Restaurants should post calories

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  • zornig
    zornig Posts: 336 Member
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    The free market will always result in better products and service than any government mandate will.

    This is your opinion, not a statement of fact. The so-called "free market" has given us food needlessly loaded with high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, and sodium. Not to mention beef tainted with E. Coli and Mad Cow Disease. Frankly, the lack of government mandate is precisely why we as a nation are overweight and significantly more likely to die from diet-related heart disease and hypertension.
  • flamnfrekelz
    flamnfrekelz Posts: 19
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    I think it would be nice to have it available upon request, but to mandate that is ridiculous. When you go to a restaurant, you know what is healthy and what is not. I think it's perfectly reasonable to have the info online.

    dont take this personal...but not everything on a menu that sounds healthy is...case in point. I live in CA and it is law that resturants list calories on their menu or at least have a pamplet to provide to a customer with listings. i went to a resturant recently and was considering getting a broiled lemon-herb chicken dish, chicken breast with no skin....sounds healthy right? the sides it came with were veggies and rice....i pulled the caloric count to see if it was worth it for me and it came in at a whopping 2400 cal. not including the side dishes. of course i opted for something healthier but not everything that sounds "healthy" actually is.

    by allowing customers to choose (should they wish) it allows us to take control of our own health. we are not asking them to take the items that are fatty off the menu...we jsut want to make sure that we do not order those items.

    *that being said to mandate it for all resturants would be over excessive. here is CA for instance a buisness has to have more than 15 chains in order for it to be required to follow the law. that is reasonable i think
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    Its our responsiblity to be aware of what we eat. This mindset will lead down a dangerous road.

    Suck it up, order a salad, dressing on the side and don't put the responsibility on the corporations.
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
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    The free market will always result in better products and service than any government mandate will.

    This is your opinion, not a statement of fact. The so-called "free market" has given us food needlessly loaded with high fructose corn syrup, trans fat, and sodium. Not to mention beef tainted with E. Coli and Mad Cow Disease. Frankly, the lack of government mandate is precisely why we as a nation are overweight and significantly more likely to die from diet-related heart disease and hypertension.
    Food full of high fructose corn syrup, trans fat & sodium is a problem because people choose to eat it. Tainted beef is a problem because of manufacturers not following regulations (which will always happen, however many regulations you put up).

    We cannot pass the buck on personal responsibility. However many things are regulated, people will still make poor choices. This nation was founded on the premise of: Can man can govern himself? The answer? Yes, some better than others, but we cannot cede our rights to choose for ourselves.
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
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    Its our responsiblity to be aware of what we eat. This mindset will lead down a dangerous road.

    Suck it up, order a salad, dressing on the side and don't put the responsibility on the corporations.
    :drinker:
  • myiceisonfire
    myiceisonfire Posts: 782 Member
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    What about places that the information is not available on line. I went to two restaurants recently, Senior Baja and Lucille's BBQ. Both do not provide nutritional information at the restaurant or on-line! When I asked Lucille's they said I would have to call corporate. Seriously! It should be required for all restaurants to post nutritional information somewhere, I would prefer the menu but at least somewhere available online!

    There's privately owned restaurants in my town that don't have it on the menu, or online either!... I don't even know what the heck is in their sauce they put on their almond crusted walleye. The waitress said, "I'm not sure, but I think there's wine in it?" So I asked if she could ask the cook. They didn't to tell me because they didn't want to me start making it at home or something. Really? I mean, REALLY? What if I'm allergic to something in it?


    .... I agree, it would be nice to know how many calories are in the items on the menu. But I think most people don't count calories, so they just see it as "healthy" "unhealthy" and pick from there.
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    I think it would be nice to have it available upon request, but to mandate that is ridiculous. When you go to a restaurant, you know what is healthy and what is not. I think it's perfectly reasonable to have the info online. Many people have internet on their phone. For those who do not--plan ahead or go with the salad. :)

    I have to strongly disagree with you. I worked at a popular Italian restaurant for years and some of the options you think are "healthiest" are extremely high-calorie with sodium sky-high.

    Maybe it would be "ridiculous" to mandate nutritional information if we were a nation of fit, slim, healthy people. But we are not. We are fat. So maybe providing some information, which in no way infringes upon any rights whatsoever, is a good start.
    It infringes on the rights of the business owner, and creates a burden on them. Nobody has to eat at a place that doesn't post the nutritional content. Let's let the business owners choose how they run their business, and the consumers choose who they patronize. The free market will always result in better products and service than any government mandate will. Yes, obesity is a problem in the United States, but it is not the government's responsibility to be our nanny. Remember, as we cede our rights to the government in the name of protecting us, we lose more of our liberties (as entrepreneurs and consumers). Time to take care of ourselves, and not depend on the government. Tell me... what has the government done well that private business doesn't do better? Health care for vets? The postal system? Yeesh...

    In a nutshell... if you don't like that a place doesn't post their nutrition facts (which could be way off anyway, depending on who is cooking that night), don't patronize that business.

    Do you have a problem with nutrional information being mandated on anything and almost everything you buy in the grocery store? Even imported products need that information. Going to a restaurant is not like going to someone's house for dinner. They want things to taste good, and they don't care if that means putting 2500 grams of sodium in a grilled salmon dinner (yes, that's from the restaurant I worked at) or 2200 calories in a single portion of spaghetti and meatballs.

    I believe that consumers have a right to know what they are putting in their bodies, and that making some laws to provide basic nutritional information is not going to infringe upon what the restaurant can and can not do, it will just cost them some money to get the testing done.
    It could be quite a burden, on a small business especially. Imagine if every time the chef came up with something new, having to have it sent to a lab? Government imposes enough laws and taxes on business as is, and they only result in businesses closing or downsizing (loss of jobs). Plus, what happens if a chef decides to add twice the sodium? Will local TV station do an undercover expose and bust them? Texas Roadhouse doesn't post their nutrition facts for that very reason -- it is too variable, and could be inaccurate from one location to another. Leave it up to the business to post their nutrition or not.

    Time for us all to be big kids and take care of ourselves. Every time we give gov't more power over our lives, we lose more of our liberty.

    I guess you think seatbelt or helmet laws are stupid too. And why ban texting while driving? Why force children to go to school? Why force deadbeat dads to pay child support?

    People are stupid, a great percentage of us don't act like "big kids". The weight problem in our country is completely out of control. Obviously, people are not taking care of themselves. We need to take steps to combat it, no? Sure, it will be a burden on restaurants. But the obesity epidemic is a huge burden on the nation in general.
  • Reverie09
    Reverie09 Posts: 48 Member
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    Its our responsiblity to be aware of what we eat. This mindset will lead down a dangerous road.

    Suck it up, order a salad, dressing on the side and don't put the responsibility on the corporations.



    So on the rare occasion I end up out to a restaurant with friends or family I should just "suck it up" and have a salad? So I can't enjoy a nice meal like everyone else? All because restaurants shouldn't have to tell me what they are serving me? That's a total load of bs. Of course I am being responsible for what I put in my body, if I wasn't I wouldn't be interested in the nutritional info in the first place!!
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    Its our responsiblity to be aware of what we eat. This mindset will lead down a dangerous road.

    Suck it up, order a salad, dressing on the side and don't put the responsibility on the corporations.

    Again....HOW are we supposed to be aware of what we eat without government mandates of nutrional information? No one will answer this question. Unless you are testing the calorie content yourself in a lab, I assume you are using government mandated nutritional information to "be aware" of what you eat.
  • katkins3
    katkins3 Posts: 1,360 Member
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    While I like the idea of nutritional information, I worry it would put some of my favorite family owned restaurants out of business. The big chains can share the cost of creating these nutrition fact sheets, but it can be beyond what a small business can afford. I will take my chances and figure it out myself once in awhile to have some dishes that are not mass produced. Over the course of my life will a few mis-calculated dinners matter?
  • myiceisonfire
    myiceisonfire Posts: 782 Member
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    [/quote]

    It could be quite a burden, on a small business especially. Imagine if every time the chef came up with something new, having to have it sent to a lab? Government imposes enough laws and taxes on business as is, and they only result in businesses closing or downsizing (loss of jobs). Plus, what happens if a chef decides to add twice the sodium? Will local TV station do an undercover expose and bust them? Texas Roadhouse doesn't post their nutrition facts for that very reason -- it is too variable, and could be inaccurate from one location to another. Leave it up to the business to post their nutrition or not.


    [/quote]

    That's why Applebees says in fine print at the bottom of the page, something about how the calories could be different. That's it's just a general number of calories, because depending on who's cooking, it could be more or less. ... They'd have to have the fine print
  • anulle2009
    anulle2009 Posts: 580 Member
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    I agree, i try to choose resturants that i can easily calcuate but that always doesnt work..
  • allison_joan
    allison_joan Posts: 115
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    Some places do REQUIRE they list the calories. I agree it would be helpful but previously, when I could eat anything without gaining weight (high school) I would have hated to see how many calories were in what I was eating. I usually check online before I go out to eat and pre-plan my eating out meals so I don't go over on calories and know if I need to work out harder that day.
  • myiceisonfire
    myiceisonfire Posts: 782 Member
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    Its our responsiblity to be aware of what we eat. This mindset will lead down a dangerous road.

    Suck it up, order a salad, dressing on the side and don't put the responsibility on the corporations.

    It would be nice to know what calories are in what. Because some things seem healthy but really aren't. So when I go to a restaurant I want to eat something & not eat a salad every time. If I'm going to pay for something that cost way more money than it's worth buying at the grocery store I'm not going to pay $5 for a salad, when I can get a whole head of lettuce for less than $1. I go to a restaurant as a treat, not to eat a salad.
  • yoghurtand
    yoghurtand Posts: 119
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    Its our responsiblity to be aware of what we eat. This mindset will lead down a dangerous road.

    Suck it up, order a salad, dressing on the side and don't put the responsibility on the corporations.

    I think this is silly. Who wants to go out for a nice meal with friends or family and have to get a boring standard salad (which isn't guaranteed to be healthy) that costs £10 (~$16?) just because they're scared of putting on weight?

    If I knew the calories in some allegedly healthy things I've eaten, I'm sure I'd never eat them again. Why exactly is it a dangerous road to not want to eat a 600 calorie slice of cheesecake after a 1200 calorie meal?? It may be our responsibility, but you can't watch out for what you don't know. If I didn't know that chicken breast had less fat than chicken thigh, I would never have made the switch.
  • CaptainGordo
    CaptainGordo Posts: 4,437 Member
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    I guess you think seatbelt or helmet laws are stupid too. And why ban texting while driving? Why force children to go to school? Why force deadbeat dads to pay child support?

    People are stupid, a great percentage of us don't act like "big kids". The weight problem in our country is completely out of control. Obviously, people are not taking care of themselves. We need to take steps to combat it, no? Sure, it will be a burden on restaurants. But the obesity epidemic is a huge burden on the nation in general.
    Personally, I feel that seatbelt laws and helmet laws are questionable, unless in the case of children. Only justification I can see is that it ends up costing tax dollars for the medical/law enforecement care having to be provided to the idiots that don't use them.

    Texting while driving affects others, and should be illegal. Hasn't done any good, though.

    Protecting children is another matter entirely, and has nothing to do with food choices made by adults.
  • westcoastSW
    westcoastSW Posts: 320 Member
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    In 2007, I did my senior (undergrad) psychology project on exactly this. We printed McDonald's menus out, half of which included the calories and fat grams of each item. We asked several hundred students around school to look at a menu (only one of the two) and order a hypothetical lunch that they would realistically order and eat. The average number of calories ordered was significantly different between the two groups -- people who saw the info tended to order fewer calories than people who saw the original menu without nutritional info.

    Sure, people will still order Big Macs and large fries. But at least they can make informed decisions.
  • maryd523
    maryd523 Posts: 661 Member
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    I guess you think seatbelt or helmet laws are stupid too. And why ban texting while driving? Why force children to go to school? Why force deadbeat dads to pay child support?

    People are stupid, a great percentage of us don't act like "big kids". The weight problem in our country is completely out of control. Obviously, people are not taking care of themselves. We need to take steps to combat it, no? Sure, it will be a burden on restaurants. But the obesity epidemic is a huge burden on the nation in general.
    Personally, I feel that seatbelt laws and helmet laws are questionable, unless in the case of children. Only justification I can see is that it ends up costing tax dollars for the medical/law enforecement care having to be provided to the idiots that don't use them.

    Texting while driving affects others, and should be illegal. Hasn't done any good, though.

    Protecting children is another matter entirely, and has nothing to do with food choices made by adults.

    So do you or don't you believe it is an infringement of companies' rights that they are required by law to provide nutrional information on retail grocery items?
  • ilookthetype
    ilookthetype Posts: 3,021 Member
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    Its our responsiblity to be aware of what we eat. This mindset will lead down a dangerous road.

    Suck it up, order a salad, dressing on the side and don't put the responsibility on the corporations.

    It would be nice to know what calories are in what. Because some things seem healthy but really aren't. So when I go to a restaurant I want to eat something & not eat a salad every time. If I'm going to pay for something that cost way more money than it's worth buying at the grocery store I'm not going to pay $5 for a salad, when I can get a whole head of lettuce for less than $1. I go to a restaurant as a treat, not to eat a salad.

    I worked in a sit down chain restaurant for years. various restaurants in multiple states actually. I know how terrible the stuff is for you, I guess I assume people know how restaurant food works. The calories, the sodium, everything is out of control there, nothing is going to 'good' for you. It's all prepackaged, preseasoned, premade stuff that gets thawed out in the morning and fed to you on demand. Often even the soups are sent in bags and heated in microwaves in house. If you are going out to eat go to a place that has FRESH ingredients and will make alterations. It is madness to expect otherwise. If the calories are listed the only difference is that you will now know you are eating a million calories, eat the "Under 500 Calorie" options most places offer.

    Expect food to not work for you, I'm allergic to Gluten, Soy, and Lactose/Casien. I don't expect restaurants to post which of their foods I can eat, I expect to be unable to eat all of it, why should it be different for calories?
  • elliecolorado
    elliecolorado Posts: 1,040
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    Even when a restaurant posts their nutrition info it is pretty inaccurate. Nutrition info is based off of their 'official' recipe, but I have worked in a lot of restaurants over the years and the cooks rarely follow the recipe. A recipe may call for a cup of oil or a cup of cheese, but no one measures they could be adding 2-3 cups.

    Cooks also don't measure out what the serving size is according to the recipe. I worked in a Mexican restaurant that 90% of the food that left the kitchen had 1.5 or 2 times the amount of food that the recipe called for. Even if we had given out nutrition info it may have said 700 calories when it would really be 1000-1400 calories.

    Fast food restaurants actually have it easier when it comes to posting nutrition because everything is frozen and everything comes out pretty much the same. Anything made from scratch, you really don't know what's going into it no matter what the restaurant says.

    Simply put there is no way to actually know what you are getting unless you cook at home.

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