THERE ARE MANY REASONS to be mad at fast food giant McDonald’s. For starters, there was the decision, in the early 90s, to switch from deep frying its french fries in tasty beef tallow to 100 percent vegetable oil (something I’ve lamented before). Then there was the more recent switch from its current vegetable oil (a soy-corn oil) to one that has fewer trans fatty acids–another move in a healthier, less flavorful, direction. And then there’s the decision to run television commercials to the tune of INXS’s “New Sensation.” (If Michael Hutchence were still alive, this would have never happened.) But most astonishing complaint being made is this: That McDonald’s is bad for you and that the company owes you millions of dollars because you can’t stop eating its delicious food.

Over the summer, New York lawyer Samuel Hirsch filed two lawsuits–one involving a man and another involving two girls–blaming fast food restaurants for obesity.