THE LAST TIME I stepped into a McDonald's restaurant, I was prepared to eat a tasty, albeit unhealthy, meal. If I was to gain a couple of pounds as a result, I was prepared to live with that consequence. I held myself accountable for my actions when swallowing my food because I was the one putting the burger, fries and soda into my body. A similar attitude ought to be adopted by those who blame the fast food chains instead of themselves for their poor health. People need to take responsibility for their own health rather than looking for a scapegoat to pin a lawsuit on.
On July 24, an overweight man named Caesar Barber sued McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Barber currently weighs 270 pounds and has suffered two heart attacks. He claims that these four restaurants contributed to his obesity, heart disease and diabetes, and that he found out only three years ago that fried foods were bad for his health. Barber believes the nutrition charts put up by the fast food chains are deliberately confusing. Samuel Hirsch, Barber's lawyer, feels that one has to be a "rocket scientist" to understand the nutrition charts, that the fast food chains are hiding nutrition facts from the public, and facts that are posted are not "easily understandable" ("Obese man sues fast food chains," MSNBC.com, July 26). In addition to monetary compensation, MSNBC reported, Barber is seeking for all fast food products to be labeled with warnings and nutrition facts in the future.
Although Mr. Barber's failing personal health is a shame, his claim that the fast food restaurants are responsible for his current condition is far-fetched and riddled with holes in reasoning.
It's difficult to prove that fast food restaurants are to blame for the man's bad health. Many factors come into play with obesity, making it hard to pinpoint McDonald's as a specific culprit. A man's lifestyle plays as great a role in his health than does fast food. Exercise, physical activity, metabolism and the other foods he eats all are factors, and it's impossible to prove that fast food chains are blameworthy enough to be handed a lawsuit.
In addition, Barber seems to lack fundamental knowledge on the subject of nutrition. When he was eating fast food, getting progressively fatter and having heart attacks, common sense ought to have told him something was wrong: One does not need nutrition information to be able to see one's stomach growing.
Barber's claim about the availability of nutrition charts is also suspect.In most fast food restaurants, nutrition facts are neatly printed on the wall for the public to see. If Barber did not understand the charts he viewed, he certainly was not interested enough to find out what they meant. It's not a suitable excuse to claim that he's been puzzled with the same type of chart for years. Anyone who cared enough to understand the chart would have done so by this point.
The simplest and saddest explanation for this lawsuit is that it is nothing more than an exercise in finger pointing. Ultimately, the only person responsible for a person's health is the person himself. Food companies never should be held accountable for a person's poor health when that person has different options to choose from and when he eats products that do not come from the same company. Unlike cigarettes, to which a person becomes physically addicted, eating a particular food over another is voluntary. Barber is shifting the blame for actions he consciously made and his claims of ignorance seem more like claims of indifference. Barber needs to take responsibility for his own mistakes rather than try to make someone else pay for them.
If the court gives Barber a single cent of compensation, it will be setting a horrible precedent. It will pave the way for hundreds of useless lawsuits that ultimately will affirm through law the notion that no one is ever responsible for his own actions. It will turn the civil courts into places where people gripe over mistakes they made and then simply shift the blame.
Barber wants fast food to be labeled with warnings. What next? Will all restaurant meals come with nutrition facts and a warning for diners? Americans do not need to be childproofed within their own surroundings. This lawsuit should be thrown out, and any comparable claims against the fast food companies should be treated in the same way.
(Kevin James Wong's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at kwong@cavalierdaily.com.)
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