by Tess Boardman

Created on: June 26, 2009

Fast food, like many things, can be harmful to our bodies. Obesity is a growing problem in our country, and with it, brings a whole host of life threatening medical conditions with it. With this consideration, there are those who feel fast food should carry warning labels similar to the warning labels placed on cigarettes and alcohol. They are going beyond saying fast food establishments need to provide nutritional information to requiring a warning label about the detrimental health issues high sodium, high sugar, and high fat items can cause. However, this raises several points in opposition to labeling fast food products.

- Requiring warning labels on fast food products unfairly singles out one segment of the food industry. Large portions, high fat content, loaded with calorie foods with sugar on top invade our diets everywhere we eat out, not just fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants are being targeted because they are popular and they are popular because they fit our lifestyles of eating on the run for small amounts of money. However, saying only fast food restaurants need to add warning labels is like saying only regular beer needs to require a label, because light beer doesn't have as much alcohol.

- Warning labelshave not been proved to influence consumer behavior. They provide some protection for companies when faced with lawsuits, but beyond that, the benefit is questionable. For instance, many Americans do not see their weight as a problem, even with rigorous education programs targeted at diet and exercise. Campaigns to "Eat Less, Exercise More" have failed. No warning label is going to change their perception of the danger their food poses.

- Deciding what foods need warnings would require extensive study by the FDA. Guidelines would have to be developed regarding what kinds of food needs the label, what amount needs to be present to require the label, and how the product must present the label. All of this would come at a cost to taxpayer on a program that would most likely fail.

- This labeling initiative would be too costly to the food establishments. When looking at current packaging in the fast food industry, many different food items can be packed using the same paper wrapper or the same cardboard box. Labeling requirements typically state size and placement on the packaging, so adapting current, efficient methods would be expensive.

- Many fast food establishments provide nutritional information to their patrons already. This may be in the form of a brochure, printed material on tray liners, or on the menus themselves. They do this because the consumer demands it, or it has been shown to improve the impression of the company in the consumer's mind. More restaurants are providing this information in accessible formats as they see their competitors doing the same.

While both sides of this issue can acknowledge the information is power, legislating labeling on fast food items is a poor idea. Years of labeling other harmful products have not been proved to be a deterrent to those behaviors, and unlike smoking which is a luxury, food is necessary for our lives. Warning labels will not influence our decisions on eating what we like and will be costly, not only in implementation, but to the restaurants as well. Consumers have access to the nutritional information already. If the goal is to increase healthy eating behaviors, more effective methods need to be found.

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