Obesity has become a major political issue in cities throughout the United States, and now Alabama has decided to take part in the debate. Unlike places such as New York City where they put restriction on what restaurants can sell and how they can prepare their food by banning trans fat and excessive salt use, Alabama is taking a different approach to the issue.
Instead of putting restrictions on the restaurants, Alabama is currently debating a bill that would restrict consumers from suing restaurants, grocery stores, or other businesses which may sell food items that may contribute to an individual's weight gain.
The bill called the "Common Sense Consumption Act" is aimed at protecting small restaurants that would be harmed the most if someone decided to sue their business because they felt the restaurant is responsible for their weight gain.
Having to fight such a lawsuit could force a small restaurant to go out of business said Republican state Rep. Mike Jones of Andalusia, the sponsor of the bill.
However, the bill doesn't protect a business from potential lawsuits if they mislead or made false claims about their food such as the amount of calories in a particular dish.
The president of the Alabama Restaurant Association, Larry Fidel, said up to now there have been no such lawsuits filed in Alabama, but there have been suits against restaurants in other states.
The most resent notable case was a California mother who decided to sue McDonald’s claiming McDonald’s is using the toys in their Happy Meals to make her daughters want "nutritionally unsound" food.
Fidel said these types of lawsuits hurt businesses even when they are eventually thrown out of court.
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