The companies behind Tony the Tiger, Fruit Loops, Heinz ketchup, Coca-Cola, Oreo, and Lucky Charms are lawyering up as the government takes them to court. Earlier this month, San Francisco launched a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against major food manufacturers, blaming them for the obesity and health crisis that has become a rallying cry for progressive activists and Robert Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement.
While the case is novel, it’s ripped from a playbook that is somewhat normal in American jurisprudence and civil litigation.
The process goes something like this: A large company or industry becomes a political target, bold claims are made by attorneys, and aggressive advertising is used to recruit plaintiffs using TV, bus stop, and billboard signage, and finally, professional experts are hired to sway judges and juries. The trials last for months, achieve little, and end in large settlements because companies would rather pay the toll than endure months of negative headlines. Follow the lawfare industry long enough and you’ll learn that settlements don’t say anything about guilt.
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