nutrition

“To better understand this movement against fast foods, one has to appreciate first of all that many individuals do not like fat persons.” — Gary Becker

A calorie count mandate may be coming to Oregon. Newly introduced legislation would require all restaurants operating in Oregon that have more than 10 locations nationwide to publish calorie information on their menus. Multnomah County, which contains Portland, already has similar rules going into effect on March 15, so the impact will be somewhat mitigated by the fact that many of these restaurants will already be forced to comply. Nonetheless, there are many reasons to oppose this bill.

The proposal is essentially a classist reaction against the overweight, an attempt to shame them into changing their eating habits; you won’t see anyone suggesting that Le Pigeon disclose how many calories are in their delicious pork belly anytime soon. Nor is there much evidence that the measure will be worth the cost to smaller chains, given that consumers partially offset calorie-rich restaurant meals by eating more healthily at other times of day and that the numbers may be inaccurate or highly variable. And most importantly, the information is often available already, even if not prominently posted on the menu. As I wrote for The Agitator in August:

The alternative is not zero information. Chain restaurants are already responding to consumer demand for nutritional information without mandated displays. Many have been making it available on their websites or in literature within the restaurant, readily accessible for interested consumers. Some, like Subway, tout the healthiness of their menu and prominently advertise it. Others, like Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr., flaunt their excess. In between are hundreds of other restaurants that highlight their healthier offerings or entrées that comply with popular diets. There’s no compelling reason to think that the trend toward greater transparency won’t continue or that this multiplicity of approaches is somehow inferior to the single right way dictated by local government.

For more cases against calorie count mandates, see Christopher Flavelle, Radley Balko, Jacob Sullum, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Carol Hart.

Permalink - Share/Save - Comments (8)