Holy crap!

[moonwise]

Oreos aren't a health food! Can you believe it?

Dumbass Sues Over Oreos

Comments

[lordraziel.livejournal.com]

Some people are just born stupid. Actually some people just want to try and make some "free" money and/or don't have anything better to do with their life.

[jaina.livejournal.com]

Can you say "publicity hound", boys and girls? I knew you could!

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Amen to that, this guy must be really bored. Didn't he ever read the package label in how many years of munching Oreos?

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Hijack away. I totally agree with you. Personal responsibility seems to be completely out the window these days, and jerks like this exemplify it.

Happily, the suit against McD's for causing obesity was thrown out. Someone has some sense. Health is an individual's responsibility and not a restaurant's. People in this country eat what they want and that has to be paid for somehow. Sheesh.

[wickedorin.livejournal.com]

Head... hurts... too many... morons... population of... freaking morons... hurts me...

[lordraziel.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately lawsuits like this have already gone to court and people have won money. (Cigarette anyone?) We are officially the generation of "It's not my fault."

[caoin.livejournal.com]

I can’t help feeling you’re all going too far the other way. Of course, you live in the land of litigation and I don’t, but playing devil’s advocate...

Cigarette companies lied for years about the addictiveness (?) and danger of their product. I think lying to the public has to come with some kind of penalty. Nicotine (unlike an Oreo) is physically addictive too, which means people don’t have the same simple choice to make.

I think people wouldn’t care so much if the companies involved (esp. McDonalds) would just stop trying to prove their products are healthy and actually sold them on the basis that they were unhealthy and naughty. Hell, sales might even go up.

[lordraziel.livejournal.com]

Well, not to hijack Arafel's post too much more (sorry!) but I guess we disagree on this one. While cigarettes and cookies are a bit different the reason people are trying to sue these companies are the same. $$$$$

Also, I used to smoke, about 12-13 years ago, and I quit when I got married. Decided I had better things to do with my money and a reason to stick around longer. And go ask any of your friends that smoke if they know whether or not cigarettes are bad for you. I would bet that everyone that you asked would say yes. They have been putting those warnings on the packages for years and years now. So, if you know something is bad for you and it is possible (though maybe a bit difficult) to quit doing it whose fault is it that you don't? And whose fault is it that you get sick from doing it? Sorry, but I say it is the persons fault.

/rant off/

Re:

[caoin.livejournal.com]

Well I too gave up smoking many, many years ago, but I still know quite a few people who smoke and as much as it pisses me off I know that it is not a rational act, so I’m not quite as quick to condemn. I just remind them from time to time that I won’t be that interested in visiting them when they’re in the iron lung. :)

I’m not saying I think people don’t have to take responsibility for their own actions. I’m just saying that the people who peddle the stuff in highly organized and nefarious ways aren’t blameless and should be held to account. I’d hope that there are still cases where litigation serves a public interest as well as personal greed, but even if it didn’t I think I’d rather see the millions in the hands of someone dying of cancer (for whatever reason) than being used to sell more misery. After all, if the dangers are so well known, surely they are even better known to the people who produce the stuff.

[zelamenomiko.livejournal.com]

Eh, the world is full of gits and I pretty much ignore it as much as possible.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I'll accept that the fats aren't good for you, but a lot of things aren't good for you and yet we've been eating them for centuries. Take fatty meat, for example. (I know you're a vegetarian, so theoretically. ^_^) Or, butter. The problem I have with a lot of this good-for-you bad-for-you research is that the "experts" go back and forth more often than a pendulum. I believe in the Julia Child philosophy, which is "eat what you want but eat the less-good stuff in moderation." However - the problem these days is that the rich treats that used to be a once-in-a-while thing are now commonplace, and the moderation is right out the window.

So, I half-agree. :)

[arafel.livejournal.com]

*sticks nose in* I have to say that there is a difference in my mind between cigarettes, which contain a known addictive substance, and Oreos. I don't doubt that it is in a company's best interest to obfuscate the truth in the interest of profit, but I do believe in personal responsibility. I choose to eat Oreos only rarely because I know that they contain many empty calories and aren't good for the rear end. Kraft didn't tell me about the particulars of their product for me to make that decision. As I said in another reply, trans-fats are present in a lot more than Oreos, and somehow we've survived as a people. Any solid fat, including that trim on your steak, has a trans-fat in it, and that's the way it goes.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

The only thing I want to express - and I'll agree that if these fats can be replaced with a viable alternative, then perhaps they should be - is that trans-fats are naturally occurring in meat, fish, and dairy. (I refer you to the Johns Hopkins article you posted.) In other words, you can reduce your intake of these fats but it is probably impossible to eliminate them entirely. This might be a good argument for a vegetarian lifestyle, but for those of us (like me) who would starve on vegetables alone because they loathe the sight of broccoli, we're pretty much forced to live on what remains.

The key point is awareness, and that is a dual responsibility. The medical community makes the public aware of what is and what isn't good to eat, and whether it is the responsibility of a corporation to make the public aware as well is open to debate. Their bottom line is profit, and it's quite rare for them to express any kind of altruism. This is probably not going to change. In the end, I believe that people are responsible for their own health, and no matter how healthy a lifestyle one chooses, sooner or later you're going to die. I have to concede that it will remain the province of the medical community to tell people that what they're eating is bad, and a company won't say "hey, there's something that's not good for you in our product."

These grey areas are so confusing. (No pun intended. ^_^)

[arafel.livejournal.com]

Besides, I never said that trans-fat suggests that people should quit eating meat.

Oh no - I never meant to imply that. Everyone's got a reason for their diet of choice, and that's a whole 'nother ball of wax that isn't worth discussing. (in other words, Arafel knows better than to get into that discussion. ^_^)

Your points are well-made and I have had an interesting time of reading the literature. I remain convinced that to a degree - and that degree is open to debate - people are responsible for their own health and well-being. I feel that this lawsuit is both frivolous and silly, and it evokes the response of "what kind of an idiot wants to ban Oreos in California" rather than "there is a health issue here that people should pay attention to." Scientifically or nonscientifically, there's not a lot more I can say beyond that.

As an aside, I very much respect that you've sent articles from respected scientific communities. Is this a personal interest of yours?

[arafel.livejournal.com]

*thoughtfully* I doubt that Kraft will take a financial hit, but the publicity may cause them to "voluntarily" include some information. After all, the case against McDonald's was thrown out, and that sets a precedent for doing things like banning Oreos, but the case made the news and now people supposedly know more about trans-fats.

The problem with trans-fats is that they're everywhere - you can't buy most prepared baked goods without eating a ton of them, and the companies are fighting to keep trans-fat info off of nutrition labels.

*grins* Then I guess it's a good thing that a hobby of mine is baking, and I never eat a prepared muffin or cookie or brownie or anything because I can make it from scratch.

Thanks for the info about the site. Cheers!