Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act

The Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act, also known as the Cheeseburger Bill, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2004, but did not receive a Senate vote.

The bill was reintroduced in 2005 by Florida Republican Congressman Ric Keller. On October 19, 2005, it once again passed the House with a 306-120 vote (Keller actually missed the vote due to being rushed to the hospital.) Once again, it failed to achieve a Senate vote.

The Act aims to protect producers and retailers of foods&mdash;such as McDonald's Corporation&mdash;from an increasing number of suits and class action suits by obese consumers. To date these suits have been turned down by the courts, sometimes in strong terms.

Using precedent and expertise from suits brought in the 1990s against tobacco corporations, lawyers such as John Banzhaf hope to use the courts to pressure the food industry into providing more prominent health advisory information about its products. Banzhaf, founder of Action on Smoking and Health or ASH, argues that the joint liability established between tobacco companies and smokers will soon be recognized as being similarly applicable in the case of food retailers and their customers. He anticipates that more health warnings would change consumer behavior, contributing to a solution to the obesity epidemic.

Many state legislatures are considering or have passed their own versions of the bill.