Double D

I'd like to see better labeling on food in restaurants.
Anyone remember when there was no nutritional info on food bought at the grocery store?
I'd also like to see the pushing for people to *super size it,* go away.
It's simply done in the name of profit.
Most people don't realize that having a burger is an entire meal. Having the fries (of any size) too, is over-eating.
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By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Whose fault is it if you are fat? Yours, or the food industry's?

A U.S. House of Representatives panel heard emotional testimony on Thursday about a proposed law aimed at protecting restaurants against lawsuits from
people who blame fast-food marketing for their obesity.

Critics say it would put the food industry in a special, protected category.

But supporters of the bill say it is time to put an end to frivolous
lawsuits and to make people take responsibility for their own bad eating habits.

The law, proposed by Florida Republican Rep. Ric Keller, would limit lawsuits against the food industry. "This ridiculous trend of lawsuit Lotto in America needs to stop," Keller told the sparsely attended hearing.

"The trial lawyers have decided that restaurants will be the next big tobacco. It's time to stop them in their tracks before they destroy the food industry."

But two lawyers told the hearing that such protection is not necessary.

"If, as the industry repeatedly claims, these fat law suits are truly
frivolous, the industry needs no Congressional protection," said John Banzhaf, a professor of law at George Washington University, whose 1970s crusades against the tobacco industry helped get cigarette commercials off the air.

LAWSUITS FORCE CHANGES

"Numerous articles and reports show that the threat of fat lawsuits has already forced many food companies to begin making significant changes likely to reduce obesity such as healthier menu alternatives, better ingredient disclosure, appropriate warnings, etc."

McDonald's is fighting a lawsuit alleging the company promoted its
calorie-laden food as being nutritious enough to eat every day.

Victor Schwartz, head of the public policy group of the law firm Shook, Hardy and Bacon, and general counsel of the American Tort Reform Association, said it would be hard for a plaintiff to prove a restaurant caused his obesity.

"First, if traditional rules are followed, the plaintiff is going to have to show that it is more probable than not that his or her obesity was caused by food, not by failure to exercise or other lifestyle choices, or genetics," he said.

"Second, the plaintiff will have to show that one specific purveyor of food caused his injury."

The World Health Organization (news - web sites) says obesity is a growing epidemic across the world. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, with a higher risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

The restaurant industry argues that it is a lack of exercise and not diet that is causing the problem.

Advocacy groups say restaurants need to be forced into more clearly labeling their foods so people know just how fattening they are, and should make portions smaller.