Topic for discussion

Question

A topic for discussion after viewing the lesson:
https://www.ezway.co.il/ezlearning/ezpages.php/macdonalds/

In your opinion, who should be held accountable, meaning legally responsible, in this case?
The citizen, the food companies, advertising agencies, the media or the American government?

Please explain your stance relating to the facts in the case.

Answer 1

In my opinion, it is the food companies that should take the responsibility for what happened to Caeser Barber, because it was their unhealthy food that made him sick in the first place.
If they had made food with better nutritional value, their customers wouldn't have suffered as they continued to eat.

Answer 2

I disagree with Binyamin that the food companies should take the blame.
I think that in this world everyone is free to make his own choices,
and this means that each and every one of us is also responsible
for the outcome of what he has chosen.
After all, nobody made Caeser Barber eat all those hamburgers,
and in fact, a reasonable person would have realized is couldn't
be any good for you, while you grow fatter and fatter.
You don't become obese over night.

Answer 3

I don't think that Caeser Barber is fully responsible for has happened to him, but I also disagree that the food companies are at fault.
The US is a symbol for a free market, and in these terms companies are expected to maximize their profits. Actually, if case they are not doing just that, they are breaching the trust of their share holders, which is a serious offense.
For these cases the FDA was founded; for cases in which the interest of the public clashes with the interest of the manufacturers.
And it was the FDA that should have taken action before many people became obese.
That's why I think that the American government should be held accountable.

Answer 4

In my opinion, it is the media and the advertisers that are the BIG villains in this whole story.
It is a part of a larger problem of a lack of moral standard within the marketing industry.
There is no moral or ethical code the says what you can and cannot advertise,
and in the end, they blame the poor people who are unwillingly and constantly subjected to their messages.
It is for quite a while since we've recognized the extant of the social power of the media,
and as Voltair and Spiderman once said: with great power comes great responsibility.