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A Step in the Right Direction!

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A Step in the Right Direction!

from JoeUser Forums

So now restaurants in New York have to post the calorie counts of the food they're selling. As of friday, if they don't post these counts, they face a $ 2,000.0 fine. While many folks cry foul on the part of the evil government interfering with private business, I personally think this is absolutely wonderful!

Why? Because as a consumer, you should have the RIGHT to know what you're getting, especially when you're consuming it. Food isn't some consumer bauble that you buy for kicks, you actually need it to survive and so you should be given pertinent information on just what exactly you're buying.

The whole article is here, which I highly recommend you take a read;

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25464987/

Not surprisingly, many folks are utterly shocked at the calories packed into most restaurant food out there. In the article it states that many muffins and cookies at coffee shops contain upwards of 600 calories. That means if you were to eat 4 such cookies that'd be 2400 calories which is the average requirement for an adult in an entire day! Many consumers have remarked that it's no wonder obesity and overweight related issues and illnesses are so common in our society... because we're being overfed (and consequently) undernourished.

Further, it's not like we're asking the restaurant industry to dissect every detail about the food. We're not asking for sodium counts or cholesterol content, just plain old calories. The most basic yardstick a person can use to make an on the fly decision.

One thing I particularly enjoyed reading about was the shock many folks had when learning the calorie counts of many of the "healthy option" foods at restaurants.

The pecan-chicken salad at TGI Friday's packs more than 1300 calories, more than half of an adults entire daily requirements! And it's even more calories than their cheeseburger-and-fries option!

Other gems are many of the options at several franchise steakhouses, with some items going over 2,000 calories and desserts upwards of 1,500 calories. That's in a single serving. I suppose if you're only having one meal in the entire day you'd be good to go off of that, but that is not the case for most of us.

Every year nearly 300,000 people in America die of obesity and overweight related illnesses. Enacting a law that forces restaurants to inform their customers just exactly what they're putting into their bodies is indeed a step in the right direction!

10,614 views 57 replies
Reply #51 from Stardock Forums Top

Look, again one of my beefs with this is the fact that the Gov't is involved. One good reason for such a law to be bad? It starts with a simple law like "I want to know the calories in my food". This kinda of law is basically an open door to future ridiculous laws such as "I want 5 versions of this item to meet the needs of different diets" or "I want all restaurants to have 2 menus, 1 regular and one in low calories"
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Using the same logic, cars should not have seatbelts in them today. The reason why all vehicles (not counting certain pleasure craft etc) is because legislation forced manufacturers to include seatbelts in their vehicles. GM and Ford didn't just one day wake up and say, "hey, we're gonna put seatbelts in ALL our vehicles because we just care about folks so gosh darn much!!"

With that said, I agree that there is the potential for abuse. This potential will always exist regardless of the type of system we operate under; it's part of human nature. As I said earlier, this isn't out of the bounds of reason in my mind- it's not like we're asking for detailed sodium, potassium, cholesterol levels. Just calories. The most basic ballpark figure you can use to make a decision!

Reply #52 from JoeUser Forums Top
Using the same logic, cars should not have seatbelts in them today. The reason why all vehicles (not counting certain pleasure craft etc) is because legislation forced manufacturers to include seatbelts in their vehicles. GM and Ford didn't just one day wake up and say, "hey, we're gonna put seatbelts in ALL our vehicles because we just care about folks so gosh darn much!!"
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Uh, there is a slight difference that you missed. With a car, there is the human error factor. The seatbelts were meant to save people from either their own mistakes or the mistakes of others while driving a 2 ton vehicle (well, 2 ton may be an exaggeration but you get my point). A person behind the wheel of a vehicle is like a person with a gun, both can be dangerous if not properly protected. Calories are not like cars. Besides, the seatbelt kinda proves my point. Look at what happened after the seatbelt was mandatory, then using it was forced onto people when some believed they did not need to use it. The next probable step will be to sue the car makers for people who still died while wearing a seatbelt even if worn properly and was not defective. See my point now?
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Reply #53 from JoeUser Forums Top
Using the same logic, cars should not have seatbelts in them today.
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They should be an option like radios. Freedom is not a sometime thing. YOu either have it or not. We are loosing it one nanny law at a time. (BTW - when was the last time you saw a car that did not have a radio?)
Reply #54 from JoeUser Forums Top
Why? Because as a consumer, you should have the RIGHT to know what you're getting, especially when you're consuming it. Food isn't some consumer bauble that you buy for kicks, you actually need it to survive and so you should be given pertinent information on just what exactly you're buying.
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Yet another pointless regulatory requirement that only one out of 50 people are going to pay any freakin attention to, while the cost of their meal goes up a quarter and our taxes go up to pay the freakin enforcement nazis.

Please, the government tit is not the solution to our problems, folks. What a lame-ass excuse for an idea this was, asking our masters to "save us from ourselves" yet again. On a positive note, I know I'll lose weight, 'cause I'm gonna go puke right now. :(
Reply #55 from Stardock Forums Top

Yet another pointless regulatory requirement that only one out of 50 people are going to pay any freakin attention to, while the cost of their meal goes up a quarter and our taxes go up to pay the freakin enforcement nazis. Please, the government tit is not the solution to our problems, folks. What a lame-ass excuse for an idea this was, asking our masters to "save us from ourselves" yet again. On a positive note, I know I'll lose weight, 'cause I'm gonna go puke right now.
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How is this the government saving us from ourselves? All this is, is making it mandatory that restaurants inform you as to what it is you're putting in your body. The restaurant is not controlled in what they can or cannot serve, the consumer is not restrained in any way either. No freedoms are being taken away or curtailed.

What this does come down to is more the fact that the industry, by and large, doesn't want you to know what you're buying because of how bad it really is for you. Most folks want to be healthy, and many go through bouts of exercise and dieting and then quit when they fail to lose weight or even gain weight in the process. The reasons for this are many and mostly outside the scope of this discussion, but I believe much of it comes down to awareness. Most folks simply don't know that more than a quarter of their entire daily requirement is being consumed in one single muffin they get from starbucks in the morning.

Most folks are entirely unaware that by the time lunch at Chilli's is over, they've actually surpassed their caloric requirements for the entire day and that dinner (steak and potatoes?) will just be compounding it.

No one is saying that people should or shouldn't choose to eat a certain food, but by providing this information, people can make an informed decision as opposed to a guess!

Imagine if you decided to go buy a car and you wanted to know how many mpg it got on the highway, and the dealer told you to go look it up online. You'd probably be pretty angry and go find another dealership!

Reply #56 from JoeUser Forums Top
All this is, is making it mandatory that restaurants inform you as to what it is you're putting in your body.
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Smart People already know. It is just another nanny law to protect the stupid from Darwin's law.

Imagine if you decided to go buy a car and you wanted to know how many mpg it got on the highway, and the dealer told you to go look it up online. You'd probably be pretty angry and go find another dealership!
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No, I would have already done that. If you are going to believe a used car salesman, you are going to buy a bridge in Brooklyn too.
Reply #57 from JoeUser Forums Top
How is this the government saving us from ourselves? All this is, is making it mandatory that restaurants inform you as to what it is you're putting in your body. The restaurant is not controlled in what they can or cannot serve, the consumer is not restrained in any way either. No freedoms are being taken away or curtailed.
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Uuuuh, because the Gov't made the law that forces the restaurant to provide information to people who would otherwise not bother to look it up themselves? BTW, does anyone wonder where the money is gonna come from to pay to make either new menus with the calories on them or a separate list that will be provided with the menu? cause if you think the restaurants are just gonna swallow this cost, you got something else coming.

Imagine if you decided to go buy a car and you wanted to know how many mpg it got on the highway, and the dealer told you to go look it up online. You'd probably be pretty angry and go find another dealership!
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I chose the car I have because it had good MPG and guess what I had already done my homework before I bought the car. But then I guess if we can force others to provide all the details for you why not just make a law to force restaurants to give us specific details as to the amount of each ingredient used as well. That way we can also make sure we do not consume to much of a particular ingredient while we are at it.