Skip to comments.
Bill Would Require Restaurants to Post Calorie Counts
cato institute ^
| 12 28 04
| cato
Posted on 01/08/2005 9:52:31 PM PST by freepatriot32
Earlier this year the Food and Drug Administration's Obesity Working Group issued its "Calories Count" report urging the FDA to work with restaurants to disclose the number of calories in the products they sell," according to an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. "But that's not good enough for some grinches in Congress. 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."
In "Government Gets Fat Fighting Obesity," Cato policy analyst Radley Balko writes: "The war against obesity is the logical conclusion of our wars against certain drugs and, later, tobacco. The most personal of daily decisions -- what we put into our bodies -- is now a matter of 'public health.'
"... [W]e need to return personal responsibility to the policy-making process. What each individual American puts into his or her body ought to be the sole concern and responsibility of each individual American -- not nutrition activists, not state or federal agencies."
Wyatt DuBois, editor, wdubois@cato.org
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; Philosophy; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: bigfood; biggoverment; bill; burgerking; calorie; counts; democrats; donutwatch; electionscongress; foodpolice; govwatch; hamburger; hamburgerthelawsuit; hardees; health; libertarians; mccalorie; mcdonalds; post; require; restaurants; to; tortreform; triallawyers; wendys; would
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, 81-85 next last
To: Arnold Zephel
Also if you see 500 and it's analyzed at 600 then are they going to be open for a law suit?
To: freepatriot32
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.
42
posted on
01/08/2005 10:48:32 PM PST
by
Tess1
(United We Stand, Divided We Fall)
To: farmfriend
43
posted on
01/08/2005 10:52:09 PM PST
by
freepatriot32
(http://chonlalonde.blogspot.com)
To: 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.
To: freepatriot32
I don't want to know how many calories I'm eating. I just want to enjoy my food.
45
posted on
01/08/2005 10:53:48 PM PST
by
farmfriend
( Congratulation. You are everything we've come to expect from years of government training.)
To: freepatriot32
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.
46
posted on
01/08/2005 10:57:54 PM PST
by
myrabach
To: freepatriot32
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?
To: freepatriot32
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!
48
posted on
01/08/2005 11:11:59 PM PST
by
Cobra64
(Babes should wear Bullet Bras - www.BulletBras.net)
To: All
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?
49
posted on
01/08/2005 11:20:01 PM PST
by
wartman
To: wartman
"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.
50
posted on
01/08/2005 11:31:47 PM PST
by
spunkets
To: Jotmo
4-6? Surely you jest. 2 tops, and then only if they share their fried cheese... ;-)
51
posted on
01/08/2005 11:39:37 PM PST
by
kenth
(Tagline not fit for human consumption.)
To: 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? 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.
To: freepatriot32
Please add me to your libertarian ping list. Thank you in advance!
To: Arnold Zephel
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.
54
posted on
01/09/2005 12:25:26 AM PST
by
Allosaurs_r_us
(Idaho Carnivores for Conservatism)
To: pbmaltzman
55
posted on
01/09/2005 12:34:03 AM PST
by
freepatriot32
(http://chonlalonde.blogspot.com)
To: Nataku X
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. ;)
56
posted on
01/09/2005 1:10:31 AM PST
by
dandi
(Looking forward to more P.E.S.T.s in 2006.)
To: dandi
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 :-)
57
posted on
01/09/2005 1:17:45 AM PST
by
freepatriot32
(http://chonlalonde.blogspot.com)
To: Allosaurs_r_us
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.
To: freepatriot32
ROTFL!! Like anyone will pay attention to them?
59
posted on
01/09/2005 1:58:34 AM PST
by
SuziQ
To: freepatriot32
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?
60
posted on
01/09/2005 3:09:57 AM PST
by
Lokibob
(All typos and spelling errors are mine and copyrighted!!!!)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, 81-85 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson