More Cali Legislation proposed to Advertise Calories

[lawrocket 3]

Yep. A California legislator has proposed that all chain restaurants (restaurants with 5 or more stores in Cali or 1 store in Cali plus 10 more nationwide) must post calorie counts prominently so that all consumers can "make an informed choice."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/06/BAG29NVPU46.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

What gets me most is this quote: ""Californians need to know the calorie content of their meals to make healthier decisions about the food they consume," Migden said in a written statement. "There's no denying the link between overeating fatty foods and obesity..."

Okay. So, why not have each restaurant post information about not overeating? Why not put something out there that says, "Look. You are eating fatty foods that are cooked in fat. Eating large amounts of food is one of the leading causes of obesity and other health problems. Eating large amounts of fatty foods (like the ones we sell) will make the problem worse. Our food tastes really good because it is loaded with fat, with a large dose of carbohydrate and some protein, too.

If you want healthy food, don't eat here. If you want great tasting food that is unhealthy and priced right, eat here. But don't blame us if you get fat. You've been warned."

p.s. When I saw the video of her press conference on the news yesterday, I was stricken by Ms. Migden's appearance. The lady is absolutely emaciated - not just thin but with that look of anorexia.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[NWFlyer 2]

I'm all for restaurants posting nutritional information ... voluntarily. I like being able to use it to make a better choice.

I'm not sure we need a law for it... and I'm not sure this is any solution to the obesity problem, anyway. McDonald's and other fast food chains have had nutritional information available for years.

It's not the availability of information. It's the choices people are making.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[kelpdiver 2]

there is huge value to having the information universally available. Some bad food choices are obvious, some are not. But even in the bad choices, you don't always know how bad they are.

Feticinni Alfredo can be over 2000 calories thanks to that sauce. That's more than half a pound in weight gain if we safely presume the person consumed their appropriate daily total already. The difference between a cream sauce and a marinara is hundreds of calories.

As bad as the Big Mac is, the fries and the shake are much much worse. People can know this thanks to the information given.

Most restaurant portions are too high. Claimjumper is criminally high. The only nice thing about the fruity SF restaurants charging $20-30 a plate is that they're totally about quality over quantity and you're probably good on calories. (And hungry in a couple hours)

------
All that aside, the costs of this mandate are far too high, esp for those with only 5 or 10 sites. Nevermind that it would stiffle the idea of the daily specials.