It's Your Fault
- Wade
I read an article yesterday detailing the current state of litigation against food companies by lawyers concerned with the obesity epidemic. This falls in the same vein as the (successful) lawsuits that found tobacco companies guilty of the harm their cigarettes did to the people who smoked them. If it was the Phillip Morris' fault that smokers got cancer, then it must be McDonald's fault that eaters got fat.
While I think that the smoking suits were frivolous, I do think that the tobacco companies were culpable in that a) nicotine is an addictive substance and b) no one said smoking was harmful to your health when most people who are dying of lung cancer now started smoking. But the fat suits don't have a leg to stand on. As much as I enjoy a quarter pounder now and then, fat isn't addictive. And I really don't believe anyone equates fast food to health food.
(In the interest of fair disclosure, I've got a bias here. I've had my own set of food issues, and if you're a gory details type of person you can indulge yourself here. But I actually think that makes me more qualified to have an opinion. So there.)
We're being led down a road where no one is responsible for anything. Depressed? Bad parents. Not like your job? Bad management. Bush elected president? Bad ballot. Chubby? Unknowingly and unwittingly consumed french fries, forced down the throat by evil food conglomerates. I think I'll sue.
These food companies aren't blameless, I suppose. They could offer more healthy alternatives, smaller portions, and actual meat in their entrees. And a valid argument comes into play when talking about lower-income groups in inner cities; I may have the option (financially and location) to choose the $6 salad for lunch instead of the $3 Happy Meal that they don't have. But that doesn't take away the fact that it's a choice. Overweight from eating double-decker supreme tacos from Taco Bell? Guess what, that's my choice. And the consequences? Mine too.
I'm not insensitive to the issue. Weight issues can both depress and destroy, and should be dealt with carefully because our culture is so body-conscious. But the answer isn't a lawsuit. It's an apple. And a walk.
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