Okay I'm biting....

I believe Legistlation over Ligation is the proper procedure but many time Ligation is what prompts Legislation. It's a little extreme to tell a company that all these years we've been so loyal to you but now without warning we will sue you.

We ALL know fast food tends to equal bad choices BUT sometimes we have to be protected from ourselves. Having legislation regulating this would not be a bad thing. All of us care about nutrition but most of us are addicted to the lifestyle to change it. Because of that, the taxpayers have to pay tons of money in medical issues while our medical industry goes downward in its overwhelming burden. At the very least a COMPLETE nutrition panel and warning should be VISIBLY available. Okay, we don't have to have a poster (although some places do) but I don't want to feel intimidated or worse like the clerk has no idea what I'm talking about when I ask for a nutrition menu. When I say complete, I mean complete. I know specials are for a short time only...print brochures or leaflets for that food. Also, can I get this at the drive through menu BEFORE I order?

The bottom line is most of us are not stupid and we have a mind of our own but culturally speaking unless the industry changes, the patrons will not (as a whole, not individually speaking). P.S. Advertisement/Marketing does work and this is one of the MOST marketed segment of retail industry.

One of my pet peeves (although a few places are getting better) is healthy means sandwhich or salad and pretty much nothing else. How unappetizing and boring after a while. No wonder I'm still choosing the mouth watering hamburgers. Oh, and salads do not always equal healthier so quit trying to fool us. Healthy food should not have to cost twice as much as fast food. I'm trying to feed a family here. Do you have any choices KIDS would like (as an entree..not a side of apples).

Yes, I should eat at home, but I want my cake and eat it too (not literally).

I have to say I loathe fast food restaurants. I went into a McDonald's not too long ago and the smell of grease made me feel sick. I am thankful that I don't like fast food. I enjoy hamburgers but I rather get one at some place like Red Robin if I am going to have them. (actually grilled sirloin burgers is the plan for tomorrows dinner) For me, I rather have places that don't want to serve healthy food because I know where not to go. If I want a salad or a sandwich, I'm not going to go to a place that serves fried chicken or hamburgers. If someone wants a greasy burger or fried chicken, then they know where to go. I agree that KFC should look into a healthier oil but they shouldn't be sued for doing what they've been doing for years.

I heard the same people suing KFC this time are wanting to go after Starbucks because some of their drinks are just pathetically high in calories and fat. They want the calories and fat of each drink to be added to the menu in the store for everyone to see. I hope it happens.

I threw out Olive Garden Tiramisu when I realized each piece has 1200 calories. I knew there would be a lot of calories, but I was surprised it was that much. I would choose to not purchase something if the calories were too high. I believe that these companies know that people would make different choices, which is why they are not upfront.

My only question is, what part of Kentucky FRIED Chicken makes it sound healthy? Since when is anything fried good for you? Why would anyone assume that frying doesn't add fat and calories? And how is frying it in healthy oil really going to help anyone?

Now if they were suing to force a baked chicken option on the menu or something like that, I could see that being healthy for consumers.

But any kind of fried food is not a good thing for consumers no matter who is making it.

From everything I have read and shows I have seen on Sanders, his original recipe chicken was fried in lard, not oil. Melted lard. That's one of the things that gave it a better taste.

Lard doesn't have to be transfat. It could be just animal derived saturated fats. I really would like to know which his original recipe used.

But they say they take health issues seriously!!

The main problem I have is that these large corporations seem to be using ingredients and cooking methods that are outside the mindset of a typical consumer. If I make fries at home, I use fresh potatoes, vegetable oil, and sea salt. If I buy fries at McDonald's, the fries are cooked in beef tallow. However would an average consumer assume that beef tallow would be an ingredient in fries?

Same thing with the woman who spilled the hot coffee from McDonald's and is now the butt of jokes around the world. Typical restaurant coffee is kept hotter than typical home coffee, yes, but in that situation, it had been kept even hotter than what restaurant standards are....causing burns more severe than they would have been if caused by home coffee or other restaurant coffee.

These corporations are not playing by common sense rules. They are cutting corners and using ingredients and preparation methods that most people would not consider.

Yes, I was shocked to read in Fast Food Nation that here in the good old US of A, cow entrails are slashed in the meat processing plants and manure is processed right along with old Bessie. I was shocked that cattle are not fed grass, but meat. And I am well-educated. I may be naive but I am not stupid. These companies want to keep their dirty little secrets so that they can continue to rack up huge profits at the expense of the American public's health.

Buyer beware? That's what the tobacco companies said for years. Lies, twisted statements...advertising unhealthy products to juveniles.

KFC says they take health seriously. What a crock.

These companies could be making better choices, but they are not. Trust me, in my profession I am not a fan of lawsuits....but sometimes they are the only way to facilitate change.


Just wanted to add that the jury, who had access to info we do not, agreed with her. http://lawandhelp.com/q298-2.htm

Midwife, your post about what the common consumer expects was a beautiful post. This is exactly why these same companies use different ingredients and cooking methods in many overseas countries. Because consumers there expect the best possible and laws are made to ensure that they get it.

Actually the more I read the more I am beginning to agree with you... NOT about lawsuits for people eating stuff that is just plain fattening. That is their own darn fault. However, in reading books like Fast Food Nation and learning more about just what is going on, I am starting to think something needs to be done about it. And yes, I know we have to be careful about what we read in books and believing all of it... I admit Schlosser lost a lot of my trust when he began continually blaming one political party and saying the other was trying to change things. Doesn't matter which is which and which one I am... it is ridiculous IMO to believe that either political party is trying to do much about it instead of playing into the political "pork" (pun intended).

However, I have also read from other sources... some of them put out by our US government... so I do know that a lot of this is true.

AND they don't just feed the cattle entrails and "meat" -- they also feed them chicken droppings which come from chicken farms... "droppings" being the big word for a word I can't even SAY on 3FC or I will get bleeped but you get my drift. Oh and restaurant table scraps... who knows what diseases those people might have had who left it. Not to mention dead dogs, cats, whatever!

And the processing techniques... YIKES. You are right... they are actually ALLOWED to leave manure and stuff in it.

I am one for big personal responsability... but I don't think the average consumer does know this and I think it is beyond the scope of what they should have to educate themselves on. When restaurant ice samples are proven to have more "fecal matter" (i.e. human manure) in them than the toilets it has gone too far. I should be able to buy a cup of ice and have some confidence there is not you-know-what in it.

Also, some of the fast food restaurants are putting beef even in such things as grilled chicken sandwiches to make them taste better. If I buy a chicken sandwich I should have a reasonable expectation I am getting chicken; not beef.

As I said... I am beginning to change my mind about the lawsuits. But I think it would be MORE effective even if people just stop buying this crap. I was encouraged the other day... I went to our local library and was looking for books similar to Fast Food Nation. From our library we can search the entire Seattle area system... Fast Food Nation had over 100 holds placed on it! There was not ONE book I could find on this in the system that was not checked out and had holds on it. I put several on hold myself. So word is starting to spread!

Exactly! And that is what books such as Fast Food Nation are trying to point out to people! The fast food places will NOT stop unless the public gets enough of it and stops buying it. Well they gone ONE person to stop!! Since I've been on a healthful plan I never buy there anyway... but now I would not even drink a cup of water from one of them. If I wanted to eat human waste I have plenty in my own toilet, thanks!

Oh yah it's legal all right for some of it to be in the meat. But meat processing plants are managing to bypass even the legal requirements, at least from many sources I am reading (I don't pretend to be an expert)

I'm not supposed to post a lot of links... but if you google words such as USDA fecal meat test etc. you will find lots of information!!

Yah... start reading the books! There is a lot in that book that is too "sick" for me to even post here, as some people would be too disgusted to even want to read it.

I knew it was bad but it is FAR worse than I had any idea of!!! My recent studies have pushed me over the line to start darkening the doors... and going out of my way to get to... a health focused market here even though I know it is expensive. I'm working too hard to get healthy to fill my system full of garbage!

The Too Hot Coffee: The coffee in that particular restuarant had been reported as too hot and over the limit too many times. It wasn't a 1 time occurance. It just took someone getting seriously burned to result in anything. Yes, she could have put it somewhere besides between her legs but many of us do that (I don't drink coffee..so I don't mean me).
Consumers Beware: Consumers are NOT aware of the details of the products they buy. I know I'm not aware of most of what was posted previously.

What animals eat before we get them doesn't make a difference to taste, it is just cruel to animals and shocking that it is allowed to happen.

Beyond that, YES they should post their stuff including ingredients, etc just like the back of a label on a can (which I think should post more). Many of us WOULD continue to make bad choices, but I promise many would look and make better of those bad choices if they realize one cup of this coffee is 1500 cal but a similar cup of a different coffee is only 800 calories. Some things I think is a no brainer and fried food is one of them. I remember being shocked (when I was less educated on food) at how many calories Taco Salad at Taco bell had in comparison to many of its seemingly less healthy food. Coffee is much the same way. Many of us would never guess unless it has cream in it that it is MUCH different in calories than the stuff at home. I think the post about us offering with a different set of ingredient mindset is correct.

Will consumers still be stupid? Of course. We like our freedom of choices. I still buy a candybar sometimes and yes I know it is bad for me. What I disagree with is SECRECY and lack of VARIETY! Can we have something healthy besides subs and salads? Can we list the information (for everything) so I know if those sub or salads are even healthy (cuz sometimes the stuff that looks good just isn't).

I'm gonna use a totally different example. Many people think it is common sense that people with disabilities should recieve certain accomodations. Without the government protection no matter what people believe, it doesn't happen because the bottom line always happens first. Even accomodations that don't cost money are outside the realm of businesses everyday thinking and even THAT is hard to get without the protection of the law (and gasp even with the protection of the law it isn't seamless).

My point is there is a point to government regulation. Unfortunately America depends on it to get anything done.