New York City is at the forefront of nutrition public health issues once again. After calling for a ban on trans fats for cooking and baking, the city's Board of Health unanimously voted to have all chain restaurants post calorie information on menu boards.
Two thumbs up.
Up until now, the only requirement of chain restaurants -- which have standardized menu options with consistent nutrition information -- was that they list nutrition information for their products in any way they saw fit.
Not surprisingly, many restaurants implemented this in very erroneous ways.
McDonald's, for example, stuck nutrition labels on the packaging of their sandwiches, burgers, and fries.
In other words, consumers are not informed about any nutrition information until after they have ordered and paid for their food. Useless!
No one is going to look at the calories in their Big Mac and, shocked by the numbers, decide to order something else instead.
Information needs to be communicated to the consumer BEFORE they order.
The National Restaurant Association, of course, is dead set against this new verdict.
They claim this will make menus look too cluttered.
Really? Adding a few more numbers next to, or below, a menu item does not seem like a recipe for layout disaster.
They also argue nutrition information is already available to the general public on each restaurant's website.
True, but not everyone has access to the Internet. And, besides, are they expecting consumers to memorize calorie figures for a myriad of menu items. Or, even less realistically, carry multiple printouts with them?
As for the claim that people are not going to change their mind as a result of seeing calories -- I strongly disagree.
That line of reasoning assumes that every person visiting a fast food restaurant is oblivious to his or her caloric intake.
Not so. Many people stop by these restaurants out of convenience, often times on their way to, or back from, a road trip.
It's very likely, actually, that they only visit these establishments under these conditions. For all we know, they are regularly healthy eaters who really don't have much of a choice at that moment.
Should they, or anyone else for that matter, be denied information that can help them make a smarter choice?
And then there's Starbucks.
I think a lot of people will be surprised to learn that a Venti frappuccino at Starbucks with whipped cream clocks in at over 500 calories. Or that the coffee chain's blueberry muffin contains 430 calories.
How anyone can think that informing consumers of calories in prospective meals is detrimental beats me.
No one is denying, banning, or limiting food. It is still a free country, where people can order as they please.
However, at a time when two thirds of adults are overweight, we can no longer afford to leave people in the dark.
What do you think?
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