Calories on menus - Government Nannying?

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Replies

  • toothpastechica
    toothpastechica Posts: 250 Member
    I don't think businesses should be FORCED to put that stuff on their menu....however, I do think nutritional values for chain restaurants should be accessible for the people who want it, if that's on a menu, a website, a book at the front with a "ask your server for nutritional values" sticker on the front window...I think its only fair for it to be provided somewhere for those who do want to know.

    Can you imagine a high end restaurant with a really formal menu having to put 734cal. beside there menu items? I think that it takes away from me wanting to go somewhere for something fancy, but that's just my thought...I do think info should be available somewhere, I just don't think the menu is always the best place.
  • ShengHuo
    ShengHuo Posts: 42
    no, they should not be forced to provide that information. As a business owner, it is each individual owners responsibility to determine what they will or will not post.

    Besides, you do not get fat from not knowing what the calorie count is...you get fat from eating too many calories...

    Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

    How can I take personal responsibility if I don't have complete information? How can I not eat too many calories if I don't know how many there are? The only way would be to prepare all my food at home, so you just lost a customer.

    As for being forced...it's a bit sad in my opinion that government involvement is necessary.
  • ThisCanadian
    ThisCanadian Posts: 1,086 Member
    they can't limit your intake, but I think the knowledge would help many people make better choices.

    I agree with this poster. Our government isn't tell you what you can and cannot order. It's helping the consumer make informed decisions.
  • randomtai
    randomtai Posts: 9,003 Member
    they can't limit your intake, but I think the knowledge would help many people make better choices.

    I agree with this poster. Our government isn't tell you what you can and cannot order. It's helping the consumer make informed decisions.

    Well said!
  • JuliaLee67
    JuliaLee67 Posts: 149
    Put all the nutritional information out there, then it's up to the individual to decide what to do with it.

    [Of course, ideally each individual would have the education needed to make their own choices.]
  • algebravoodoo
    algebravoodoo Posts: 776 Member
    I don't think it's government interference... I think of it as the logical extension of nutritional information on packaged foods.

    Where I live, large chain restaurants (McDonalds, Friday's, etc.) have to list calorie information on their menus. I find it very helpful in watching what I am eating (and I even did before starting on MFP). I've actually become so used to it that I miss it when I am traveling.

    It would be nice, however, if restaurants would do this for all menu items voluntarily. I've noticed that McDonald's lists calories on their menus more often than not, and I read that Starbucks was going to start doing the same.

    Here a fast-food restaurant need only make the information available. Most have it in a pamphlet... if the worker can find a copy you are welcome to it. A few have it posted on the wall in such a place that one must lean fully across the counter to read the @#$%^ size 8 font.

    To my knowledge, slow-food restaurants are not required to provide the info, but I have not encountered one yet that wasn't willing to help a customer out, short of divulging secrets, of course.

    Yes, it is government interference, but no more invasive IMHO than the labels on food packages. I am a consumer. I want to make informed choices. If I choose unwisely, no one is going to snatch that super-sized Big Mac combo meal from my hands any faster than a box of Twinkies from my shopping cart. I do feel the day is coming when there will be other financial repercussions for my food choices, in the form of increased insurance/medical costs as compared to the same policy/service for someone deemed healthier by the government's standards. (I believe this has been argued ad nauseum on another thread.)
  • irjeffb
    irjeffb Posts: 274 Member
    I love having the information readily available, and when it's on the menu, it makes things a lot easier for me.

    However, I don't think this is something the government should force businesses to do. It's not government's place (IMO). This is something a free market could sort out on its own. If enough people demanded it and stopped buying from restaurants that didn't do it, it would take care of itself.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Should restaurants be forced? No.
    Should restaurants choose to provide? Up to them, but if their customers want it, then yes.
    Should the data be trusted? Ask anyone who has worked in a restaurant kitchen, NO. Keep in mind, your average oil ladle is a 2oz ladle... Really think that 450 calorie three egg scramble is really *just* 450 cals? :laugh:

    But what about situations where customers are clearly asking for it but still not being provided? Nando's is one that comes to mind which I have personal experience with. I've emailed them to ask for their nutritional info and they just completely ignored me. I got an auto response saying they got my message but never a reply from -gasp- an actual human.

    If you do not like what a restaurant is doing then don't spend money at said restaurant. That is the beauty of the free market, you get to vote with your dollars. Instead of going to that establishment, spend your money at one that posts their nutritional information ...
  • pikanchi
    pikanchi Posts: 72 Member
    no, they should not be forced to provide that information. As a business owner, it is each individual owners responsibility to determine what they will or will not post.

    Besides, you do not get fat from not knowing what the calorie count is...you get fat from eating too many calories...

    Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

    And yet if there's no nutritional information available, how is one supposed to know? Magic? A psychic connection with the chef in the kitchen? There's very little chance of the calorie/nutritional information being entirely accurate, but it'll (and does, for those living in places where restaurants and cafés already do this) serve as a guideline from which one can make an informed decision.

    Ignorance does a lot to further health problems, whether it's wilful or otherwise. Wilful ignorance is inexcusable, I think a majority of people can agree with that. Ergo, if the information is there, it's up to the individual to use it as and if they so desire.

    BHAM: there's your personal responsibility.
  • ahviendha
    ahviendha Posts: 1,291 Member
    I think it's fantastic. But I also believe information/knowledge is power.

    If people want to be kept in the dark, then just don't look at the numbers.
  • operation_cute
    operation_cute Posts: 588 Member
    they can't limit your intake, but I think the knowledge would help many people make better choices.

    I agree with this :) I had no idea the amount of calories in foods that I ate when I was out, if I had it right in front of me, even before coming here it would have been a big wake up call... I went to I hop a few weeks ago and there average meals were at least 1200 calories! I had no idea how much I was eating and it would have been awesome to see it right in front of me like that
  • LAW_714
    LAW_714 Posts: 258
    Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

    How can I take personal responsibility if I don't have complete information? How can I not eat too many calories if I don't know how many there are?

    Exactly.
  • I DON'T want the gov. involved in every aspect of my life!!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    no, they should not be forced to provide that information. As a business owner, it is each individual owners responsibility to determine what they will or will not post.

    Besides, you do not get fat from not knowing what the calorie count is...you get fat from eating too many calories...

    Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

    How can I take personal responsibility if I don't have complete information? How can I not eat too many calories if I don't know how many there are? The only way would be to prepare all my food at home, so you just lost a customer.

    As for being forced...it's a bit sad in my opinion that government involvement is necessary.

    How about using some common sense? I know that if I eat a bucket of fried chicken and mashed potatoes that I am going to blow out my calories for the day, so I choose not to have that. Or, if I am out at a nice place and I want a certain menu item but it comes with cream sauce I say "I would like that menu item with no sauce, or with vegetables and not the pasta..."

    Since when did people - in general - become so stupid that they cannot determine what is good for them and what is not ...???

    It is not that difficult to look over a menu and determine what is, what is not, good for oneself...
  • addiec1
    addiec1 Posts: 101 Member
    A lot of places in the UK already do this, from coffee shops (Starbucks, Costa* etc.) to pub chains (JD Wetherspoons etc.), and it's listed alongside whether a meal is gluten free, vegetarian/vegan, or features a veg*n option. I don't consider it to be nannying in the slightest, I think it's a natural response to a growing interest and desire from consumers to know what they're eating.

    *speaking of, it always horrifies me when I see the plaque in front of the cake slices with the calorie count on them in Costa.

    But if its just "a lot" of the restaurants and not All the restaurants then its not government mandated its consumer driven. I'm not denying that its nice and convenient to have the information on the menu. I really like it. But I don't think the government should mandate that information. Businesses should choose to put the information on their menus because its what the consumers want. We are responsible for making healthy eating choices, not business, not government.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    Should restaurants be forced? No.
    Should restaurants choose to provide? Up to them, but if their customers want it, then yes.
    Should the data be trusted? Ask anyone who has worked in a restaurant kitchen, NO. Keep in mind, your average oil ladle is a 2oz ladle... Really think that 450 calorie three egg scramble is really *just* 450 cals? :laugh:

    But what about situations where customers are clearly asking for it but still not being provided? Nando's is one that comes to mind which I have personal experience with. I've emailed them to ask for their nutritional info and they just completely ignored me. I got an auto response saying they got my message but never a reply from -gasp- an actual human.

    It's their loss, because if customers want nutritional info but they're not providing it, they'll lose business. No-one's forced to eat at any particular restaurant and if you don't like how they're run, you can go somewhere else. I personally don't care enough about restaurant nutritional info to not eat somewhere that didn't have it, but I appreciate it when they do provide the info.

    You could try calling their customer service line, or emailing them again. If you just emailed them once it may have got stuck in someone's inbox and they forgot to reply or something.

    As for the original question - no I don't think it's interference or government "nannying" or controlling, because people don't have to read the nutritional info if they don't want to. The government isn't forcing anyone to read it or stopping anyone from eating whatever they want. Providing information for people is a good thing, it helps people make informed choices. And those that are not interested have the choice to ignore it.
  • pikanchi
    pikanchi Posts: 72 Member
    I DON'T want the gov. involved in every aspect of my life!!

    How is nutritional information being provided the government "getting involved" in your life? They aren't changing what you eat, they aren't forcing you to eat anything you don't want to, they're simply providing you with the opportunity to know what's going into your body.
  • yelliezx
    yelliezx Posts: 633 Member
    They should definitely do this! I hate going to restaurants and having to guess how many calories i'm consuming. More places should also do a smaller portion option.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    no, they should not be forced to provide that information. As a business owner, it is each individual owners responsibility to determine what they will or will not post.

    Besides, you do not get fat from not knowing what the calorie count is...you get fat from eating too many calories...

    Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

    And yet if there's no nutritional information available, how is one supposed to know? Magic? A psychic connection with the chef in the kitchen? There's very little chance of the calorie/nutritional information being entirely accurate, but it'll (and does, for those living in places where restaurants and cafés already do this) serve as a guideline from which one can make an informed decision.

    Ignorance does a lot to further health problems, whether it's wilful or otherwise. Wilful ignorance is inexcusable, I think a majority of people can agree with that. Ergo, if the information is there, it's up to the individual to use it as and if they so desire.

    BHAM: there's your personal responsibility.

    its called common sense...use it...

    If you are going to eat fettuccine Alfredo and then afterwards say "oh, I did not realize that has 1000 calories in it" then that is someone's own fault...

    However, if you have grilled chicken with vegetables then I think we should all have the brain power to realize that is better then fettuccine alfredo ...
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    I DON'T want the gov. involved in every aspect of my life!!

    Yeah! Every aspect of my life is regulated, but I must draw the line at nutritional information!