Lawsuits over cereal and federal laws governing advertising...?

Question

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070614/ap_on_he_me/kids_food

The URL above goes to an article discussing Kellog's agreement to meat certain guidelines and regulations concerning nutritional content and advertising for children's cereals. The agreed to meet these items as a way to avoid a lawsuit from two children's obesity awareness groups and two sets of parents in MA.

While I fully support the need for children's foods to be healthier and the need to control advertising geared towards young children, I find myself wondering why we feel that we can sue any company that is doing something we don't agree with. Obesity...childhood and otherwise..is a major problem in the US. Childhood obesity is shoothing through the roof and, yes, part of the problem comes from what our kids have available to eat. Yes, we parents can use all the help they can get in making healthy choices, so getting foods our kids like to be healthier isn't a bad idea. But the biggest issue for obesity isn't

what we eat, but the things we don't do. Our kids don't get to spend afternoons after school running around...there is homework, security issues and daycare. Families have less time for acticities like hiking and biking...and it is proven kids are learning physical fitness from parents..because Mom and Dad must work longer hours to meet the bare minimums. And, we are a technology obsessed society...cars, DVD's, hi-def..all of it takes us further from moving and exercising.

So, why do we insist on making a legal case over an issue that, for the most part, is based not on decsisions made in a corporate boardroom, but ones made at the dinner table and influenced by things like time, money and family decisions?

Answer 1

your absolutly right,
its our job as parents to look out for our childern but we cannot just go sueing everyone who thinks differently.
We might as well sure Harveys, Mac Donalds, Wendys, Burger King, Jack in the box, Sonic and the list goes on and on.

Answer 2

I guess next the parents will be suing the companies that make televisions because their obese kids watch tv all day instead of getting any exercise. They could sue the company that makes the tv, the cable or satellite company and the companies that produce the shows. Then they can sue the computer companies and everyone who makes websites with games their kids like to play. Then there's the makers of x-box, playstation, gameboy, etc. The list could go on and on. You are right. The parents can limit what their children eat and do but for some reason parents don't want to accept responsibility for their children being overweight.

Answer 3

I was going to ask this same question when I saw that article. The reason why they are able to do this is because a few individuals get together and decide that they have to do something about the obesity problem in the US. So they think, what about raising awareness and offering information about how to eat healthier and exercise? The problem with that is that many parents won’t enforce the pitiful amount of self control it would take to actually change their kid’s habit. So they decide to attack the root of the issue. Honestly could cereal be healthier? Yes. However, they should not be made to change through lawsuits and basically scare tactics. These individuals who think they are changing society for the good are essentially teaching their kids that you don’t need self control, you can just force people to stop making your vice. I went to the Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood website and you can not comment on there. I had no way to tell them, all of them, that they are changing America into an oligarchy, and that they might think only kids eat that crap but their wrong! I want to start my own Campaign. I would call it the Campaign for a Campaign-Free Earth, we are against anything that restricts our ability to do whatever we want, as Adults. We are also for Parents Actually Taking Responsibility for their Kids. So that would be CCFE in partnership with PATRK. I like my junk food, I am 6 foot 1 inch tall and I have trouble keeping 165lbs on my frame, I eat healthy and I eat junk food. I exercise, I do this thing called “going out side” and guess who taught me about that? MY MOM AND DAD! See the parents these days don’t realize that when they don’t want to deal with their kids don’t sit them in front of the TV, kick their butts outside! But don’t give them money, tell them to be home by a certain time for dinner. I’m willing to bet that even if you feed them some deep fat fried crap they will work the fat off tomorrow when you kick them out again and don’t tell me they will just go outside and sit around, have you ever seen a kid just sit around? He might do it for like 5 minutes but when it realizes he can’t come back inside he’ll take off, trust me.

Answer 4

I agree. I ate frosted flakes growing up and even had TV dinner back when they were a cool luxury item. I have never had problems with weight bc my mom would give me a bowl of cereal and a banana and then tell me to go play. I think parents need to accept the fact that they are to blame for their children being obese, they govern what their kids eat and do, and stop blaming someone else for their insufficient parenting.

Answer 5

good point. i've wondered the same thing myself. it's as though people are holding everyone else responsible b/c they don't know how to say no to their children. i do believe companies gear their marketing towards kids partially because they know that somes parents can't say no but ,i don't feel it is lawsuit worthy.