in moderation it is not that bad, but it is. Just like smoking, is it okay to smoke in moderation, no it is not human nature to do some things in moderation, you either smoke or don't, your body will get addicted and you will smoke as much as your addicted body desires. It is the same for food. This fast crap has got to go.

This is the tact I would take if you are going to argue the contrarian side.

Answer 3

All around us, people are presenting us with choices. We have to make the choices we feel are best for us. No one is forcing us to do anything. If we choose to eat the food that is offered in the fast food restaurant, then we have chosen to be obese. It's not like it's a big mystery. You can turn over the tray liner in most stores and look at the calorie information. Furthermore, I doubt that most people who are obese only eat at fast food restaurants and never eat anything else that is high in calories and causes them to gain weight. In addition, restaurants, even fast food restaurants have healthy option available. If you want to eat fast food, you can choose to eat healthier things that are available there.

Answer 4

I have a thought..... maybe more people should sue! Eat up America. Get soooo fat, that your relatives would have to remove a fringin' wall off your house to get you out and take you to the courthouse..... sue, sue, sue. eat, eat, eat, make it an extra, extra large but don't forget the diet coke!

Only in my demented vast omnithought mind, does this movement cause a reaction two-fold;
First, due to the over demand in litigation costs, settlements and additional insurance coverage - the fast food companies would either file bankruptcy and close their operations or raise their prices so high that it could no longer be considered a "value meal".
"Junkfood America" would no longer be able to afford it and have to settle for an actual home cooked meal. Not to mention a depletion of venues for such gluttony.
Second, and this is my Darwin theory, natural selection, baby! Survival of the intelligent. Those who sued might have an positve cash balance but eventually will deplete their cash gains due to medical bills that would consist of but not limited to diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, etc. These litigants would have to be so fat, so obese and so sick that they would have a true limited life expectancy. Only the people who can read "FAT 500 grams" would survive and take over the world!

That's my tangent, 2 cents worth. Good luck on your debate!

Answer 5

No one is forcing anyone to buy fast food or cigarettes. As long as people demand it, they will supply it.

[edit]
I studied the latter case in my law class. That woman deserved the money because the hot coffee burned and severely damaged her genital area. She suffered 3rd degree burns, that coffee was WAY too hot, it was over the boiling temperature. By the way, she got the contingency fee deal with her lawyers and McDonald's appealed. So, the 23 million was greatly reduced and with the contingency fee, the lawyers' paid for their research with the money and on top of that got 1/3 of what was left, so she barely got any of that money.

Answer 6

In a free economy where the Law of Supply and Demand works fairly well there ARE speed bumps (lard bumps?). As long as people can buy what they want, and as long as companies can advertise almost anything, this is what we seem to be stuck with.
Do companies have any responsibility for selling crap foods that kill our children? I say yes. But people also have the responsibility to educate themselves.

An argument can be made for the conspiracy theory about kids being brainwashed by advertising from the day they were born, getting them hooked by processed sugary foods in a country has rampant juvenile diabetes, eh?

Good luck!

.

Answer 7

I agree. It is the person's own choice about what they choose to eat. The fast food restaturant should not be able to be sued because of a few bad choices that a person makes.

Answer 8

Slowly our freedom to choose for our self is being chipped away and we seem to allow it to happen.

Food doesn't make us fat if we use self control and limit our intake.

What makes us fat is lack of exercise. Playing games for hours on end.

Next they will find a way to take the games or police how many hours we play games.

They are pushing us to the limit.

They will soon be fining us if we have an open container of food in our cars and they will fine us for listening to radio or playing music while driving because it is a distraction.

We have to stop them some way. We need to unite.

Answer 9

No one makes you eat the food, you even go there and pay them to eat the food. No, it's not the fast food restaurant problem. If people didn't go there they would go out of business.

Answer 10

No, I worked in a fast food restaurant and lost 50lbs. It's about
choices the individual makes. Right now I am working in fast food and have gained a little weight from eating it every day, but I don't
eat what is good for me. I eat hamburgers and fries instead of
grilled chicken and salad. Most fast food restaurants have healthy choices on their menus.