McConnell's Bill Defends Fast-Food

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell has introduced a bill that would protect food companies from lawsuits alleging that their products are responsible for obesity and weight gain.

The Commonsense Consumption Act of 2003 would prohibit any claim based on an alleged injury related to obesity or weight gain, in state or federal court, against a lawful food manufacturer or seller.

McConnell's bill covers all food, as defined in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, including food ingredients and beverages. The only claims prohibited by the bill are those related to obesity and weight gain.

"Most Americans believe in the old adage, 'you are what you eat,' " McConnell said. "However, there are some who believe that others are to blame for what they eat. The notion that we are a society of victims unable to control what we eat is utterly absurd. You shouldn't be able to sue someone else because of your own eating habits."

Similar legislation has already been introduced in the House of Representatives.

Plaintiffs' lawyers recently sued McDonald's for allegedly making consumers fat, although the complaint was dismissed.

The National Food Processors Association called McConnell's bill "a timely, strategic and needed response to the threat of lawsuits seeking to pin the responsibility for obesity in this country on the food industry."

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, meanwhile, accused McConnell of kowtowing to Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, all headquartered in the senator's home state of Kentucky.