newyorkIt wasn't easy, but eventually New York City's calories-on-menus law came to pass.
At first, five restaurants--Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, Popeye's, Sbarro and TGI Friday's--were cited for FAILURE to compile, but they've since gotten their act together.
So, many months later, how are actual New Yorkers taking to the new menus?
Self magazine surveyed 100 New York women. Here's what they had to say:
- 79% liked that the calories are now clearly posted.
- 55% say they order less because they know what's in their meal.
- 13% have stopped going to certain eateries altogether.
Okay, ignoring the fact that there is MORE to food than just calories, I think you could call this a win--right? It did influence 68% of people to change ways.
Here are more reactions from the surveyed women:
- "I pick one high-calorie item only." - Cindy Lee, 21, student
- "One of the smoothies has 840 calories!" - Alexa Meyer, 23, ad sales
- "I special-order my salads." - Brenna DeJoy, 23, accountant
- "Bye-bye, Starbucks cookies." - Natasha Idnani, 18, market research intern
It's hard to make a case AGAINST informing the consumer. Now, if you want calories on your state's menus, check out: Please Support Menu Labeling.
Source: http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2008/09/26/calories_on_menus_is_it_good_for_new_york.php
Though Americans eat out more than ever before, few restaurants provide nutrition information at the point of ordering. As a result, we often get more calories, fat, and salt than we realize. Without clear, easy-to-use nutrition information at the point of ordering, it’s difficult to make informed choices at restaurants. Few people would guess that a small milkshake has more calories than a Big Mac or that a tuna sandwich from a typical deli contains twice as many calories as the roast beef with mustard.
More than twenty states and localities are considering policies that would require fast-food and other chain restaurants to provide calories and other nutrition information on menus and menu boards—four have already passed policies.
