by Gary O'Neill

Created on: January 09, 2009

There is no substantive evidence that placing warning labels on anything actually changes people's behavior. Requiring labels on food products will not have the desired effect on customers and it will only lead to additional costs for both the companies and consumers. Putting warning labels on food is a bad idea.

There is no question that 'fast food' has become a major part of American life. From the end of World War II until now, Americans have increasingly used the quick, cheap and plentiful supply of burgers, pizza, chicken and other fare to keep them on the move. What started as an occasional treat while traveling has now become a regular event, with some families relying on these meals for a majority of their meals.

There is also no question that fast food, from its beginning was not concerned with high nutritional value. Fast foodwas and is meant to be fun, fast and satisfying. Fast foodwas never meant to be just like a home cooked meal with balanced amounts of protein, fat, carbohydrates and vitamins. Everyonewho partakes of this really understands this basic fact-it's not as good for you. Our society is clearly showing signs of over indulgence, with many more cases of obesity, high blood pressure and adult onset diabetes. Fast food in excess can be harmful to you.

There are people and well intentioned policy groups who are calling for companies to put warning labels on the food to warn consumers of the possible effects of fast food on their health. Many of these same groups worked to put warnings on cigarettes and containers of alcohol. While use of these products has reduced over the past several decades, there's little solid evidence that the warning labels themselves had anything to do with the change in consumer behavior.

In the late 1990's, these same groups had laws and regulations drawn up that required the stores to make nutritional information available to consumers. At some cost to their operations, all the major chains complied and posted the information and put it everywhere: on their store walls, on the tray liners and at the counter. Providing that information obviously didn't affect behavior in any meaningful way, or we wouldn't be discussing the need to put warning labels on the wrappers.

These warning labels will not stop the customers from ordering or eating the food, and they will become part of the visual clutter of the wrapping and will ultimately be ignored. Changing the customer's thinking about the effect of fast foods needs to happen before they enter the store, not after they order their food.

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