There is a lot of chatter going on about fast food today. It's mainly negative, such as saying places like McDonald's are the reason for childhood and adult obesity rates. It is true, that America is by far, the most obese nation in the world, but blaming establishments instead of people's behavior is ludicrous.
This seems to be a common theme for people. Don't blame yourself; blame the "big bad corporation." You didn't choose to consume, it was the company's fault. It seems in human nature to make excuses for our own mistakes and shortcomings, but it borders on insane to start taking legal action against companies for lack of personal responsibility.
I am not saying that we should all be going to eat fast food all of the time. I am not saying we should never eat fast food. There is nothing wrong with eating at a fast food place and getting a burger every now and then, but if you are doing it constantly, you really have nobody to blame, but yourself.
This is no more apparent than a lawsuit brought against McDonald's in 2003. It claimed that McDonald's was responsible for making people obese, the main focus was children. McDonald's own lawyers stated the following, "Every responsible person understands what is in products such as hamburgers and fries, as well as the consequence to one's waistline, and potentially to one's health, of excessively eating those foods over a prolonged period of time."
One of the plaintiffs in this case was actually bold enough to state, "I always believed McDonald's was healthy for my children."
It's understandable, that back in 2003 we weren't overly knowledgeable about food, but it's obvious that a fresh apple will be much better for you than a greasy McDonald's burger. It's almost unthinkable that people who put themselves in these positions would actually blame the product, rather than themselves.
Some may argue about addictive qualities of substances, but there is a major difference between a cocaine addict and someone who is obese and won't stop eating fast food. There are no studies that show fast food has an addictive quality to it and there is also no withdraw, or anything similar to it. Withdraw is a serious problem with other drugs and alcohol withdraw can actually be fatal.
People are only grasping for air when they blame something like fast food for their obesity and medical problems. The problem of obesity doesn't just happen overnight. It takes time to build up, literally. There are contributing factors such as a slow metabolism, but one fast food burger will not make you gain 50 pounds and cause instant diabetes. Regardless, it’s not unreasonable to blame fast food if a case of food poisoning or tainted meat occurs. This is completely out of our own personal control. So, if legal action is taken against a company because a person had severe food poisoning and suffered through that, then there's nothing wrong with it. If a person has been throwing back burgers and fries for extended periods of time, then it becomes a personal problem.
It's obvious, McDonald's is not good for you, yet people want to blame the fast food giants for their problems. It was proven in court and it was insane that it even made it to a federal judge. Once you lay out the facts, there is nobody to blame except one's self.
This seems to be a common theme for people. Don't blame yourself; blame the "big bad corporation." You didn't choose to consume, it was the company's fault. It seems in human nature to make excuses for our own mistakes and shortcomings, but it borders on insane to start taking legal action against companies for lack of personal responsibility.
I am not saying that we should all be going to eat fast food all of the time. I am not saying we should never eat fast food. There is nothing wrong with eating at a fast food place and getting a burger every now and then, but if you are doing it constantly, you really have nobody to blame, but yourself.
This is no more apparent than a lawsuit brought against McDonald's in 2003. It claimed that McDonald's was responsible for making people obese, the main focus was children. McDonald's own lawyers stated the following, "Every responsible person understands what is in products such as hamburgers and fries, as well as the consequence to one's waistline, and potentially to one's health, of excessively eating those foods over a prolonged period of time."
One of the plaintiffs in this case was actually bold enough to state, "I always believed McDonald's was healthy for my children."
It's understandable, that back in 2003 we weren't overly knowledgeable about food, but it's obvious that a fresh apple will be much better for you than a greasy McDonald's burger. It's almost unthinkable that people who put themselves in these positions would actually blame the product, rather than themselves.
Some may argue about addictive qualities of substances, but there is a major difference between a cocaine addict and someone who is obese and won't stop eating fast food. There are no studies that show fast food has an addictive quality to it and there is also no withdraw, or anything similar to it. Withdraw is a serious problem with other drugs and alcohol withdraw can actually be fatal.
People are only grasping for air when they blame something like fast food for their obesity and medical problems. The problem of obesity doesn't just happen overnight. It takes time to build up, literally. There are contributing factors such as a slow metabolism, but one fast food burger will not make you gain 50 pounds and cause instant diabetes. Regardless, it’s not unreasonable to blame fast food if a case of food poisoning or tainted meat occurs. This is completely out of our own personal control. So, if legal action is taken against a company because a person had severe food poisoning and suffered through that, then there's nothing wrong with it. If a person has been throwing back burgers and fries for extended periods of time, then it becomes a personal problem.
It's obvious, McDonald's is not good for you, yet people want to blame the fast food giants for their problems. It was proven in court and it was insane that it even made it to a federal judge. Once you lay out the facts, there is nobody to blame except one's self.