Doctors Urge House to Reject 'Cheeseburger Bill'; H.R. 339 Threatens Consumer Rights, Grants Big Food Sweeping Immunity

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WASHINGTON, March 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The so-called "Cheeseburger Bill," scheduled for a House vote this week, is anti- consumer and anti-health, says the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The "Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act," or H.R. 339, absolves the food industry from any legal liability for its contributing role in the nation's obesity epidemic. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Ric Keller, R-Fla., an acknowledged fast-food fan whose top donors include Outback Steakhouse and the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

"H.R. 339 is an unsavory attempt to protect corporate profits at the expense of American health," says PCRM president and nutrition researcher Neal Barnard, M.D. "The bill strips the public of its right to seek any redress against food manufacturers for their contribution to the obesity crisis, and the related epidemics of heart disease and diabetes. Given that we are just now beginning to discover the industry's involvement, granting them sweeping immunity is, at best, dangerously short-sighted."

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Doctors Urge House to Reject 'Cheeseburger Bill'; H.R. 339 Threatens Consumer Rights, Grants Big Food Sweeping Immunity

New information has come to light, for example, showing that some manufacturers hawking unhealthy foods deliberately targ...

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