Eating at restaurants used to be fun, now it's kind of stressful.

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  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    segacs wrote: »
    One of my life's passions is travel. I try to take one or two big international trips per year, when I visit a new place, sample the foods, backpack around, and soak up local culture.

    It would be silly for me to say, oh, I have to stay home now because that's where my food scale is.

    I usually lose weight when I travel anyway, just because I'm out walking around all day instead of sitting at a desk. I am leaving on vacation for 2 weeks tomorrow and I plan to not log or track anything, and to just enjoy myself within reason. I'm sure I'll come back lighter.

    Life isn't meant to be avoided. It's meant to be lived. After all, that's what most of us are losing weight for.

    Totally agree with this!!!!

    I guess they will be stuck at home, while we go out enjoy the things in life. :)
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    I think the hope with that law is that it will push restaurants to give more low calorie options. Which frankly is a good thing. And it's only for chains with more than 20 restaurants I believe.

    My favorite restaurants are local/non chain places as well but I really wish they would clearly show the low calorie options on their menu. Often it's just sandwiches or salads with all kinds of nuts and cheeses or breaded chicken or fish and it's just tough to figure out what's 'safest' to eat. Then you have the other extreme where the 'light menu' is pretty much egg whites with veggies and fruit or plain oatmeal and you just want to ask them if really they have no option between 300 and 1000 calories.

    So you want the government to take care of you then, right?

    No responsibilities for what you eat. :unamused:
  • christinalong1991
    christinalong1991 Posts: 74 Member
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    jasonmh630 wrote: »
    DerekVTX wrote: »
    jasonmh630 wrote: »
    DerekVTX wrote: »
    dawn0293 wrote: »
    Unfortunately everyone insisted on going to a local steakhouse no one had been to before for lunch. I got the smallest steak they offered because they said that they couldn't do the chicken without the sauce (I guess it must be premade and frozen that way?). I only took one bite of the garlic bread that they threw an entire loaf of on our plates and one small bite of the baked potato with butter. Ate all my salad, though. I can't do half at a restaurant unless I get kind of full. Honestly, I don't have that kind of willpower.

    I still love to go to steak houses......I just tell them to please give me double steamed veggies (in lieu of Potato or Rice), and garden salad w/ a wedge of lemon (in lieu of salad dressing).......my motto is if your gonna have dressing on your salad then you may as well have french fries instead. :smiley:

    Then I'd suggest getting a new motto. I feel dumber for having read that... Salad dressing is NOT the equivalent of french fries, when consumed in moderation (about 1-2 Tbsp) and if you think that's bad, then you need to reevaluate your knowledge of what is healthy.

    Enjoy that 350 Calorie Salad at The Keg bud!......or even better have the 660 Calorie 44g fat Chicken Caesar Salad at Chilli's, or better yet go to the Olive Garden and enjoy their Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad and all its 850 Calories w/ 64grams of fat. Maybe you should re-evaluate your knowledge of what is healthy, just because it has lettuce in it and is called a salad doesn't make it healthy.

    https://au.prime7.yahoo.com/q1/lifestyle/health/galleries/g/6756677/15-worst-restaurant-meals/6756739/

    You assume that I'd rather go to those places and eat those items, except I made no insinuation of that... When in reality, I'd rather make my own salads at home so I can control what and exactly how much goes into it. The only point any of us are trying to make is that salad dressing isn't "bad for you" when you use just a little bit. One TBSP or maybe two is plenty to put on a big salad and still get the satisfaction of the dressing.

    Moderation is key, fella. I've got the 50 pounds GONE to prove it. My brother has got the 170 pounds GONE to prove it... Along with numerous people on MFP.

    The point is... Just because you deem it unhealthy, doesn't inherently MAKE it unhealthy. People just need to make better decisions on how much to consume. THAT'S what makes people fat... not the foods themselves.

    I think the point wasn't that Caesar salad is unhealthy, the way I feel about it, and not sure if this is what the other person mentioned, but when a salad has the same amount of calories as a burger an fries and I'm paying 10-12 dollars for either the burger or the salad, bet your butt I'ma go with the burger and fries over the salad! I think that's what the original point about a salad with dressing being the same as fries. But then again, I can't stand salads in the first place, so I'm biased off the bat :P
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    Acg67 wrote: »
    It occurs to me that though many are saying that a government mandate to provide nutrition information is getting in the way of business, the mandate will actually make a free market in restaurant meals a possibility. The concept of the free market, and the idea of the "invisible hand" guiding it, presupposes perfect information on the part of the consumer. Arguing against people having more information on which to base their purchasing decisions is actually arguing against the most effective part of the capitalist system.

    So arguing against government mandating calorie counts, is actually arguing against capitalism/the free market? Interesting

    Can you please post where you got this idea?

    Wouldn't it be something like, if consumers actually wanted this information they would stop buying from those establishments and if enough stopped purchasing the establishments would then give them the information they wanted ?

    Your assumption that all consumers know what kind of knowledge they need to know to make informed decisions is adorable.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Acg67 wrote: »
    zarckon wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    jpaulie wrote: »
    We are lucky in Ontario Canada that law requires chains with more than15 or 20 restaurants to publish their nutritional information.
    The downside is after reading what I am eating I don't at most of them any more. The upside is you find a few gems.

    This is basically what will be the situation in the U.S. Soon. Knowledge and information. Always a good thing to have access to. Cheers

    Yaaaaaaay unnecessary, government mandated costs, thrust upon business? For things that have already been shown to not change consumer behavior? This is something you encourage?

    Yes. Ordering off a menu without calorie information is like ordering off a menu with no prices given. It costs them money to set, publish, and stick to a fixed price for their menu, but we expect that. And we wouldn't expect people to be able to stay out of debt and live within their means if nothing had a price tag on it just by following advice like "buy products that look cheap" or "buy half as much".

    Having calorie estimates available for restaurant meals does change my behavior substantially. I think it should be published on menus, not just "available" e.g. on the web site or if you ask for it.

    Who cares if it changes your behavior?it has repeatedly been shown not to change consumers at large behaviors.

    And smoking bans were repeatedly shown not to work, until they did.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    It occurs to me that though many are saying that a government mandate to provide nutrition information is getting in the way of business, the mandate will actually make a free market in restaurant meals a possibility. The concept of the free market, and the idea of the "invisible hand" guiding it, presupposes perfect information on the part of the consumer. Arguing against people having more information on which to base their purchasing decisions is actually arguing against the most effective part of the capitalist system.

    So arguing against government mandating calorie counts, is actually arguing against capitalism/the free market? Interesting

    Can you please post where you got this idea?

    Wouldn't it be something like, if consumers actually wanted this information they would stop buying from those establishments and if enough stopped purchasing the establishments would then give them the information they wanted ?

    Your assumption that all consumers know what kind of knowledge they need to know to make informed decisions is adorable.

    So you feel all consumers are not smart enough to make decisions for themselves and need the government to handle everything for us?
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    zarckon wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    jpaulie wrote: »
    We are lucky in Ontario Canada that law requires chains with more than15 or 20 restaurants to publish their nutritional information.
    The downside is after reading what I am eating I don't at most of them any more. The upside is you find a few gems.

    This is basically what will be the situation in the U.S. Soon. Knowledge and information. Always a good thing to have access to. Cheers

    Yaaaaaaay unnecessary, government mandated costs, thrust upon business? For things that have already been shown to not change consumer behavior? This is something you encourage?

    Yes. Ordering off a menu without calorie information is like ordering off a menu with no prices given. It costs them money to set, publish, and stick to a fixed price for their menu, but we expect that. And we wouldn't expect people to be able to stay out of debt and live within their means if nothing had a price tag on it just by following advice like "buy products that look cheap" or "buy half as much".

    Having calorie estimates available for restaurant meals does change my behavior substantially. I think it should be published on menus, not just "available" e.g. on the web site or if you ask for it.

    Who cares if it changes your behavior?it has repeatedly been shown not to change consumers at large behaviors.

    And smoking bans were repeatedly shown not to work, until they did.

    And what did smoking bans achieve? And how do you separate that from the confounder of ever increasing tobacco taxes?
  • radiosilents
    radiosilents Posts: 223 Member
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    Like others, I just do my best when out to eat. Make a reasonable choice and log it the best I can. I don't find it actually stalls my weight loss although the water weight might make it look like that, but my weight has been going down a pretty steady clip when I average things out. I do think it would slow things down if I were eating out very regularly.

    Because for me I am 100% on board with doing this for the rest of my life, I'm not too worried about weight loss slowing down (which isn't to say that I don't prefer to lose faster). But the truth is that I want to be able to enjoy myself while out with friends and family. I want to have that variety in my palate. I want to be able to travel. So I choose to be OK with doing my best in each moment, and there is no going off-plan - it's all part of the plan.

    100% this. *applause*

  • beastcompany
    beastcompany Posts: 230 Member
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    SMH.
    Another one of these.


    Not that anyone will listen, as there will be two sides (per usual), one using science based data and following logic with dietary undertanding...and the other claiming McDonalds will make you fat and is "unhealthy".


    Apparently my body didn't get the memo since I eat McDonalds 3-4 times/week (sometimes more) and am still losing weight steadiky, increasing strength, and have health markers coming back better than I've ever recorded and we'll cleaner than when I believed in "clean eating".


    Funny how the "clean" diets are normally the most nutrient deficient and actually leave you at greater potential for health risks than those who aren't afraid to enjoy their diets.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Acg67 wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    zarckon wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    jpaulie wrote: »
    We are lucky in Ontario Canada that law requires chains with more than15 or 20 restaurants to publish their nutritional information.
    The downside is after reading what I am eating I don't at most of them any more. The upside is you find a few gems.

    This is basically what will be the situation in the U.S. Soon. Knowledge and information. Always a good thing to have access to. Cheers

    Yaaaaaaay unnecessary, government mandated costs, thrust upon business? For things that have already been shown to not change consumer behavior? This is something you encourage?

    Yes. Ordering off a menu without calorie information is like ordering off a menu with no prices given. It costs them money to set, publish, and stick to a fixed price for their menu, but we expect that. And we wouldn't expect people to be able to stay out of debt and live within their means if nothing had a price tag on it just by following advice like "buy products that look cheap" or "buy half as much".

    Having calorie estimates available for restaurant meals does change my behavior substantially. I think it should be published on menus, not just "available" e.g. on the web site or if you ask for it.

    Who cares if it changes your behavior?it has repeatedly been shown not to change consumers at large behaviors.

    And smoking bans were repeatedly shown not to work, until they did.

    And what did smoking bans achieve? And how do you separate that from the confounder of ever increasing tobacco taxes?
    1) less smoking in public spaces and fewer new smokers. also, less morbidity and mortality in places where they've been in effect for years
    2) the taxes on cigarettes have always been high

  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    It occurs to me that though many are saying that a government mandate to provide nutrition information is getting in the way of business, the mandate will actually make a free market in restaurant meals a possibility. The concept of the free market, and the idea of the "invisible hand" guiding it, presupposes perfect information on the part of the consumer. Arguing against people having more information on which to base their purchasing decisions is actually arguing against the most effective part of the capitalist system.

    So arguing against government mandating calorie counts, is actually arguing against capitalism/the free market? Interesting

    Can you please post where you got this idea?

    Wouldn't it be something like, if consumers actually wanted this information they would stop buying from those establishments and if enough stopped purchasing the establishments would then give them the information they wanted ?

    Your assumption that all consumers know what kind of knowledge they need to know to make informed decisions is adorable.

    Lol, you're right people are dumb. Government knows best.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    It occurs to me that though many are saying that a government mandate to provide nutrition information is getting in the way of business, the mandate will actually make a free market in restaurant meals a possibility. The concept of the free market, and the idea of the "invisible hand" guiding it, presupposes perfect information on the part of the consumer. Arguing against people having more information on which to base their purchasing decisions is actually arguing against the most effective part of the capitalist system.

    So arguing against government mandating calorie counts, is actually arguing against capitalism/the free market? Interesting

    Can you please post where you got this idea?

    Wouldn't it be something like, if consumers actually wanted this information they would stop buying from those establishments and if enough stopped purchasing the establishments would then give them the information they wanted ?

    Your assumption that all consumers know what kind of knowledge they need to know to make informed decisions is adorable.

    So you feel all consumers are not smart enough to make decisions for themselves and need the government to handle everything for us?

    1) I think people who don't know what to ask for won't ask for it, re the post I originally responded to.

    2) Haha, I'm out of this thread, if it's down to comments like that.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    zarckon wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    jpaulie wrote: »
    We are lucky in Ontario Canada that law requires chains with more than15 or 20 restaurants to publish their nutritional information.
    The downside is after reading what I am eating I don't at most of them any more. The upside is you find a few gems.

    This is basically what will be the situation in the U.S. Soon. Knowledge and information. Always a good thing to have access to. Cheers

    Yaaaaaaay unnecessary, government mandated costs, thrust upon business? For things that have already been shown to not change consumer behavior? This is something you encourage?

    Yes. Ordering off a menu without calorie information is like ordering off a menu with no prices given. It costs them money to set, publish, and stick to a fixed price for their menu, but we expect that. And we wouldn't expect people to be able to stay out of debt and live within their means if nothing had a price tag on it just by following advice like "buy products that look cheap" or "buy half as much".

    Having calorie estimates available for restaurant meals does change my behavior substantially. I think it should be published on menus, not just "available" e.g. on the web site or if you ask for it.

    Who cares if it changes your behavior?it has repeatedly been shown not to change consumers at large behaviors.

    And smoking bans were repeatedly shown not to work, until they did.

    And what did smoking bans achieve? And how do you separate that from the confounder of ever increasing tobacco taxes?
    1) less smoking in public spaces and fewer new smokers
    2) the taxes on cigarettes have always been high

    Substantiate fewer new smokers was due to smoking bans and you should have a better control for taxes than they've always been high, which is one of the most ignorant statements ever.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Serah87 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I think the hope with that law is that it will push restaurants to give more low calorie options. Which frankly is a good thing. And it's only for chains with more than 20 restaurants I believe.

    My favorite restaurants are local/non chain places as well but I really wish they would clearly show the low calorie options on their menu. Often it's just sandwiches or salads with all kinds of nuts and cheeses or breaded chicken or fish and it's just tough to figure out what's 'safest' to eat. Then you have the other extreme where the 'light menu' is pretty much egg whites with veggies and fruit or plain oatmeal and you just want to ask them if really they have no option between 300 and 1000 calories.

    So you want the government to take care of you then, right?

    No responsibilities for what you eat. :unamused:

    Huh what?

    And yeah, I don't go out as much anymore. I fail to see how it's a bad thing, at least I'm saving money, and when we went out it was just with my family when I was too lazy to cook anyway... I still enjoy a good meal out once in a while. Just not once a week anymore. It is a lifestyle change after all.

    And people who mention traveling... it totally sucked when I was in vacations for a week and we had to eat out all the time, quite frankly! Ended up gaining two pounds because a lot of places didn't have any 'healthy' choice, and I was hungry.
  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    tomatoey wrote: »
    tomatoey wrote: »
    Acg67 wrote: »
    It occurs to me that though many are saying that a government mandate to provide nutrition information is getting in the way of business, the mandate will actually make a free market in restaurant meals a possibility. The concept of the free market, and the idea of the "invisible hand" guiding it, presupposes perfect information on the part of the consumer. Arguing against people having more information on which to base their purchasing decisions is actually arguing against the most effective part of the capitalist system.

    So arguing against government mandating calorie counts, is actually arguing against capitalism/the free market? Interesting

    Can you please post where you got this idea?

    Wouldn't it be something like, if consumers actually wanted this information they would stop buying from those establishments and if enough stopped purchasing the establishments would then give them the information they wanted ?

    Your assumption that all consumers know what kind of knowledge they need to know to make informed decisions is adorable.

    So you feel all consumers are not smart enough to make decisions for themselves and need the government to handle everything for us?

    1) I think people who don't know what to ask for won't ask for it, re the post I originally responded to.

    2) Haha, I'm out of this thread, if it's down to comments like that.

    You make a condescending remark calling something adorable????

    But yet I ask you a question and all your do is run out of the thread? I thought it was an honest question to your post.

    You are saying people are too stupid to ask questions and that we don't know what we want.. so we need the government to regulate everything to save the stupid people... or at least that is how your comment comes across. Please elaborate if that is not what you meant.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Serah87 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I think the hope with that law is that it will push restaurants to give more low calorie options. Which frankly is a good thing. And it's only for chains with more than 20 restaurants I believe.

    My favorite restaurants are local/non chain places as well but I really wish they would clearly show the low calorie options on their menu. Often it's just sandwiches or salads with all kinds of nuts and cheeses or breaded chicken or fish and it's just tough to figure out what's 'safest' to eat. Then you have the other extreme where the 'light menu' is pretty much egg whites with veggies and fruit or plain oatmeal and you just want to ask them if really they have no option between 300 and 1000 calories.

    So you want the government to take care of you then, right?

    No responsibilities for what you eat. :unamused:

    Huh what?

    And yeah, I don't go out as much anymore. I fail to see how it's a bad thing, at least I'm saving money, and when we went out it was just with my family when I was too lazy to cook anyway... I still enjoy a good meal out once in a while. Just not once a week anymore. It is a lifestyle change after all.

    And people who mention traveling... it totally sucked when I was in vacations for a week and we had to eat out all the time, quite frankly! Ended up gaining two pounds because a lot of places didn't have any 'healthy' choice, and I was hungry.

    Your vacation sucked because you had to eat out and gained 2lbs.

    Wow.
  • beastcompany
    beastcompany Posts: 230 Member
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    PikaKnight wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    Serah87 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I think the hope with that law is that it will push restaurants to give more low calorie options. Which frankly is a good thing. And it's only for chains with more than 20 restaurants I believe.

    My favorite restaurants are local/non chain places as well but I really wish they would clearly show the low calorie options on their menu. Often it's just sandwiches or salads with all kinds of nuts and cheeses or breaded chicken or fish and it's just tough to figure out what's 'safest' to eat. Then you have the other extreme where the 'light menu' is pretty much egg whites with veggies and fruit or plain oatmeal and you just want to ask them if really they have no option between 300 and 1000 calories.

    So you want the government to take care of you then, right?

    No responsibilities for what you eat. :unamused:

    Huh what?

    And yeah, I don't go out as much anymore. I fail to see how it's a bad thing, at least I'm saving money, and when we went out it was just with my family when I was too lazy to cook anyway... I still enjoy a good meal out once in a while. Just not once a week anymore. It is a lifestyle change after all.

    And people who mention traveling... it totally sucked when I was in vacations for a week and we had to eat out all the time, quite frankly! Ended up gaining two pounds because a lot of places didn't have any 'healthy' choice, and I was hungry.

    Your vacation sucked because you had to eat out and gained 2lbs.

    Wow.

    So much this ^^^

    If you go on vacation and come back upset because you had to eat out and enjoy some good tasting food...you really need to re-evaluable your relationship with food and nutrition.

    It's suppose to be a part of your life...not dictate it.
    If your diet is ruining your vacation, you're doing it wrong.

  • GiveMeCoffee
    GiveMeCoffee Posts: 3,556 Member
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    Francl27 wrote: »
    Serah87 wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    I think the hope with that law is that it will push restaurants to give more low calorie options. Which frankly is a good thing. And it's only for chains with more than 20 restaurants I believe.

    My favorite restaurants are local/non chain places as well but I really wish they would clearly show the low calorie options on their menu. Often it's just sandwiches or salads with all kinds of nuts and cheeses or breaded chicken or fish and it's just tough to figure out what's 'safest' to eat. Then you have the other extreme where the 'light menu' is pretty much egg whites with veggies and fruit or plain oatmeal and you just want to ask them if really they have no option between 300 and 1000 calories.

    So you want the government to take care of you then, right?

    No responsibilities for what you eat. :unamused:

    Huh what?

    And yeah, I don't go out as much anymore. I fail to see how it's a bad thing, at least I'm saving money, and when we went out it was just with my family when I was too lazy to cook anyway... I still enjoy a good meal out once in a while. Just not once a week anymore. It is a lifestyle change after all.

    And people who mention traveling... it totally sucked when I was in vacations for a week and we had to eat out all the time, quite frankly! Ended up gaining two pounds because a lot of places didn't have any 'healthy' choice, and I was hungry.

    Poor you omg you had to go on vacation with your family. You went out to eat.. and you had a temporary gain of 2 lbs the world is going to end. let me break out the little violin.

    Just wow
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Options
    IF POSSIBLE (and for us due to our jobs and such it really is not), keep it to a minimum but when you go, log the best you can and don't stress over the details. It'll be ok.
  • SkepticalOwl
    SkepticalOwl Posts: 223 Member
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    Acg67 wrote: »
    It occurs to me that though many are saying that a government mandate to provide nutrition information is getting in the way of business, the mandate will actually make a free market in restaurant meals a possibility. The concept of the free market, and the idea of the "invisible hand" guiding it, presupposes perfect information on the part of the consumer. Arguing against people having more information on which to base their purchasing decisions is actually arguing against the most effective part of the capitalist system.

    So arguing against government mandating calorie counts, is actually arguing against capitalism/the free market? Interesting

    Can you please post where you got this idea?

    Wouldn't it be something like, if consumers actually wanted this information they would stop buying from those establishments and if enough stopped purchasing the establishments would then give them the information they wanted ?

    The idea of imperfect information leading to market inefficiency is not a new one. Using government to regulate markets goes back to Adam Smith. LMGTFY.