If the various lawsuits against "Big Food"�the teens suing McDonald's because they're obese or the guy who sued Kraft over too-yummy Oreos chock-full of trans fat�look familiar, they should. The suits have been organized, plotted, and launched by some of the same advocates who brought you those big tobacco suits in the 1980s and '90s. While none of these cases has yet found its way before a jury (the McDonald's complaint was dismissed in January with leave to file again), Big Food is scared. Kraft is downsizing its portions, McDonald's is said to be testing a Happy Meal with fresh fruit instead of fries, and Frito-Lay is cutting the evil trans fats from their Doritos.
Dahlia Lithwick's latest column from Slate has the details.