Food fight

The average consumer craving a Reese’s Cup or Big Mac probably isn’t aware that his indulgence is at the center of a widening legal battlefield. While the public sees “fun foods,” a group of lawyers and public health advocates sees a “toxic environment” encouraging Americans to put on extra pounds and increase their health risks.

The group is trying to punish the food industry for the nation’s increasing obesity rate by filing class-action lawsuits. It is lobbying federal, state and local governments to impose taxes and demand warning and more nutrition labels.

Lawmakers nationally and locally have proposed taxing and regulating foods they say contribute to the problem, but the food industry says the measures will drive up food prices and do little to stop the rising obesity rate.

Food companies argue real change starts with people taking responsibility for their choices and cite the growing demand for low-fat foods as indicating that Americans are taking charge of their weight.

Heading to court

Obesity-related lawsuits against fast-food chains and other food companies began cropping up after an “obesity epidemic” was announced by former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher in December 2001.

Since then, the suits either have been dropped, thrown out of court or ended in hefty settlements.

New York lawyer Samuel Hirsch sued fast-food giant McDonald’s Corp. and three other fast-food chains in July 2002 for contributing to the obesity-related diseases of Bronx resident Caesar Barber.

The case was dismissed, but Mr. Hirsch later brought another case against McDonald’s, saying false advertising practices caused the obesity of eight New York children.

A U.S. District judge recently dismissed that case, citing lack of evidence. But the floodgates had opened:

• A journalist in April 2002 sued Robert’s American Gourmet Foods Inc., a New York manufacturer, for not disclosing the total fat content in its Pirate’s Booty snack, which was touted as low-fat. The company shelled out almost $4 million and changed the labels to settle the class-action lawsuit.

• Kraft Foods Inc., the nation’s largest food manufacturer, was sued in May for not informing consumers about the trans fatty acids, or trans fat, in its Oreo cookies. California lawyer Stephen Joseph dropped the suit several days after filing it, but Kraft announced plans to market a trans-fat-free Oreo as part of a wider health initiative.

• McDonald’s and fast-food compatriots KFC, Wendy’s International Inc., Burger King and Taco Bell received a legal notice in June from George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf III warning the chains of lawsuits if they continued to sell fatty foods.

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