Posted on 07/20/2007 1:27:17 PM PDT by Stoat
Menu labeling is only half of the issue at hand here. I think that the notion of The Government using it's sledgehammer to forcibly legislate the entire restaurant industry to comply with specific food and preparation choices has gotten a lot of people's backs up. Although I have no doubt that a reduction in transfat consumption would be beneficial for many people (as is the case for innumerable food additives), legislating that NOBODY is EVER allowed to sell such products in King County I think strikes many as heavyhanded when a more gentle education program might be even more effective, and less emblematic of an overreaching Government as well.
Just because Government CAN use it's full might on an issue doesn't necessarily mean that it 'should'.
The Pepsi-Cola drink contains basic ingredients found in most other similar drinks including carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, colorings, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid and natural flavors. The caffeine free Pepsi-Cola contains the same ingredients minus the caffeine. Now go directly to jail and do not collect 200.00
“Death of Dick’s Restaurants” ping :-(
I look at labels on food packages all the time. A lot of valuable information on them for diabetics, food allergy sufferers, phenylketonuronics, dieters, etc. There was a time when there was no info on food products found in groceries.
Would you people have complained about an overreaching government when food labeling was first required by law? I’m sure many of you probably read the labels.
In my opinion, information is always a good thing. Additionally, I don’t think restaurant chains would have done this voluntarily.
A possible market reaction (the silver lining to this Nanny-State BS) could be the return of lard and tallow.
Yum!
It’s a double-edged sword. If you want folks to take responsibility for themselves, then they need information. Obviously the restaurant industry is not going to do anything voluntarily that limits their potential sales.
It’s the same with Tylenol labeling — Tylenol can be extremely harmful if consumed with alcohol, yet the manufacturer has never labeled it with a warning. When I tell people that they usually say, “Gee, I didn’t know that, why don’t they say it on the label?”
No one short of Don James could ever touch Dick’s Drive In.
Some clever Councilman (e.g. Mao Constantine) could write a grandfather clause for the Spady’s Baby.
Yum!
LMAO!
I'm guessing that an immediate reaction will be in Dick's Restaurants closing out all locations and moving to Snohomish and Pierce Counties.
Yeah I love that line..
“People will be able to make more informed food choices”
Yeah loads of “choices” you have when big brother BANS everything. :)
It’s the same with Tylenol labeling — Tylenol can be extremely harmful if consumed with alcohol, yet the manufacturer has never labeled it with a warning. When I tell people that they usually say, “Gee, I didn’t know that, why don’t they say it on the label?”
I haven't heard anyone complaining about the labeling issue. Again, it's the notion of the Government forcibly dictating what restaurants and chefs can and cannot serve, and using their power to micromanage a specific item that is only a significant threat when overconsumed. Labeling is fine....I'm all for that, but it's the second aspect of this ruling which is troublesome to many.
It sets an uncomfortable precedent for many people who believe in a limited Government.
Smaller food portions mandated by BOH coming next.
Banning trans fats makes me uncomfortable as well, though I suspect the problem will take care of itself as new formulations come on the market.
They are already doing that at The 13 Coins (a longtime stoat fave) along with higher prices, of course.
13 Coins - Award Winning Restaurants - splash
hopefully one of these will work.
The restaurants would love it, higher profits and social welfare both satisfied.
Used to be only fancy places gave you niggardly portions for pricy entrees.
Now, we’ll have Joe’s local diner restricting your calorie intake.
I hope that you are right, but it's been quite some time since NYC started the ball rolling with the transfat banning (I think it was NYC....or was it Berkeley?) and according to the restaurant industry, nothing that recreates the specific flavor of transfats has appeared on the market. If this ruling was in response to an additive that was shown to be an immediate danger, then I would say that the Board of Health is doing it's job in protecting the public from threats in the food chain. In the case of transfats, though, the effects are cumulative over considerable time and can be mitigated simply by not overconsuming the products that contain them. I would have preferred a less heavy-handed approach.
Instead, can we ID where the fish and meat served in restaurants comes from? There's certainly more of a risk from from banned antibiotics and polluted growing environments in those puppies.
I prefer not to pay $20 - $40 for an entree that hails from the filth of the Yangtze River, or the halls of Montezuma's revenge.
Sorry, Shots. I could have saved you a lot of time if I had just said in my post that the make up of corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup are very different. They are two very different products that serve very different purposes.
Wanting either of them banned is looney tunes. The fact that people who don't know the difference want them banned is comical.
I ain’t been there in a coons age...
Sauteed Prawns and Linguini...
To die for!!!
Have you seen how overweight your neighbors are? Could be they could stand a bit of calorie restriction.
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