On July 2, CEI President Fred L. Smith, Jr. discussed frivolous lawsuits against the fast food industry on “The CBS Evening News.” Following is the transcript
Newscast: Fast-food restaurants fighting back
against litigators for allegedly making Americans fat
MELISSA McDERMOTT, ANCHOR: It's a food fight waiting to happen. Some lawyers want to take a bite out of the fast food industry, but companies say burgers and fries aren't to blame for the super-sizing of
SHARYL ATTKISSON REPORTING: The food industry has a beef with what it calls “McLawsuits,” which blame fast food for
LISA RICKARD, U.S. CHAMBER INSTITUTE FOR LEGAL REFORM: Overweight Americans will not find the solution to obesity in the courtroom.
ATTKISSON: Their studies say fast food isn't the culprit, that it has less fat than old-fashioned home cooking. It's our eating habits. We consume 200 more calories a day than 30 years ago, snack more, exercise less. With powerful trial lawyers launching a tobacco-style legal attack against burgers and fries, and with talk of a fat tax on certain food, the fast-food industry is clearly worried.
FRED SMITH, PRESIDENT, COMPETITIVE ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: [To] the people who are attacking fast foods, these are deadly assault weapons.
ATTKISSON: Fred Smith, munching on Oreos—about 2 grams of fat each—promotes free choice.
SMITH: Demonizing tobacco is one thing. We're now demonizing food; we're demonizing automobiles; we're demonizing energy use. And anyone who doesn't take the trial lawyers seriously hasn't looked at the settlements in those areas.
ATTKISSON: So the food industry is striking back with slick new commercials.
(Excerpt from TV commercial)
ATTKISSON: But fast-food critics argue all they really want is better nutrition information, less junk food ads aimed at children.
MARGO WOOTAN, CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST: The food industry has exaggerated what the consequences of lawsuits will be in order to make it seem ridiculous to the American public.
ATTKISSON: Many Americans do find the idea of lawsuits or a fat tax hard to swallow.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Because I think when I'm eating something, it's completely left to me to pick my choice.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: I think they're selling a legal product and I don't think that they should be sued. I think this is extortion.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: I got two kids, you know. Do they eat at McDonald's? Occasionally. All the time? No. I know how to say no to them.
ATTKISSON: Another issue is food considered unhealthy today could become tomorrow's health craze. Can a judge and jury really lay down the law on something nutrition experts haven't been able to figure out? Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News,
