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CNN Live Sunday
Are Fast Food Restaurants Responsible For America's Weight Probelm?
Aired July 27, 2003 - 18:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: In the battle of the bulge, many Americans believe suing fast food makers is just ludicrous. 66 percent of Americans polled say the fast food industry is not responsible for the problems faced by obese people. A whopping 89 percent are opposed to holding the fast food industry legally accountable for the diet related health problems of obese people. And a combined 76 percent of Americans say they know most of the food served in fast food restaurants is not good for them.
Now even though it sounds like there should not be a debate over the fast food industry and obesity, the debate rages on. A new bill could protect restaurants from such lawsuits, but do we really have to go that far? Let's take this up with my guests in Washington, Margo Wooten is with the Center for Science and the Public Interest. And Steve Anderson is with the National Restaurant Association.
I want to welcome you both to CNN Sunday.
MARGO WOOTEN, CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Thank you.
CHOI: Alright Margo, let's start with you. Should food companies be responsible for making people fat or should people be responsible for making their own choices?
WOOTEN: It's actually a shared responsibility. Ultimately individuals decide what they're going to eat and what they're going to feed their family. But the restaurant industry and other segments of the food industry make it easier and harder for people to eat well.
For example, it's harder to eat in restaurants, because most restaurants don't provide any nutrition information. They're food is priced in a way that makes the huge portion sizes irresistible. The portion sizes are just out of control and they very aggressively market unhealthy food to children which makes it harder for parents to feed their children well.
CHOI: Stephen, what's your take on it?
STEVEN ANDERSON, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: Well, I think these lawsuits do give the term frivolous a bad name. 76 percent of all meals are still eaten at home, they're not eaten in restaurants. But it's important to remember that there are 870,000 restaurants and food service outlets in the country. So what that means is that there is a wide variety of types of restaurants that people can go into, and once they go into a restaurant, there are numerous options on the menu that would meet the dietary need of any American.
CHOI: Steven, why do we need legislation to insulate restaurants? I mean, aren't frivolous lawsuits just thrown out of court?
ANDERSON: Well, I think we're seeing the total impact that frivolous lawsuits have on our economy. There are at least four or five different tort reform measures pending in Congress that would do away with frivolous lawsuits. We file 11 million lawsuits in this country. And it does have a dramatic impact on the economy. And as you could tell by that polling data that you showed before this interview, that the American people do find it ridiculous. It's about personal responsibility. And the American people find it disturbing that somebody can make a voluntary choice to go into a restaurant, make a voluntary choice of the types of food they want to eat and then sue the restaurant for making them obese and fat.
WOOTEN: That's not the kind of lawsuits that people are talking about. The kind of lawsuits that the public health community has been thinking about, and reluctantly, because certainly no one wants to jump into the courtroom, are things like parents who would be suing a school to try to get the junk food out of the vending machine after years of trying to fight with the school board to get it out. Parents who sue food companies for misleading advertising, aimed directly at their children that encourages their children to wanted or ask for unhealthy foods.
Nobody is in favor of frivolous lawsuits. But lawsuits can be a way to spur positive actions on the part of the food industry, to make healthy eating easier.
ANDERSON: Well, lawsuits can be a distraction --
CHOI: Margo -- let me just ask Margo this quick question. Should restaurants then be force to at least put nutrition information on their menus?
WOOTEN: Absolutely. There's no reason why McDonald's and Denny's and TGI Friday's shouldn't let consumers know what's in their food. Certainly, you know that the broiled seafood platter is better than the fried seafood platter. But I think most people would be surprised to learn that one has a whole day's worth of calories and one is very, very healthy, only 700 calories. Or that a porterhouse steak has twice as many calories as a sirloin, or a tuna salad sandwich has 50 percent more calories than the roast beef sandwich.
It's not always obvious. Even trained dietitians can't guess how many calories are in a popular restaurant people.
CHOI: Steven, are you in favor of putting nutrition information on menus?
ANDERSON: Well, 70 percent of Americans customize their order when they go into a restaurant. Say you go in a deli across the street and you order a sandwich, and you have 15 differenct choices to pick from, from the types of meat, to the types of bread, cheeses, condiments, sauces. If you have 15 items to pick from, you have a potential 1.3 trillion possible combinations you would need to label.
The nutrition labeling education act of 1990 brought about nutrition labeling in retail grocery stores. And as I pointed out earlier, 76 percent of all meals are eaten at home. And if we're really to get to this issue of obesity and people being overweight, you know, you would think that the labeling -- this labeling would be a panacea to end this issue.
It's a very complicated issue. We need to focus on moderation and balance in diet, and physical activity. We are a much more sedentary society --
CHOI: Will this come down to marketplace drive? I mean, will people push this issue in terms of what restaurants they choose? For example, Applebee's has said they will go along with weight watcher's and offer some lower fat, lower calorie items?
ANDERSON: I think that's a very constructive point of view. Restaurants are really the industry of choice. We provide choices every day. This is a very competitive environment that the restaurant industry is in. And 280 million people vote every day in the marketplace. And they're going to be voting with their dollars of where they want to eat. That's the way we all the to take care of this, not by filing lawsuits.
CHOI: Margo, you get the last word.
WOOTEN: It's going to be very difficult for restaurants to do this on their own. If Burger King puts their calorie label right on the menu board and McDonald's doesn't, you know, It'll make Burger King's food look worse when McDonald's is about the same.
That people can't make informed choices without the information right on the menu, or the menu board. So that they can make their own choices. And also, so that restaurants can compete with each other on the basis not only of price, but also on nutrition and provide healthier options on the menu.
CHOI: Well we'll see if that happens. Margo Wooten director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science and the Public Interest, and Steve Anderson President and Chief Executive officer of the National Restaurant Association. Our thanks to both of you.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
WOOTEN: Thank you, Sophia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired July 27, 2003 - 18:21 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN ANCHOR: In the battle of the bulge, many Americans believe suing fast food makers is just ludicrous. 66 percent of Americans polled say the fast food industry is not responsible for the problems faced by obese people. A whopping 89 percent are opposed to holding the fast food industry legally accountable for the diet related health problems of obese people. And a combined 76 percent of Americans say they know most of the food served in fast food restaurants is not good for them.
Now even though it sounds like there should not be a debate over the fast food industry and obesity, the debate rages on. A new bill could protect restaurants from such lawsuits, but do we really have to go that far? Let's take this up with my guests in Washington, Margo Wooten is with the Center for Science and the Public Interest. And Steve Anderson is with the National Restaurant Association.
I want to welcome you both to CNN Sunday.
MARGO WOOTEN, CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST: Thank you.
CHOI: Alright Margo, let's start with you. Should food companies be responsible for making people fat or should people be responsible for making their own choices?
WOOTEN: It's actually a shared responsibility. Ultimately individuals decide what they're going to eat and what they're going to feed their family. But the restaurant industry and other segments of the food industry make it easier and harder for people to eat well.
For example, it's harder to eat in restaurants, because most restaurants don't provide any nutrition information. They're food is priced in a way that makes the huge portion sizes irresistible. The portion sizes are just out of control and they very aggressively market unhealthy food to children which makes it harder for parents to feed their children well.
CHOI: Stephen, what's your take on it?
STEVEN ANDERSON, NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: Well, I think these lawsuits do give the term frivolous a bad name. 76 percent of all meals are still eaten at home, they're not eaten in restaurants. But it's important to remember that there are 870,000 restaurants and food service outlets in the country. So what that means is that there is a wide variety of types of restaurants that people can go into, and once they go into a restaurant, there are numerous options on the menu that would meet the dietary need of any American.
CHOI: Steven, why do we need legislation to insulate restaurants? I mean, aren't frivolous lawsuits just thrown out of court?
ANDERSON: Well, I think we're seeing the total impact that frivolous lawsuits have on our economy. There are at least four or five different tort reform measures pending in Congress that would do away with frivolous lawsuits. We file 11 million lawsuits in this country. And it does have a dramatic impact on the economy. And as you could tell by that polling data that you showed before this interview, that the American people do find it ridiculous. It's about personal responsibility. And the American people find it disturbing that somebody can make a voluntary choice to go into a restaurant, make a voluntary choice of the types of food they want to eat and then sue the restaurant for making them obese and fat.
WOOTEN: That's not the kind of lawsuits that people are talking about. The kind of lawsuits that the public health community has been thinking about, and reluctantly, because certainly no one wants to jump into the courtroom, are things like parents who would be suing a school to try to get the junk food out of the vending machine after years of trying to fight with the school board to get it out. Parents who sue food companies for misleading advertising, aimed directly at their children that encourages their children to wanted or ask for unhealthy foods.
Nobody is in favor of frivolous lawsuits. But lawsuits can be a way to spur positive actions on the part of the food industry, to make healthy eating easier.
ANDERSON: Well, lawsuits can be a distraction --
CHOI: Margo -- let me just ask Margo this quick question. Should restaurants then be force to at least put nutrition information on their menus?
WOOTEN: Absolutely. There's no reason why McDonald's and Denny's and TGI Friday's shouldn't let consumers know what's in their food. Certainly, you know that the broiled seafood platter is better than the fried seafood platter. But I think most people would be surprised to learn that one has a whole day's worth of calories and one is very, very healthy, only 700 calories. Or that a porterhouse steak has twice as many calories as a sirloin, or a tuna salad sandwich has 50 percent more calories than the roast beef sandwich.
It's not always obvious. Even trained dietitians can't guess how many calories are in a popular restaurant people.
CHOI: Steven, are you in favor of putting nutrition information on menus?
ANDERSON: Well, 70 percent of Americans customize their order when they go into a restaurant. Say you go in a deli across the street and you order a sandwich, and you have 15 differenct choices to pick from, from the types of meat, to the types of bread, cheeses, condiments, sauces. If you have 15 items to pick from, you have a potential 1.3 trillion possible combinations you would need to label.
The nutrition labeling education act of 1990 brought about nutrition labeling in retail grocery stores. And as I pointed out earlier, 76 percent of all meals are eaten at home. And if we're really to get to this issue of obesity and people being overweight, you know, you would think that the labeling -- this labeling would be a panacea to end this issue.
It's a very complicated issue. We need to focus on moderation and balance in diet, and physical activity. We are a much more sedentary society --
CHOI: Will this come down to marketplace drive? I mean, will people push this issue in terms of what restaurants they choose? For example, Applebee's has said they will go along with weight watcher's and offer some lower fat, lower calorie items?
ANDERSON: I think that's a very constructive point of view. Restaurants are really the industry of choice. We provide choices every day. This is a very competitive environment that the restaurant industry is in. And 280 million people vote every day in the marketplace. And they're going to be voting with their dollars of where they want to eat. That's the way we all the to take care of this, not by filing lawsuits.
CHOI: Margo, you get the last word.
WOOTEN: It's going to be very difficult for restaurants to do this on their own. If Burger King puts their calorie label right on the menu board and McDonald's doesn't, you know, It'll make Burger King's food look worse when McDonald's is about the same.
That people can't make informed choices without the information right on the menu, or the menu board. So that they can make their own choices. And also, so that restaurants can compete with each other on the basis not only of price, but also on nutrition and provide healthier options on the menu.
CHOI: Well we'll see if that happens. Margo Wooten director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science and the Public Interest, and Steve Anderson President and Chief Executive officer of the National Restaurant Association. Our thanks to both of you.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
WOOTEN: Thank you, Sophia.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Probelm?>
