No

by Tess Boardman

Created on: June 15, 2009   Last Updated: June 20, 2009

Chain restaurants should not be required to post calorie counts on their menus. While awareness of the number of calories in food is an important tool and consumers should be provided the nutritional information of what they are buying, the menu is not the right place for this. Consumers need to take responsibility for what they eat. Regulation woul be difficult and menu changes would become cost prohibitive. Restaurants should provide nutritional information in an accessible format; however, let them decide which format is best for their establishment.

Consumer Behavior

American diets have increasing amounts of calories, fats, sugars, and processed ingredients and consequently, the American waistline is growing. This is a valid concern amoung proponents of menu labeling. However, simply providing a calorie count on the menu is unlikely to change the habits of the American consumer. If a customer walks into a chain restaurant with the intent of ordering a burger with fries, they are unlikely to change that based on the calorie count posted on the menu board.

Nutiritional information has been required on package foods for generations. It has not made a significant impact on our eating habits. Yes, we are informed. No, many of us do not care. We will still eat the potato chips because we like them. We know they are bad for us. Requiring a restaurant to put this information on the menu is not going to change eating habits.

Cost Prohibitive

Restaurants operate at a low profit percentage and it often does not take much to erase positive gains. Printing menus and menu signboards is an expensive prospect. This law would require restaurants to reprint their menus every time a change is made. While many chain restaurants' menus are fairly static, seasonal changes could become cost prohibitive. By allowing the chain restaurant to provide information in the format of their choice, costs can be controlled.

Add in the cost of nutritional analysis of each menu item and profits will dry up quickly. The restaurant will have to hire a dietician or have a staff member trained to use software that will analyze menu changes.

Unfairly Targets Chain Establishments

The perception that all chains offer food that is less healthy and more fattening than other establishments is false. Unhealthy food can be found anywhere we eat. Whether it is the corner deli, the local supermarket, or that favorite Mom & Pop restaurant, the choices we make when deciding on what to eat falls on us. Consumers should know that a Fettuccine Alfredo is the provebial "heart attack on a plate."

Consumers who do care about their health and the food they put in their bodies should and often do demand information. Many restaurants that cater to a health-concious crowd already provide nutritional information on their menus. Why? Because that is what their customer base wants. They do not hide their information because they want the healthy-eater to know their food is for them.

Inaccurate Information & Enforcement

Even if restaurants put this information out there, it will not be accuarate all of the time. Nutritional information's cornerstone is portion size. Even the best run restaurant has issues with portion control and sizes. An extra shake of salt, too much oil in the pan during a rush, or just poorly measured portions throw all the numbers out the window.

While chains possible do the best job of providing a consistent product, small changes occur. Perhaps surveys have shown that customers do not like the peanut garnish on the Oriental Salad and the item is removed. Now the restaurant would have to publish new menus to reflect that small recipe change. Maybe the cost of tomatoes soar through the roof due to crop destruction and the restaurant has to decrease or remove them from a menu item - another menu change and more money out the window.

Then, there is the matter of enforcement. Who will oversee that restaurants are truly serving what the menu proclaims as the calorie count and who is going to pay for it?

What frivolous lawsuits will erupt from patrons claiming portions were bigger than published and they gained weight as a result?

Passage of a menu labeling law will not entice healthier behaviors. While nutritional information is an important tool in making healthy eating choices, let the establishments decide how to get this information to the consumer. Labeling laws on packaged goods has not impacted American's eating habits significantly. Those who do care about what they eat will take the time to educate themselves on healthy eating habits. Many don't, and a menu listing of calories is not going to change their mind on what they eat. The cost is too high and enforcement too hard to achieve. Let the restaurants decide the format for providing this information to the consumer.

Learn more about this author, Tess Boardman.
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