I’m about the farthest thing from a lawyer. But even I can see why a judge dismissed a recent lawsuit against UPF makers that claimed their products caused the plaintiff’s chronic health issues. Still, it’s a start in the fight to ban, or at least reign in, UPFs…
Plaintiff Brian Martinez claimed Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) products caused his type 2 dia-betes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. And that the UPF makers had failed to warn consumers of the dangers their products present…
But the judge in the case ruled Martinez’s approach of simply listing 176 UPF products and ingred-ients he had consumed over his lifetime wasn’t sufficient to prove they caused his medical condit-ions. Nevertheless, the judge also said the suit, “raises serious concerns about the UPF industry and its effects on children’s health.”
Another approach
The City of San Francisco is also sueing a long list of UPF makers over the damage their products do to its citizens’ health. It’s the first government lawsuit against the UPF industry.
SF City Attorney David Chiu said, in a news release, “Food conglomerates [have] flooded the country with addictive ultra-processed foods with little nutritional value, knowing they would make Ameri-cans sick.”
This in spite of protestations from the industry that their products are not harmful. And recently, major players such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been promoting what they call healthy innovations in their beverage and snack products.
My take
Given that the San Francisco lawsuit will argue its merits in more-scientific and evidentiary grounds, I expect it to have a greater impact on the judge (or jury, as the ‘case’ may be) than the Martinez argu-ment. But will it have enough impact to win the day?
My questions to you:
Do you believe UPFs are behind the avalanche of health issues the experts claim they are…
-
- Totally?
- Somewhat?
- Marginally?
- Not at all?
Do you believe UPFs should be:
-
- Banned outright?
- Tightly regulated?
- Somewhat more closely regulated?
- Not regulated at all?
Muse on that!
~ Maggie J.