Tag: fast food
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HSUS Buys Shares of Burger Chains
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has reportedly purchased stock in Jack in the Box Inc. and Steak n’ Shake Co. in an effort to persuade each restaurant chain “to implement the types of basic animal welfare changes many of its competitors have made.” The activist group has criticized both companies for allegedly…
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House Proposal Would Deny Tax Deduction for Fast Food Ads Targeting Children
Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) has introduced a bill (H.R. 4310) that would amend the tax code to deny “any deduction for advertising and marketing directed at children to promote the consumption of food at fast food restaurants or of food of poor nutritional quality.” The proposal defines “food of poor nutritional quality” as food “determined…
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Fast Food Companies Sued in Connecticut for PhIP in Chicken Meals
Connecticut residents have filed a putative class action in state court against several fast food companies alleging that they violated consumer protection laws by selling grilled chicken products containing a carcinogenic chemical without providing warnings. Delio v. McDonald’s Corp., No. __ (Conn. Super. Ct., Hartford Cty., filed October 21, 2009). They seek to represent a…
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Study Questions Effectiveness of South Los Angeles Fast-Food Restaurant Ban
A new Rand Corporation study claims that South Los Angeles’ 2008 ban on new or expanded fast-food restaurants is unlikely to improve residents’ diets or reduce obesity because the area actually has a lower concentration of these establishments per capita than other areas of the city. Researchers apparently discovered that South Los Angeles has an…
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Vegetarian Group Sues KFC Under Prop. 65 for Carcinogen in Grilled Chicken
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has sued KFC Corp. and its parent Yum! Brands, Inc. in a California court, alleging that they have failed to comply with Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) by selling grilled chicken without warning consumers that it contains a substance, PhIP, known to the state to cause cancer. PCRM v. KFC…
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Douglas MacMillan, “Alcohol, Then Tobacco, Now Fast Food?,” BusinessWeek, June 30, 2009
“Industry critics compare the intent of fast-food companies to that of cigarette makers, who first came under attack for marketing to children decades ago,” writes BusinessWeek’s Douglas MacMillan in this article detailing the efforts of consumer advocacy groups to outlaw food advertising to children. According to MacMillan, “public criticism and mountains of data linking obesity, diabetes and…
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Ashley Antler, “The Role of Litigation in Combating Obesity Among Poor Urban Minority Youth: A Critical Analysis of Pelman v. McDonald’s Corp.,” Cardozo Journal of Law & Gender, Winter 2009
This student-authored case note discusses the obesity-related class litigation filed in 2002 against McDonald’s Corp. involving named plaintiffs who are urban minority youths. The author contends that, while the proposed class definition includes a much broader population of New York residents, framing such litigation to connect obesity with socioeconomic status and race “could have been a…