Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comFDA directed to create a new national standard for menu labeling
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When people go out they are not worried about calories! They want to indulge, Restaurants and fast food places will not lose business. What it comes down to is what the individual wants, Does he or she want to be fat! People have to make hard choices..
I agree, but let's talk about next steps. If they force disclosure on one hand, will they force disclosure on the other? Obese people are going to be targeted next, mark my words. Good? Bad? We'll see.
I wonder what else we will find out about this bill as time goes on and I don't think it will be long.
Dave, people are worried about calories when they go out. Occassionally we do want to indulge, but most of us would rather choose what we are indulging on rather than unknowingly scarfing down huge amounts of calories on something we thought was healthy fare.
Some people eat out every day because of their schedules and inability to pack lunch on a regular basis. I'd like to know what I'm eating and how many calories are in it. I read the labels on my food packages at home so why can't I have the same calorie count info when I'm out?
I used to eat muffins almost daily until the store I bought them from started posting the calories. Now i only eat them a few times a month and I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm very happy that I now know the score with these muffins. it didn't stop me from eating them. It just stopped me from overindulging.
The U.S. has developed a culture where many people eat out now. So people should know what they are eating. it doesn't mean that no one will ever order the 800 calorie salad again. It just means that they may not order it as often. With obesity rates so high now we really need a wakeup call about what we are eating.
OH!!!! Help me from myself!!!
A law? Give me a break.....
I am thankful for this law. I want to be an informed consumer and they weren't going to voluntarily give us this information. My 9 year old son is a Type 1 diabetic and this law will allow him to finally be able to eat out in most places. This law will allow me to eat out and stick to my diet. We quit eating out for years because we didn't have access to this information. Last year we bought a software program that gave some to us, but restaurants change their menus so much that most of the info is already outdated. As I said, I am VERY thankful for this law. This will change the lives of millions of child diabetics out there. Heck even the more millions of adult diabetics. This information can be life or death for a diabetic. Can you really say this is a bad thing?
I'd like to know how this will affect some high-end and other boutique eateries, along with some mom-and-pop cafes where the daily special is something new every day, and often a unique creation. There won't be any chance to send a sample out to a lab for analysis, and the idea of calculating calories based on ingredients and number of portions will be exceedingly difficult, especially for cooks and chefs who go by sight and feel rather than by a written recipie.
I wish the government would stop coddling people. We all know how we should be eating, and we all are pretty well aware that servings presented at restaurants are not necessarily the serving sizes we should eat. Let it be. People need to make their choices and pay the consequences.
It's not hard to calculate the number of calories in something you've prepared without having to send out a sample to the lab, ie: one cup of flour is 400 cals, etc total all the ingredients up and then divide to get the portion size typically served from the whole. It's just math, and I do it everytime I cook a new meal to get an idea of what I am serving my family.
It's not coddling, it's information. Who knew a salad could be 1200 calories? The more informed we are, the better choices we can make for ourselves.
Any specials that are on the menu under 60 days are exempt from this law. Did you not read the article?
This sounds like the one decent thing to come out of the health care bill. (Btw...HikingStick, if you read the article, you would know that only restaurants with more than 20 locations will have to supply the nutritional information and it won't apply for specials that last than 60 days.) Whenever I go to a restaurant, I check their website to see if the caloric information is there. It takes a lot of work to eat healthy, but with more information maybe the nation will lose a pound or two.
No econDC. It will only add to the dumbing of America, where we are not allowed to think by ourselves, but have to be told everything. My proof? Just ask the housewives who have to ask over and over again for the husband and kids to do something they "should" be doing.
Being informed is being educated. Not showing nutritional information was contributing to dumbing down America and the restaurants counted on that. Now we can make informed decision about what we eat. I just don't see how this is a bad thing or in any way dumbing down America. I see it as educating America!
Now I can't wait until my next date night with my husband... Now we we will not only cringe at the prices on the menu but the calories too on the rare occasion we splurge...... (sigh....)
HikingStick, it is not true that everyone knows what they should be eating or that the portion size doesn't mean that it's ok to eat it all. My friend is intelligent in a lot of areas but he knows next to nothing about what's in the food that he eats and how much calorie and fat content he is consuming. So many people don't make the connection between what they put in their mouth and the condition of their health and body shape. I look forward to the labels so I can make better choices. The labels will hopefully help us to stop being in denial of our own bad choices in my own opinion. We are still free to decide to splurg if we want to. It would nice if the public demands better food and if the restaurants would respond accordinly.
I cringe at the thought of this... As someone battling an eating disorder (who has been on the long road to recovery..), I know this will set me back! There are so many times when I know what I am eating has many calories, but it is sort of an out of sight out of mind type thing, which helps me to eat food without worrying. Knowing that wherever I pull up to get food the calories will be jumping out at me makes my stomach turn because I know when I see that I won't be able to make myself eat it. I am sure many of you won't understand this.. but just trust me.
Also, that is why they post the calorie and nutrition info on the restaurants web sites!! Every fast food places has their info posted on their website, so people can go there and look. People are capable of makign decisions for themselves, and it is their problem if they are getting obese from eating tons of high calorie foods at say mcdonalds.. they should be smart enough to know that they can check it themselves on the site if they want to loose weight.
As the mother of a Type 1 diabetic, I am so thankful for this law. There are tons of dining establishments that refuse to post online restaurant nutritional information for their patrons. Many have inaccurate figures or don't tell you how many servings are in a portion. Lots of sneaky online tactics by those that do bother to post, so this really doesn't help me at all and my sons life depends on us getting accurate information, along with the millions of other diabetic children out there. I think if you ask the mothers of diabetic children what they think of this law, you will hear a big sigh of relief. This is such a HUGE and wonderful thing for us.
Eating out at resteruants should be a OCCASIONAL "Treat", It shouldn't be Every Day !!! Especially in these Tough times --- Americans have seemingly LOST the art on How to COOK for themselves. Otherwise, WHY are we even Having this Discussion??!!!