Supersize me
FOOD FIGHT
In its never ending attempt to let us Connecticutians know what's good for us,The state House of Representatives granted final legislative approval Monday night to a bill requiring major chain restaurants to publish the number of calories for each food item on their printed menus and menu boards.Needless to say, the libertarian part of me thinks this is absolute nonsense, and I'm not alone. Even Mama Governor, who might be expected to think an idea like this one is just fine, believes that
The bill would apply to national chains with at least 15 restaurants, including outlets such as Subway, McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Hut, Outback Steakhouse, Wendy's and Chili's. The calories would be posted both inside the restaurant and at drive-through windows, starting in July 2010.
"if you walk into a restaurant and order a bacon double cheeseburger with the large fries, you probably don't need a sign to tell you there are healthier options out there."Whew! When even our protective-to-a-fault governor sees through a piece of superfluous legislation, you know it's ridiculous.
posted by monocle at 6/02/2009 12:37:00 PM
2 Comments:
great line by the gov, i'll give her credit for that!
I have to say that I disagree with you on this. This is simply about the availability of information. I know that I'm eating horribly unhealthy food when I go to McDonald's. But this helps to give me knowledge and information about my decision. Does that influence future decisions or my eating habits? Maybe a little. Maybe not.
But the law is not about knowing about healthier options. The restaurants already need to have this information available upon request; I can't think of a reason why it shouldn't be available without request. For that reason, this isn't a burdensome law. The law is simply about making information readily accessible. In most cases I think we all tend to think that making more information available is an admirable goal, and one worth pursuing. In fact, NYC adopting this same law has most certainly affected my eating habits.
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