It ended up in Congress because of the recent news about Obesity being second only to Smoking in causing (or technically being symptomatic of) premature death. With all the lawsuits out there on smoking, and a certain interest in lawsuits making them apparent against the food industry, Congress is seeking to head off additional lawsuit traffic.

But whether that traffic is legitimate or not is NOT up to congress to decide. That's why it takes years of law school and legal experience to become a judge. Not to say that there aren't bad judges out there, but the legal system was designed to protect people from unscrupulous other people, and make a disagreement something that can be handled civilly rather than with rancor.

Whether or not you think that lawsuits in general are bad things, it does, particulalry with big industry, lead to accountability for one's actions. If an industry knows that there are no repercussions, then why not dump toxins on land or dump toxins in food, or skew scientific research analysis to suit your particular business. There are unscrupulous doctors out there handing out prescriptions to people who are not even their patients, promoting drug addiction. Should those types of industries be called to account for their actions? I think they should.

(as a sideline, this health scare is exactly what Dr. Atkins predicted in 2001 when he wrote THE AGE-DEFYING DIET and discussed the rule of 20 years which predicts epidemics of diabetes, related heart disease and other underlying conditions due to dietary changes (the repercussions of lowfat). He also points out the conflict between politics and science which is the origin of a great deal of what our nation is suffering due to obesity).