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Government control of portion sizes and calories
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VintageFeline wrote: »OliveGirl128 wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »To go boxes in restaurants aren't really a thing here.
I always ask for one when I order my food because I know some of its going home with me. I'm on a wet burrito kick right now when we go out and those things are huge!
I could ask but I wouldn't get one. Unless a restaurant delivers food (say an Indian or Chinese) then they won't even have a box for you take home leftovers. Even then it would be odd to ask to take your leftovers. They'd probably also look at you as if you'd just grown two heads in front of their very eyes. Just not a British thing.
That must be because I see you live in London. In the North of England it's not unusual or odd to take your leftovers. But you'd usually get it wrapped in tinfoil rather than in a special box.
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VintageFeline wrote: »OliveGirl128 wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »To go boxes in restaurants aren't really a thing here.
I always ask for one when I order my food because I know some of its going home with me. I'm on a wet burrito kick right now when we go out and those things are huge!
I could ask but I wouldn't get one. Unless a restaurant delivers food (say an Indian or Chinese) then they won't even have a box for you take home leftovers. Even then it would be odd to ask to take your leftovers. They'd probably also look at you as if you'd just grown two heads in front of their very eyes. Just not a British thing.
That must be because I see you live in London. In the North of England it's not unusual or odd to take your leftovers. But you'd usually get it wrapped in tinfoil rather than in a special box.
Ha! Same in Edinburgh on the no leftovers (where I'm from). Maybe I just live in too posh places.....1 -
VintageFeline wrote: »OliveGirl128 wrote: »VintageFeline wrote: »To go boxes in restaurants aren't really a thing here.
I always ask for one when I order my food because I know some of its going home with me. I'm on a wet burrito kick right now when we go out and those things are huge!
I could ask but I wouldn't get one. Unless a restaurant delivers food (say an Indian or Chinese) then they won't even have a box for you take home leftovers. Even then it would be odd to ask to take your leftovers. They'd probably also look at you as if you'd just grown two heads in front of their very eyes. Just not a British thing.
That must be because I see you live in London. In the North of England it's not unusual or odd to take your leftovers. But you'd usually get it wrapped in tinfoil rather than in a special box.
My '10 pound pom' immigrant grandparents who moved from London to Australia in the 1960's would always ask for a 'doggy bag' (leftovers wrapped packaged to take home) whenever we ate out when I was a child (late 1980's).
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Doggy bags were definitely a thing but I haven't seen anyone offered, ask or take one since I don't know when. But then maybe people are just clearing their plates more now and have no need!2
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It was commonly called a doggy bag in the US when I was a kid. I remember during my teenage years I thought that was an embarrassing term (no clue why, teenagers), and when my mom told me to get a doggy bag for my leftovers made a point of refusing to use the term (we were probably at some sort of steakhouse which is what we used to do for special family dinners), and they brought it in a wrapper with little drawings of dogs on it. Naturally, everyone laughed at me.1
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lemurcat12 wrote: »It was commonly called a doggy bag in the US when I was a kid. I remember during my teenage years I thought that was an embarrassing term (no clue why, teenagers), and when my mom told me to get a doggy bag for my leftovers made a point of refusing to use the term (we were probably at some sort of steakhouse which is what we used to do for special family dinners), and they brought it in a wrapper with little drawings of dogs on it. Naturally, everyone laughed at me.
Yeah, it was called a "doggy bag" because there was always the pretense that you were taking the leftovers home for your dog.
Nowadays, you don't even get a bag, you get a styrofoam clamshell.
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This is what happens when the prime are subjects, not citizens.
Moochelle's school lunch mandate was a failure because it demanded a one size fits all based on all students having a sedentary base line. No allowance for different natural metabolic rates or activity. Athletes had to being food from home.
In some schools, they were taking away three lunches students brought from home.
Government caused the rise in obesity by pushing high carb low fat food pyramid.4 -
To answer some of the points above.
1. People will just buy 2 portions if they are made smaller/less calorific.
There is evidence that this is not how people behave. We are talking small decreases of say 10% or less. We do not have exact "calorimeters" in our body. Most will buy their big Mac or ready meal and be just as satisfied. Just as people didn't add more salt when it as taken out of food.
2. This is unwarranted government control
Well you take a view on that. But in the US vitamin D is added on a voluntary basis to 99% of milk and in the UK salt has been taken out of food on a voluntary basis- a small and gradual reduction. Both have proved successful at reducing disease/illness and death.
If millions of people were dying in plane crashes each year which is what is happening with the obesity crisis, you would at least expect the government to encourage the airlines to fly a bit more safely!
3. We should improve nutritional information, education and personal responsibility instead.
You fight wars normally with all the tools at your disposal - navy, army and air force. Much has been done in these other aspects as well but there is much to do.
They can each help to contribute to each other. The sum can be greater than the parts.
4. Government guidelines and interference has caused the obesity crisis
Well by and large it has been caused overwhelmingly by our affluence. There is not much obesity in developing countries where getting enough food is the problem. We need to fight back with all the tools at our disposal.
5. This is the nanny state telling us what to do.
For some reason we think it is OK for McDonald's and Coke telling us what to do!
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To answer some of the points above.
1. People will just buy 2 portions if they are made smaller/less calorific.
There is evidence that this is not how people behave. We are talking small decreases of say 10% or less. We do not have exact "calorimeters" in our body. Most will buy their big Mac or ready meal and be just as satisfied. Just as people didn't add more salt when it as taken out of food.
2. This is unwarranted government control
Well you take a view on that. But in the US vitamin D is added on a voluntary basis to 99% of milk and in the UK salt has been taken out of food on a voluntary basis- a small and gradual reduction. Both have proved successful at reducing disease/illness and death.
If millions of people were dying in plane crashes each year which is what is happening with the obesity crisis, you would at least expect the government to encourage the airlines to fly a bit more safely!
3. We should improve nutritional information, education and personal responsibility instead.
You fight wars normally with all the tools at your disposal - navy, army and air force. Much has been done in these other aspects as well but there is much to do.
They can each help to contribute to each other. The sum can be greater than the parts.
4. Government guidelines and interference has caused the obesity crisis
Well by and large it has been caused overwhelmingly by our affluence. There is not much obesity in developing countries where getting enough food is the problem. We need to fight back with all the tools at our disposal.
5. This is the nanny state telling us what to do.
For some reason we think it is OK for McDonald's and Coke telling us what to do!
McDonald's and Coca-Cola have never told me what to do. They offer products for me to purchase, if I want them. They run advertisements that express, in their opinion, the advantages of their products. But I'm free to turn them down if I don't want them.3 -
The ones who benefit most from decreasing the portion sizes will be the restaurants as they will be able to give you half the food they were giving you without reducing prices.
They McDs did this with their fries several years ago after that guy sued the fast food chains claiming they caused him to have a three heart attacks0
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