Bill Would Require Restaurants to Post Calorie Counts

cato institute ^ | 12 28 04 | cato

[CindyDawg]

Also if you see 500 and it's analyzed at 600 then are they going to be open for a law suit?

[Tess1]

I don't think this should be law, but it is a nice service for those of us counting calories.

My best friend and I went to Ruby Tuesdays BECAUSE there was a calorie count on the menu. And Applebee's has "Weight Watcher" points on some of their foods. It's a great "selling" technique and it's nice to go to a sit down restaurant with this convenience. But to make it law..nope. Most of the fast food places have a sheet you can ask for to see the calorie count on food. I frequent these restaurants because of the ease of ordering food I know I can have a "general" idea of calorie intake.

[freepatriot32]

ping

[Arnold Zephel]

This will also cripple small business restaurants, and make it more difficult for entrepreneurs to start a business. Just another regulatory hoop to jump through. Small business is the life blood of America and the leeches (trial lawyers and government regulators) are slowly sucking it dry. God help us is all I can say.

[farmfriend]

I don't want to know how many calories I'm eating. I just want to enjoy my food.

[myrabach]

Well, when I am in a restaurant, I want to enjoy my meal. I'm a grown up, I know what foods are good and not so good. But I'm there for a special time, please don't ruin it for me.

Keep the calories to yourself, thank you.

[freespirited]

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin (D) and Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D) plan to re-introduce bills requiring chain restaurants with more than 20 outlets to list calorie counts either on menu boards or printed menus."

I wish someone would require Harkin and DeLauro to demonstrate that such disclosure would affect consumer behavior before they could be permitted to legislate this onto the entire country.

Our local Dairy Queen has all the calorie counts listed on a board. I think some of the fast food places have a brochure with the nutrition info. Have sales of the really high-calorie items at these places gone down since they started disclosing the calorie content? I haven't heard anything to that effect. Has anyone?

[Cobra64]

Personally, I eat at home with several exceptions eating at very expensive restaurants celebrating birthdays and anniversarries. Ergo, I really don't care about this Fast Food Mentality. Though I should, since the Libs are, again, trying to steal our rights, and regulate eating patterns and "food" intake.

This country is going to the dogs in regulating everything.

Pathetic

Where we live, we can live on duck, fish, and bambi all year long. Though NC is not known for prime rib and T-bones. Veal is scarce as hen's teeth!

[wartman]

I'm as laissez-faire as they come, but consumers should have a right to know what the composition is of what you are paying for and putting in your body. Am I wrong?

[spunkets]

"consumers should have a right to know what the composition is of what you are paying for and putting in your body. "

That's what menu's are for. You pick what you want to eat, ie. fish, chicken, beef, potatoes. If you want a nutritionist, hire one, buy a book, or google it up. It's food. It's not to be analyzed and posted on the menu. Want the food choices of the king's fat council-eat hospital food. These neurotics are petty tyrants. The king's fat council can go jump off a cliff.

[kenth]

4-6? Surely you jest. 2 tops, and then only if they share their fried cheese... ;-)

[Arnold Zephel]

I'm as laissez-faire as they come, but consumers should have a right to know what the composition is of what you are paying for and putting in your body. Am I wrong? No you are not wrong. If the restaurant you are considering doesn't offer calorie or nutritional information don't patronize it, but don't force restaurants to comply with your needs through government regulation and law suits. Just don't eat there.

[pbmaltzman]

Please add me to your libertarian ping list. Thank you in advance!

[Allosaurs_r_us]

This attack by the left (funded by trial layers) is a veiled attempt to make the restaurant and food manufacturers as venerable as the tobacco industry.

Exactamondo!! It's all about sue, sue, sue! for heavens sake, you can't possibly be to blame because you can't push your fat arse away from the table. It has to be the evil money grubbing food industry! Unbelievable as it may seem, we are all brain dead sheep who can't tell the difference between a head of lettuce and a prime rib roast. Why do you think every other commercial on the tube has a lawyer who just happens to be an expert in what ails ya. Everything from Social Security to Celebrex. Take a look at your "yellow pages", pretty soon they'll be able to put out their own phonebook.

[freepatriot32]

you have been added

[dandi]

But, but, but, the Bloomin' Onion is nature's most nearly-perfect food!

Looks like I better start skippin' the Aussie Chips with my prime rib. ;)

[freepatriot32]

dont believe the propaganda on this page!Bloomin onions are like celery .they actually have negative calories so the more you eat the less weight you gain :-)

[Arnold Zephel]

You couldn't be more right. This whole movement is fueled by trial lawyers, along with a few academics supporting their argument. It is straight out of the socialist's propaganda handbook. Inundate the public with images and testimonials of the "victims" of the evil corporations or capitalist, until our view is so distorted the sensitive and emotionally driven among us say, "there ought to be a law". It is classic liberal propaganda tactics. It has worked for 50 years, so why not use it again.

Coupled with a $25/hr minimum wage(liberal speak: Living Wage),eventually we will wake up to $12 Big Macs and $5 french fries and the liberal socialist's will say that because of greedy corporations low income Americans can no longer afford to eat out and should be subsidized, which will bring on FAST FOOD STAMPS. So who ends up paying...again...the middle class of course. It is a vicious cycle.

[SuziQ]

ROTFL!! Like anyone will pay attention to them?

[Lokibob]

Who cares.

The calorie count lables on the back of food is so phony, they are worthless.

Couple of examples:
Oreo cookies, serving size is 2 cookies. Anybody EVER eat just 2 oreos? And the one pound package contains 20 servings. My suggestion, "serving size-- handful, along with a cold glass of milk". Thats honesty!!!

PAM, the aerosol oil spray, serving size is 1/3 of a second.
Try using one serving of pam. BTW, the large can contains 1,800 servings of pam. LOL


Why would we expect anything different from this bill?