A Manhattan federal court is currently hearing a lawsuit filed by Samuel Hirsch against McDonald's. The suit was brought on behalf of eight obese children and charges that the fast food giant did not do enough to keep customers informed of the health risks involved with their food.
Allegedly, the children have suffered health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure due to consuming their food on a regular basis.
It's about time fast food restaurants take responsibility for the foods they serve that are high in fat, sugar and cholesterol. The restaurants are financially liable if their patrons get food poisoning, so why shouldn't they be responsible for the other ailments their food produces?
Whether they undercooked their meat or used the cheapest, fattiest meat available, they should be liable. A big change needs to be made in the fast food industry, but can we really get McDonald's to change their ways without dipping into their wallets?
Last September, a similar suit was brought against McDonald's that caused them to rethink the grease they use to make their fries. Lo and behold, McDonald's responded by utilizing healthier oil. Without this lawsuit being filed, would they have considered making this change?
Today, one out of every four minors is considered obese. Our nation is facing an obesity epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control, hospital costs related to childhood obesity have more than tripled since the 1980s, reaching $127 million.
As a society, we can take the easy way out and continue to blame the obese or we can look at the real problems that are contributing to our ever-increasing waistlines.
McDonald's advertising targets children by enticing them with toys and "Playlands." McDonald's has profited for years at the children's expense. An increasing number of children today have diabetes and heart disease, in large part due to eating fast foods. We live in a fast-paced environment of Big Macs, Super-Sized fries and sodas. Kids are taking in more calories than they are burning.
To add to this epidemic, schools have taken physical education out of their required curriculum, citing budget decreases as their reasoning. Also, many schools serve name-brand fast food in their cafeterias. It is likely that if you give a child a choice between eating a Styrofoam pizza boat or a Big Mac, most will choose the latter.
McDonald's does post nutritional information in their restaurants so customers know the risk involved with eating their food, but kids and adults alike do not truly understand what the nutritional information means.
Many people know that McDonald's food is bad for them, but they do not understand how bad it really is. Simply reading that a Big Mac has 34 grams of fat, an order of Super-Sized fries has 610 calories and a Super-Sized Coke has over 300 calories does not really mean anything to most.
McDonald's issued a statement that there are more than 900,000 dining choices available to Americans today, so they can choose whether to eat at McDonald's, and therefore they are not responsible for the rising obesity in America. Many poverty-level families do not have a choice of going to a dine-in restaurant or to McDonald's. They choose McDonald's based on location and price, as with the 14-year-old plaintiff who lived in a homeless shelter and ate McDonald's everyday because that was all she could afford.
McDonald's has made millions off of serving Americans the least nutritious foods available and now look where we are. "Over 10 billion hamburgers served," and a nation full of obese children and adults.
Cynthia Moran is social work junior. Reach her at cynthia.moran @asu.edu.
