My initial assumption, on hearing that a restaurant in Toronto was requiring patrons to sign waivers before eating, was that it was an internet joke. Turns out it wasn’t.

Canada isn’t a particularly litigious society. It would never have occurred to me that restaurants would be nervous about serving meat that wasn’t cooked to death. My usual order, on the rare occasions I eat out, is for a steak cooked “bleu.” Or as I usually put it, I want it to moo.

Fast food restaurants of course serve their burgers well done. It is an assembly line after all. I doubt they worry about anyone getting sick from their food.

Still, if a customer orders a burger done medium (as opposed to well done) I am surprised it would require a waiver acknowledging that you were eating the meat at your own risk. Do restaurants not stand behind the quality of the food they serve? Medium or even rare beef shouldn’t make anyone sick.

Or has something changed in cows to make anything but well-done a risky proposition for the consumer? If so, I’m not sure I want to know.