People who say the Government bans are curtailing their freedoms are ridiculous. That is like saying next time you order fish you will know what the actual worldwide stock and harvest rates are so you know you won’t be contributing to the extinction of a food source. Otherwise…plain and simple…you don’t really care as long as you can do whatever you like regardless of consequences…that is why the rest of us want the bans…to try and stop carelessness.

Our “democratic” country has become overwhelmed and overburdened by socialists who know what is good for the masses. To police the country’s foolish laws costs taxpayers dearly. We need to return the government’s role to infrastructure, public safety and justice. Let the feeble minded folks like myself make decisions that concern our own health/welfare and I will continue to pay fair taxes to be free, safe and semi-literate. Asking me, to pay for you, to keep you, from harming yourself; is beyond stupid. Please do share your bright ideas with your family and friends, but don’t force them on me.

In “Full-Disclosure Menu” (May) Ian Mount recommends that restaurant
owners accept laws requiring calorie counts on their menus as “far
better than the alternative: nanny-state restrictions on what can be
served.”

But as he points out, nanny-state restrictions are already underway in
New York and Chicago, and other governments are may jump on the
bandwagon. Giving in to disclosure demands will only encourage the
nannies.

Government has no legitimate role in dictating what a person can and
cannot eat. If the public allows politicians to dictate their diet, we
might as well turn off the lights.

Seriously, where is the end of the government trying to curtail the freedoms of American citizens? What’s next? Is the government going to tell me where I can and cannot live? Where I can travel? What I can wear? Who I can talk to? What I can and cannot think?

Does this sound rather Orwellian? It might, but so does telling me what I can and cannot consume.

We need to encourage people to take responsibility for their own choices - and make them deal with the consequences instead of baling them out. This would help our country out in most ways, not just dietary excesses. Sheesh. We cannot FIX everybody or prevent every bad thing that may happen.

I think it’s great. With obesity in this country at epidemic proportions, perhaps this may help. Fast food is one of the great contributers to the epidemic.

I think it’s a great idea! Consumers should know how many calories they are consuming. It’s amazing how hard restaurant chains are fighting to hide their nutrition information. I wanted to share a new service my company just launched called ‘Wellternatives’ that lets people find nutrition info for thousands of chain restaurants for free – right from their cell phone. It also makes recommendations for a healthier alternative, hence the name… Wellternatives. If restaurants aren’t going to post their nutrition info, we figured we’d do what we could to give people instant access to the info from anywhere. Would love to hear what you think of it!

The government does not need to tell most of us how to eat. We are living in the greatest country and obviously people are over indulging, I just wish the obese would recognize that obesity is there problem and not mine to pay for, where were they when I needed a student loan.

It that appears from some of the blogs here that some of you haven’t been paying attention!!! I guess you don’t mind paying taxes to support the person who has allowed themselves to become morbidly obese,refused to educate themselves in proper nutrition and exercise all in the face of plenty of opportunities to do so and then no longer are able to work to support themselves and/or their families. I guess it doesn’t bother you that a beautiful creature like a shark has its fins sliced off and its body thrown back into the ocean still alive for your bowl of soup. I guess you don’t mind that the huge money-making machine called the food industry is adding ingredients to our foods simply to make them go farther, taste better, last longer on the shelf, look prettier etc.,etc. no matter what the cost to us,the environment, all the living things on the planet, the planet… I say, “Know who you elect and let them help us to help ourselves.”

Come on, people!!! =(
Christie,RN
____________________

Why do people always complain about how anothr person is costing the system money?

If we got rid of all of the inefficient people on Earth, there would only be a few hundred million million people left. We need to stop complaining about how obese people, disabled people, illegal immigrants, etc. are draining money from taxpayers. The government is going to take the money and spend it no matter what.

Just be happy about your own self and stop laying guilt trips on other people. Let the next man be a bum if he wants to. As long as he isn’t trying to bring you down with him, you should not care about him and his troubles. Stop being so conceited, arrogant, and elitist. You are no better than anyone else out here. one slip can leave you in a position where you are unable to provide for yourself.

YES. YES. YES. I am all for the government forcing restaurants to post/publish the nutritional content of food. I am also fine with the government getting rid of Trans fat. Being fat is EXPENSIVE (health industry, transportation industry, etc..) and unhealthy. People can still get a hold of trans fat, but it a chemical that is not needed and exists in processed food. I can’t believe anyone would actually want Trans fats in their food.

I prefer full disclosure and taxes to outright banning of food, except when the food production involves animal cruelty. Encouraging animal cruelty does not serve the public interest.

As for banning food for health reasons, unless it is outright poisonous, I think that’s stupid.

However, if you think your own eating habits aren’t anybody else’s business you’re wrong. Scientific research shows that your health affects your family’s health - your partner and your children are very likely to follow your food and exercise habits - but also, the rest of us bear the burden of the excess health care costs that come from your ruining your body. We all pay for other people’s failure to take care of themselves, at least to some degree.

So I think a food tax is far better. If you want to stuff yourself with junk, then you ought to have to pay a premium up front. If you want to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, then your health insurance costs are higher. That’s completely fair. Fruit and vegetables ought to be almost free, and hot dogs, cheeseburgers, ice cream and candy bars should be $10. The food tax can go to subsidize the price of healthy food and to promote healthy eating.

The government has no business whatsoever outlawing foods that make people fatter. Many things are bad for your health, but we live in a free society and people can eat what they want. It is absolutely right to require disclosure of food content to the public (calories, fat content, etc), so they can make educated decisions about what they consume. If the real gripe lies with the taxpayer burden of paying medical costs for obese people, then we should consider taxing items based on their trans-fat content or some other “junk food tax.” But outlawing certain foods is just plain wrong.

As someone severely allergic to gluten (a staple in almost anything made in America) I am definitely in support of full disclosure of ingredients in food, so I know whether or not the stirfry I just ate was made with soy sauce that had gluten (almost all brands do!).

However, is it necessary that restaurants cannot sell unhealthy food to people that want to eat poorly? I don’t think so. Perhaps with proper disclosure of what we are eating, people can make their own decisions about what they want to put into their bodies. If people know what they are eating and still choose to do so, more power to them. I just want to know what I’m eating in the first place!

The trouble with the State interfering with anything, whether it be food or seatbelts or other things, is that we HAVE NOT (!) VOTED for such measures. Where has REAL democracy gone? We vote them in, and for 4 years the politicians do just what they like. And laws/measures, etc. do rarely get repealed when a new team gets in. Anno 2008 we should have REFERENDA on decisions that affect us all: there is Internet, and we are NOT stupid! Look at Europe (where I live), where the State’s interference has gone WAY beyond food… Democracy, PLEASE!

Well I am for one that we should whats best for us I am tired of the goverment trying to make us do what we do not want to do. We the United States of America is getting more Communist every day cause we are being told what where and we do do things.

The choice mentioned in this article between laws requiring disclosure or “nanny-state” restrictions is a false dichotomy. They are both “nanny-state” measures. If I don’t like eating a particular dish at a particular resturaunt w/o disclosure, I can ask the chef, or eat somewhere else. Voting with the dollar produces far more and far better results than any politician that gets involved.
Once we crossed the line that allows government to protect us from ourselves, we forewent any logical objection to just about any restriction that can be imagined. It was the death knell for Residual Individual Sovereignty in the U.S. Now, its only a matter of time…

I’m so sick and tired of the people of the United States laying down and playing dead while self-claimed “know-it-alls” change our laws and continue to lead us into being a communist country.

We all know margerine is bad for us, but by golly, if I want to eat it and suffer a heart attack, that’s my perogative. If I don’t care to wear my seatbelt and I fly through the windshield and die, that’s my perogative…

Why can’t all you “do-gooders” stop treading on my rights? And why is everyone letting them do it? We don’t need big brother telling us what to eat, what not to eat, and how to sit in our cars. When are they going to start telling us how to wipe our a**’s? The better question is, are we going to let them tell us when? Sad, sad, sad state of affairs.

Nanny state and busybodies at their finest. It is all about power and not health.
But who is going to deal with HALAL and COSHER foods, when animals are actually TORTURED during slaughter? Too unconfortable to mention?

To John in New York: The only reason these foods exist is because people buy them. If you don’t like HFCS, don’t buy it. If you don’t like GMO, don’t buy it. We do have choices and like it or not, the vast majority of people don’t care. Genetically modified corn goo is cheaper than cane sugar, and people want cheap, so therefore that is what is going to be sold. We live in a free market, which means you are free to buy or not buy any product.

I am 100% in favor of mandatory disclosure of ingredients and nutritional information to consumers. Consumers have a right to know what they are putting in their body. But, I am 100% against bans of any kind whatsoever. Instead, there should be stiff penalties and taxes on being unfit due to the excess burden on the health care system. Whether or not someone is overweight is strictly their choice (don’t give me the glands argument. Thermodynamics trumps glands). You should be free to make bad choices and to pay the price for them. That kind of freedom and liberty is preferred to the nanny state.

It that appears from some of the blogs here that some of you haven’t been paying attention!!! I guess you don’t mind paying taxes to support the person who has allowed themselves to become morbidly obese,refused to educate themselves in proper nutrition and exercise all in the face of plenty of opportunities to do so and then no longer are able to work to support themselves and/or their families. I guess it doesn’t bother you that a beautiful creature like a shark has its fins sliced off and its body thrown back into the ocean still alive for your bowl of soup. I guess you don’t mind that the huge money-making machine called the food industry is adding ingredients to our foods simply to make them go farther, taste better, last longer on the shelf, look prettier etc.,etc. no matter what the cost to us,the environment, all the living things on the planet, the planet… I say, “Know who you elect and let them help us to help ourselves.”

Come on, people!!! =(
Christie,RN

While Arizona declined to pass Sen. Amanda Aguirre’s bill last year
regarding caloric information, the Arizona Restaurant & Hospitality
Association and the Arizona Department of Health Services have partnered to
create a voluntarily program. McDonald’s and Outback restaurants are early
signers.

Please see press release below.

Thank you,
Jeanette

Director of Communication
Arizona Senate Democratic Caucus

ADHS News Release:
gray rule
Release:

ARIZONA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE
TO LAUNCH ARIZONA SMART CHOICE PROGRAM STATEWIDE
Release Date:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 24, 2008

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is pleased to announce its
newest program, “Arizona Smart Choice,” which is designed to help people
find healthy menu options at restaurants statewide. The ADHS will hold an
official press conference to launch the program on Mon., March 24, 2008, at
the Arizona State Capitol Rose Garden, which is located at 1700 W.
Washington Street in Phoenix, at 10:30 a.m. The Program is a proactive
initiative developed by ADHS to combat obesity in Arizona, which has more
than doubled since 1990. Those restaurants that have already signed on to
the program include McDonald?s, Outback Steakhouse, Macayo?s and Subway.

“In 2007, Sen. Aguirre convened a group of community, health and restaurant
leaders to establish a statewide restaurant initiative designed to raise
awareness of the importance of good nutrition when eating outside of the
home. We solicited restaurants of all shapes, sizes and menu selections and
encouraged them to offer and promote healthy menu options,” said Susan
Gerard, Director of ADHS.
Through the program, the ADHS is partnering with participating restaurants
and is both helping them to identify healthy items within their menus, as
well as encouraging them to slightly alter some menu items to reach Arizona
Smart Choice requirements.

“Any restaurant interested in submitting their recipes, or working with us
to tweak menu items to meet our nutritional criteria, need only contact ADHS
to start the process,” said Margaret Tate, bureau chief of Chronic Disease
Prevention and Control for ADHS. “Once a menu item is approved, the
restaurant is given Arizona Smart Choice program materials to display at
their location(s).”
To qualify for approval, a main dish must meet the following criteria:

* Minimum of two servings of beans, whole grains, fruits or vegetables;
* No more than 700 calories;
* No more than 30 percent of total calories from fat;
* No more than 15 percent of total calories from saturated fat;
* No more than 0.5 grams of trans fat (no added or artificial fat); and
* No more than 1,500 mg of sodium.

To qualify for approval, a side dish item must meet the following criteria:

* Minimum of one serving of beans, whole grains, fruits or vegetables;
* No more than 300 calories;
* No more than 30 percent of total calories from fat;
* No more than 15 percent of total calories from saturated fat;
* No more than 0.5 grams of trans fat (no added or artificial fat); and
* No more than 650 mg of sodium.

Restaurant participation in the program is voluntary. There is no fee for
restaurants to join the program, but they will need to pay for nutrient
analysis services of their menu item(s) and any costs incurred in tweaking
their recipes. For more information, or to begin the process to enroll your
restaurant, please visit http://www.azsmartchoice.com.

What next? Will the states start entering everyone’s kitchen and pantry and arrest them for having Karo corn syrup or a pound of Blue Bonnet margarine.

Gice it a rest! It is none of government’s business to protect us from ourselves.

I love this new trend! I want to know what I’m eating for better or worse. Just recently, I was pleasantly surprised by the nutritional info that I researched on one of my favorite comfort dishes - the Naked Chicken Burrito at Qdoba. I had started a diet and put the burrito on my “no-no” list, but after visiting the website I found out it wasn’t nearly as bad for me as I had thought. More than that, I found out that by skipping the cheese, I could bring the dish within my calorie requirements. I’m thrilled that I was able to find this out and think this info should be available for most restaurants.

Oh, come on… anyone could have made that error. Of all the arguments on here, Dan’s is the most grounded in legal reasoning.

“Effect” a ban. Not “affect.” Although it has no bearing on the substance of your claim, spelling mistakes lend little credit towards claims of others’ ignorance.

I think that “Bart” needs a refresher in Constitutional Law. I hope he is not a lawyer. No bar-certified attorney should make such inaccurate assertions.

Before I begin, I find it humorous that my previously stated solution to this issue (move to a different State or elect a legislature that better represents your values) is characterized as “liberal.” My reasoning is identical to that used by Justices Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, etc. in defending a State’s right to make legislation for the health and welfare of its citizens and rejecting the federal government’s authority in attempts to do the same. Few “liberals” would share similar legal reasoning with the above Justices.

Also, “miss-state” [sic] is spelled, “misstate.” Although it has no bearing on the substance of your claim, spelling mistakes lend little credit towards claims of others’ ignorance.

Now, the substantive issues.

First, please cite the FDA regulation that gives that agency the “authority to limit/ban sale of food/goods found to be harmful as tested scientifically.” I look forward to your response.

Second, you correctly state that Congress possesses the power to regulate interstate commerce. However, I express no opinion on whether federal regulation of food items for the purpose of promoting general health would pass Constitutional muster under a Commerce Clause justification. I will note that recent decisions suggest that the Court has become less willing to uphold federal regulations pegged to the Commerce Clause that are actually veiled usurpations of the State’s police powers. See, U.S. v. Morrison, 529 U.S. 598; U.S. v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549.

Third, your conclusion that a State lacks the power to regulate intrastate commerce is flatly wrong. Regulation of intrastate commerce is completely within the 10th Amendment’s purview. However, the Court labels almost no goods as intrastate. In fact, the opposite is true. The Court goes out of its way to declare affected goods interstate. Therefore, the Court would probably rule that a State food ban affects interstate commerce.

But, this does not end the inquiry. Because the affected items are incoming goods, the Court will focus on whether the regulation in question discriminates against out-of-state goods or is equally applied to all goods. The regulations in question here are total bans. A total ban affects in-state production/sale the same as out-of-state importation/sale. Therefore, the regulation does not discriminate. Because it does not discriminate, the State regulation can burden interstate commerce if it attempts to promote the health and welfare of its people, unless the party challenging the State law can demonstrate that the State could achieve exactly equal benefits through a law that would not place a great burden on commerce. See, Dean Milk Co. v. City of Madison, Wis., 340 U.S. 349. This is a very high standard. I have a difficult time envisioning a successful challenge under the above test.

Finally, I can count the number of times on one hand that a State regulation made pursuant to its police powers has failed rational-basis review. The assertion that a ban on goose liver is irrational is…well, irrational.

My arguments have nothing to do with whether the food bans in question are a subjectively good idea. Instead, they conclude that a State has the power to affect a food ban, for the purposes of promoting the general health and welfare of its citizens, pursuant to the police powers, despite the regulation’s affect on interstate commerce. That’s all. So, once again…we’re back to square one. If you don’t like the laws in your State, move to a different State or elect a legislature that better reflects your values.

While I appreciate the noble intentions behind these food bans, I’d prefer not to go out to dinner with Big Brother, thank you. I’d like to be the one to decide what I eat and what my kids eat. How far will this be allowed to go? I realize it is all in the name of good health, but where do you draw the line? Sunburns can cause skin cancer–will it be illegal to go to the beach because it’s not good for you? Let’s take some personal responsibility here.

The food industry is about lying and deceit. Have you ever wondered why every food you see have “0 grams trans fat”? It’s because the FDA allows foods with 500mg trans-fat to be labeled as “0 grams”, even though we all know that people generally eat over two servings of whatever they’re eating.

On top of that, the only reason why HFCS is popular is because of corn farmers here in the US complaining to the government that sugar is ruining their business. Therefore, sugar is ridiculously expensive, and genetically modified corn goo reigns supreme.

The point here is that we NEED legislation if we feel that trans fats and HFCS are harmful to our health. We can’t trust companies to change their ways just because of public concern, mostly because that doesn’t work. You might argue that we should allow social darwinism to take its toll on businesses that don’t bend to our wishes, but when 300lb Gladys and her 7 obese children are still happily flinging money at these corrupt businesses, change would never occur in our lifetime.

[quote]When the government starts telling me what I can and cannot eat, will be the day that the government will be welcome to cover my health insurance costs - and require that my employer then pay me directly (and tax-free, mind you) what they would have spent on health insurance for me.

The government has zero vested interest in my health; therefore the government has zero right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body. If I want to drink four cans of Coca-Cola, eat two large orders of McDonald’s fries, covered in cheese sauce, with five slides of Chicago-style pizza for lunch (after I had a four pancake, three egg, and four slice of bacon breakfast), that’s my business.

Posted By Erik H., Portland, OR : May 1, 2008 11:33 pm
[/quote]

This is actually quite incorrect. Does this imbecile think he will never be 65 years old and forced onto Medicare? What an idiot.

I’ll pose this question to our Federal, State, City official, and all of those health conscious citizens. What would you say to me if I told you that eating what you consider a healthy meal was not healthy at all simply because someone said it wasn’t healthy? And what if I was going to prohibit you from eating it? What if I like eating foods that I know are not very healthy? What punishment are you going to bestowed upon me? I can read food labels too, or are you going to force me to make up your own mind that I really didn’t understand what I was reading? I fully agree on displaying nutritional information, and I truly agree we need to become more health concious, but It is completely un-American that any government, Federal or otherwise, want to force upon me what I can, and cannot eat! It seems we tend to listen and believe (sometimes blindly) to whatever our health institutions feed us (no pun intended). We do not need a forceful Federal government to keep us safe in our day to day activities. What we, as free citizens choose to do in the privacy of my own homes (aside from physical harm to others), should not be regulated, or forcefully thrust upon us. I’d like to propose that keeping this trend of oppression, yes I said oppression, for the next 20 years will see all free Americans as insecure as children because we may not be sure if walking outdoors with a little more bulge than what is legally acceptable will be cause for fear.

I am 41 years old, when I was 15 my mother had a heart attack. Following her Doctors orders over the years she eliminated alot of foods from her diet and changed the way she cooked, She passed away at 55. After living by the Heart Association Diet for many years I began having stomach problems, my Cholesterol went up, my Iron went down, my blood sugar went way below normal. I was also overweight. I was told I was at risk for a Heart Attack or Stroke. After being placed on several different medications which did little to help and alot to hurt, I made a life choice. I went back to the old ways of cooking and eating. I do not use oil or shortening, I use lard, I started buy raw milk, butter and cheese. I stopped buying processed foods. I also use true sea salt ( with all of the natural vitamins and minerals intact). I am now within a normal weight, I no longer suffer from IBS or Lactose Intolerance, My blood sugar is within a normal range and so is my cholesterol. Why take away peoples choice to eat how they choose, let us make our own choices. Some of us do know what we are doing.

This is way to far I mean eat what you wanna eat. How are forgin resturants going to serve foods that are “banned”. This to me is just as ridiculous as the “banned books list.”

Umm, excuse me? Since when do people have to eat at restaurants? As usual, the legislators and everyone else are ignoring the real problem - Americans are extremely over-self indulgent. Before the 70’s eating out was a luxury, a treat that happened occasionally. Now people seem to feel they have a constitutional right to eat out all the time and a constitutional right to expect others (the law-makers, the restaurant owners) to make it “safe” for them to do so.

If people are concerned about what’s being served in restaurants, eat at home. If you’re concerned about obesity, EAT SMALLER PORTIONS and eat less often! I saw an antique dinner plate (about 100 years old) the other day. It was the size of a modern-day salad plate! Remember people, you don’t have to put the fork in your mouth and you don’t have to finish every bite on the plate! You don’t have to patronize cheap fast-food chains which by definition provide cheap fast food to eat. Healthy food is not necessarily that cheap or that fast. If restaurant business fell off dramatically because people decided to eat out less often, guess what! The restaurants would then find it to their benefit to provide the kind of food and nutritional info the market says it needs.

As for the government - this is another bogus issue they can focus on to distract everyone’s attention from the fact that Congress is not doing its constitutionally-mandated job and solving real problems such as the war in Iraq, the huge budget deficit, endemic corruption in government, etc., etc.

KLC

It is getting ridiculous. While I totally agree with displaying nutritional content, it is completely insane for the government to try and tell me what I can, and can not eat. It is going WAY to far. We don’t need a strong federal government to keep us safe in our day to day activities. What I choose to do in the privacy of my own home, is nothing that should be regulated, (obviously forgoing any crimes against humanity) I hate to think where this is going over the next 15 years.

Some of the comments here are just ridiculous. People are actually advocating the legal enforcement of their eating choices on the rest of the population. I mean, the idea of banning MSG or corn syrup or whatever else people are complaining about is beyond absurd. Are these people out of their minds? I cannot comprehend the thought process that gets them from, “I choose not to eat MSG,” to, “therefore MSG should be illegal.” I mean, hell, I don’t like lima beans; I think I’m going to go lobby for a ban on those right now.

Kudos to San Francisco for banning High Fructose Corn Syrup, the main sweetner in soft drinks.

Corn syrup, unlike real sugar has absolutely zero nutritional value. It goes directly to the liver where it’s stored as fat. Real sugar is absorbed immediately into the blood stream.

Soft drinks sweetened with real sugar also taste much better.

We as consumers need to pressure the soft drink industry to use real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. Eventually it would be a win-win situation and have a major impact on obesity.

Obesity is out of control and will have major health implications and cost this nation trillions in the future if we don’t get it under control. Banning High Fructose Corn Syrup should be number ONE on the list of products.

DC Physician
Laurel, MD

I agree that we should be educated about what we eat but I completely and wholeheartedly disagree with the government telling me what I can or can’t eat. There are so many important issues out there that should be addressed. We should have smaller government, not larger! What happened to personal responsibilities and choices? If I choose to eat a fast food hamburger and french fries how is that hurting or impacting anyone else? Is this where our country is headed…more governmental control and less personal freedom and responsibility. Is the government considering us regular people too stupid to handle our own personal health? If someone wants to be obese and unhealthy….leave them alone! That is their choice. I am scared of where all of this is going!

I was raise on raw milk until I was 14. I didn’t have a stomach problem until we moved from the farm. I missed the morning treat of cream and honey with biscuits and pork gravy. I was 4′10″ and 85 lbs. My skin had no problems.
Feed everyone fear. There is nothing wrong with raw milk, if handled with care. These laws were passed to keep the big producers taking the money in from the consummers. Let the people know margarine is one molique from plastic.
It was just another way of taking our freedon of choice away and controling our money for big business. Freedom of choice is lost by stupid laws pushing others believe on the people.

The key in all of this is education. For example, the majority of Americans have no clue how dangerous Tran Fats are nor do they understand that reading the nutrition label on packaged food is not enough. You must read the ingredients AND know what to look for. Restaurants are perhaps the most unhealthy of places to eat. They use an abundance of sodium on their foods, rich sauces, etc. Again, people deserve to know what is in their restaurant food and decided for themselves in it is in their best health interest to order that specific food item. For those of you who enjoy eating cheese fries, Big Mac’s, etc enjoy your short, unhealthy and obese life cause you aren’t going to be on this earth very long.

If those that are so fat. and it seems more and more are..around waist and between ears.. not so prone to disease and due to own gluttony, not a serious medical issue, we would not have to regulate.. The data on OBESE is there and we are getting fatter.. So prefer we regulate the foods, as nothing else will work. The fat are like the DUI driver.. if not regulated will kill someone..as they gobble up food and medical resources.

When is BIG BROTHER going to install the camaras in my kitchen? Maybe I can arange to leave them a key so they don’t have to sneak in.

I would like to see artificial food additives and preservatives removed from all food.
Period… end of story.
No more msg , or high fructose any thing…
no more aspartame
I would like to see a ban on GMO crops.
I would like to see a ban on flouride in our drinking water.

I would like to see the COMPANIES whom produce foods with high levels of in-edible garbage packed in it TAXED… Tax the companies , not the consumers.
Tax the companies whom produce these outrageous chemicals…

If they want to use unhealthy cheap crap,for our food supply regardless of the health implications, they should have to pay.

There is a healthy choice to high fructose corn syrup.. it is called sugar… natural and digestible.
Soda in several countries is still made with SUGAR.
Butter is better for the average healthy person , than margarine. Why because butter is natural!!!
Amazing!

I think the ban on Frois Gras is ridiculous!
If any one has ever been to a farm that produces Frois Gras… they will tell you, as I have seen, the amimals are treated much better than most peoples house pets. The farms I went to put all our methods of U.S. “conventional” corporate farming to shame.

I personally see no problem with raw milk or even raw meat. I think the enzymes and bacteria make you healthier … Milk in America makes me ill… milk in Europe does not. Hmmm Funny.

The problem is not the product , it is the farming and packaging methods…
I also know, the more time i spend in Europe, the younger and healthier my skin looks and feels.I beleive that is in direct response to the lack of flouride in the water and the quality of ALL the farming practices and food production. The farming practices are predominantly natural and it shows in he health and well being of the soil he land and the people.
And food production, well, most people in Europe have too much pride in quality to go shoving poison in the food the will sell.

Everone knows , natural is better.

don says: “who are the people electing these idots? obesity is a personal problem created by the indvidual choices made” don you don’t make sense. If people don’t know what’s in the food they eat, how can they be blamed for the choices they make? Duh!

When the government starts telling me what I can and cannot eat, will be the day that the government will be welcome to cover my health insurance costs - and require that my employer then pay me directly (and tax-free, mind you) what they would have spent on health insurance for me.

The government has zero vested interest in my health; therefore the government has zero right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my body. If I want to drink four cans of Coca-Cola, eat two large orders of McDonald’s fries, covered in cheese sauce, with five slides of Chicago-style pizza for lunch (after I had a four pancake, three egg, and four slice of bacon breakfast), that’s my business.

I’m so glad we have the Obesity Police watching what we put in our bodies. It’s great to see that we have the time and resources to focus our attention on what foods are bad for us and then enforce thier usage on society. I’m sure the crime rate, unemployment rate, homelesness, education dropout rate and other local / state topics are close to being cleared up. Not to mention that pesky gas hike issue thingy is probably getting lowered as we speak. That is why we see this sort of “very important news” topic here. Come on poeple, think about it. It’s your bodies, your money, your comfort food. Eat dammit!!

I would like to see a ban on Pesticides, Preservatives, Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated oils BUT MOST OF ALL EXCITOTOXINS or MSG how many of you are aware that the words ‘yeast extract’ is some fancy name for MSG (they have other fake MSG phrases out there that is just one)yes we still have that in our food google it. I am a mom and am very concerned with the amount of TOXINS that are in our food. Another note certain FDA approved food coloring has been proven by Doctors to cause ADD and a host of other issues b/c they block receptors in the brain. One does start to ask themselves why would someone allow our food to become soooo toxic well everyone is out to make a buck but I wonder if all the politicians and FDA members eat any of the stuff they are forcing down our throats. It is becoming way too expensive to avoid these things since they are in everything. And for those of you who think pesticides are ok consider this some pesticides are actually diluted agent orange that we have used on enemies in war.
The Truth Can be Scary but it can also be EMPOWERING
EDUCATE YOURSELF DONT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT

who are the people electing these idots? obesity is a personal problem created by the indvidual choices made.

Not sure just WHAT Alexa is thinking, but her statement is fundamentally untrue.

The vast majority of fatty acids contained within butter, lard, etc. are saturated; those that are not are cis mono- or poly-unsaturated fats to a trememdous degree (there are trace percentages of trans fatty acids secondary to a variety of redox events).

I detest over-regulation, certainly, but the assertions made by this woman re butter being banned under the NYC state is incorrect.

High Fructose corn syrup is pushed by the Federal Government with corn subsidies. Now they want to tax the consumers for buying it? The stuff is aweful, and is making the nation fat. But how about cutting the subsidies instead of taxing the consumer. If they are going to tax soda containing high fructose corn syrup, to be consistent, they should tax milk, bread, katsup, canned fruit, and the hundreds of other products containing the substance that is one of the main causes of obesity problems in the US. Stop Subsidies! Encourage free markets! You will see food costs go down, and healthier foods on the market shelves.

Did you know that meat and dairy products which are regulated by the USDA and not the FDA contain natural trans fats? So, in response to a not unreasonable ban on artificial trans fats from hydrogenated oils, bakeries, restaurants and cafes that once used real butter in their muffins, cookies and pastries must switch to palm oil and other plant based fats so that they can serve trans fat free foods. Idiotic.

I wonder if Thomas J does PR for a fast food restaurant. It’s no big deal to tell consumers what they’re being served. Wouldn’t your family members tell you what was in the home cooked meal if you asked? This adds needed accountability and if people know what’s in the food, market forces will puch healthier alternatives

It’s time to be mad enough for action. Try picketing the offices of every elected official promoting and voting for these “nanny government” measures. Label them for what they are: fascists. Let’s start there, and then move on using electoral power to overturn existing “nanny state” laws and get officials out of office who won’t cooperate in these necessary moves to retain/regain freedoms.

Fat content can hide in many dishes, both at fast food places and conventional restaurants; when the only place available in an area doesn’t tell you what’s in their food, how can you make an informed decision? Additionally, many restaurants (fast-food and sit-down) employ prefab packaged recipes and items that can’t be ordered without objectionable content. As a result, for example, people with lactose intolerance may encounter difficulty getting something without cheese, and those who can’t eat things like canola oil (and lots of common food additives) may find themselves with a dilemma that leaves them only the choice of whether to have a meal at all…or skip it, perhaps for an unhealthy period of time before the next opportunity. I think people should have the absolute right to know what they’re eating; if they want to ignore it and/or chow down on things that aren’t good for them regardless, I can’t and won’t stop them…but I need to know what I’m eating, and I’d really rather have the opportunity to decide what goes into it. Sometimes, this means I have to bring a precautionary brown bag when traveling, and that isn’t always practical - or even legal.

We all have the right to kill ourselves anyway we choose: tobacco, alcohol, chili-cheese fries. However, down the road, don’t expect those of us who have to take care of you to be sympathetic to your plight. I work in the health care system and am continually amazed at the expectation that we should be expected to heal years of poor choices and self-indulgence. You reap what you sow.

Y’know, quick-service (fast food) restaurants already comply with these requests,and it seems that salads and other items have been added and expanded as a result. I like the idea. Leaving uneaten food is not palatable to me, nor is taking it with me to places that are not refrigerable. Serving size matters. Ingredient content matters. Nobody is requiring a food science lesson. Nobody will tell someone what he has to eat;don’t want it,don’t order it. Food BANS??!! I guess if there are laws against cruelty to animals,there may as well be one to prevent consumption of their carcasses. But I stress
that this be a voluntary act,not a Federal mandate.

First, I want to complain about 9 pages for this little bit of fluff. An obvious attempt to shove advertisements down my throat. I didn’t read past page 2.
On the issue of trans-fats, you have it wrong. “Vegetable Shortening” and “Margarine” aren’t necessarily trans fats. Trans fats are hydrogenated vegetable oil. “Margarine” and “Vegetable Shortening” can be made without hydrogenated oil. “Hydrogenated” means the chemical structure of the fat molecule has been altered to have extra hydrogen atoms. This changes the fat molecule into something that does not occur in our natural diet. Many studies have shown these “trans fats” are not digested and metabolized like other fats, leading to obesity, heart disease and the build up of “bad” or LDL cholesterol. The reason corporations want to use “trans fats” is because they do not break down like regular fats (hence the problems it causes in our bodies) therefore, having a longer shelf life and the need for no refrigeration, bringing down costs. So, you have to ask yourself, do you want to save a few cents by eating something that has been chemically altered into something that does not naturally occur in our diet? I made up my mind long before these bans that I didn’t want to be a guinea pig for the corporate bean counters.

The only reason HFCS is used is that the sugar-producers lobby pressured Congress to place high tariffs on imported raw sugar to protect domestic sugar farmers. Kill the tariff and you will see sugar as an ingredient more and more.

If you have doubts, think about this… Why do the soda manufacturers use HFCS in the USA and sugar everywhere else?

This is terribly funny; govt. enacting laws to enable people to make an ‘informed choice’ on a $3 side of french fries. It is incredible they did not think it necessary for people taking a $300,000 mortgage. Only in the US….

I think “Dan” has missed the point (not unusual for liberals of his stripe - especially ones that deliberately miss-state constitutional law and cloak themselves (and attempt to cloak us) in their own ignorance).

Bottom line is the FDA/DOA can and does have the authority to limit/ban sale of food/goods found to be harmful as tested scientifically.

The states do NOT have the right to do so for INTERstate commerce, though the can and do do so for items sold intrastate.

It is this intrastate power (and by inference, intralocality power) that needs to be stripped. There is just no doubt that Chicago acted irrationally by banning goose liver, and that NYC banned trans-fats as an EMOTIONAL, not scientific, response to these issues.

Bottom line is these issues should be regulated at the Federal level, such that all can compete on an equal playing field.

The problem here is NYC is very much attempting to legislate human eating behavior - through a burden placed on commerce. Bottom line - will make no difference; those who choose foods wisely at home and whilst eating out will continue to do so. The fat slobs of the planet will not.

After all, the old cliche…”I’ll take a Big Mac, large fry, 12 piece McNugget….and oh, yes, a small diet Coke please!” is so very very true.

I chime in with Elsa—get educated and get a clue. Also, I have the right to eat what I want. After all, people who come here from other countries even accidentally kill themselves when picking and eating wild mushrooms.
Raw milk is an outstanding source of beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus acidolphilus, vitamins, enzymes and calcium. Sickness resulting from raw milk is rare — instead, it is pasteurized milk that is often implicated in outbreaks of food-borne illness.
During the period 2000 through 2004 there were several listeria-related food recalls in California associated with pasteurized milk products and ice cream. During this same period more than 12 million servings of raw milk products were consumed and not one person complained of illness and not one pathogen was ever found either by the state, or FDA.
A California raw milk producer then hired a laboratory to perform an experiment. The lab added 10 million counts of pathogens to one-milliliter samples of organic raw milk and found that the pathogens not only would not grow but they also died off. The lab concluded: ” … Organic raw milk and colostrum do not appear to support the growth of pathogens … “

And don’t use a picture of honey to represent HFCS!

Has anyone read or re-read the book “1984″, lately? Can we say “scary”!

Sure I like that a lot of restaurants and whatnot tell you how many calories are in something, but my problem is this:
If you want something healthy to eat, why go to a fast food chain? Even their salads have more fat than one would think. Unless it’s just lettuce, it’s not much better for you. Fast food was not designed with health in mind. It was designed as a luxury, a pleasure of life that has now become more of a bane.
I believe that banning certain foods is not going to change much because people will just find other things to eat that are just as bad. All we really need to do is eat out less, balance our meals, and get out there and burn the energy our bodies store.

People may choose to eat whatever they please, but at least those who care can make informed decisions about what they eat. I personally would like to know when I’m ordering that a medium size curly fries at a common fast food chain is ~400 calories by itself. If you look up the nutritional info on some of the stuff we eat on a regular basis, it’s disgraceful that companies are allowed to produce such items. People can still buy it… but will they want to?

Micromanaging?? Well, if we have to in order to get true information about what we’re putting in our bodies… so be it.

Whats the big deal? If people want to eat let them!!It’s not my place to enter an opinion of what people do or eat!!!!!!

High fructose corn syrup is even in the bread you eat–no wonder we are all obese. In the 70’s, it wasn’t even in use.

Firstly, don’t use a picture of butter when you write about banning trans fats and secondly raw milk is not the evil demon it is made out to be. I have used it for 5 years and find it nutritious and delicious. Go to http://www.realmilk.com for more information on raw milk. Educate yourself - it is the best defense.

The food police/Nazis need to back off and allow us to eat what we want and when we want it. We need to be accountable for our own decisions, be they good or bad. We already have too many fools making too many rules.

At minimum, we should be told what ingredients are in the food. This disclosure could actually HELP business. There is some ingredient in some Indian food that gives me horrible headaches. I can’t figure out what it is because I don’t know what is in what I am eating, so I simply don’t go out to eat at Indian restaurants.

If you have ever cooked at home and experimented with trying to alter dishes for specific dietary requirements, you can make a lot of changes to a dish to affect the nutrition without affecting the taste negatively. How are you to know what a restaurant did and what philosophy they are following? Maybe they are making things in a healthy manner. Maybe they are trying to fill the dish with as many cheap calories as possible. This is another reason why I usually just eat a home. I know what I put in my own food.

No one complained when they banned lead paint. Trans fat and high fructose corn syrup should have never been approved. Restaurants’ loss of revenue is irrelevant. You can’t make money selling poison to people just because they’ll eat it.

can’t wait till they tell us what to wear, drive and listen to.

I think people should police themselves as to what they do or do not eat. The government is not a baby-sitter for people who are weak and/or have no will-power…

I’m for the disclosure however i don’t think it will help much.

Schools around here have cut out PE and nutrition. So if by chance the kid can read he won’t know what he is reading.

How quickly we give up our freedoms anymore. Government intervention in business (oil prices, corn prices, toilet flushing, etc.) has proven so widely successful I guess I should not be surprised. I’m a restaurateur so I may be somewhat biased in my response. BUT . . . The analysis of food items is expensive for small operators and those costs will be passed on to the consumer in some fashion. But cost of the analysis is not the only issue. In reality, menu item analysis would be largely inaccurate. Our menu items are all made from scratch using only fresh ingredients and with very few exceptions are the ingredients exactly the same from one day to the next. As an example, we have to often alter the amount of our sour cream in our mashed potatoes based off of starch content in the potatoes (which can literally change with every batch of potatoes). The adjustments that we make provide very tasty meal selections but would quickly invalidate any previous analysis of the food item. I probably don’t need to explain that in today’s litigious society that providing inaccurate information can create much more liability than providing no information. I will go fighting and screaming along with this socialized practice.

I think that the Federal Gov’t would probably overstep its Constitutional authority if it banned certain food items for health reasons. HOWEVER, a State (and by extention, a locality) is well within its authorized police powers to make laws for the general health and welfare of its citizens. I believe this probably includes food bans. If you don’t like the law in your State, move to a different State or elect a legislature that better represents your interests. Personally, I say…ban on States. Many of the banned products are harmful to human health or the environment.

I think it will make most diners think twice about what they order. Of course, restaurants will not be pleased. If I saw that some dinner I was ordering was over 1500 calories, I would step back to something with much less calories, and in turn, possibly far cheaper. Restaurants would still have diners to serve for the same period of time, but the bill amount would be less. It should be interesting to see what happens. We might see “correct portions” become more the norm, and see today’s standard portions, which are huge, increased in cost.

I agree that all ingredients used in food should be included on the food container labels as well as what countries where all components added during the processing of food come from. I also think that with all of the health problems and risks from chinese imports people should holding million citizen marches in Washington D.C. to convince the blow bags to stop so much importation of goods from asian manufacturers.

I am thankful that this information is going to be available at most resturants. I am on trying to stick at a 1500 calorie diet that can get blown by eating the wrong foods out. For example, Honey Mustard dressing at Red Robin has 350 calories! If people saw how many calories are in the foods then I think everyone would make better choices.

Funny, obesity is caused by overeating, lung cancer by smoking. So here we are governing trans fats while the government makes big money on things like tobacco. I just don’t get it. I do however admire the fact that someone is trying to do something.

This is a great idea. I have juvenile diabetes, which involves a lot of food monitoring. The more information I have about what I ingest, the better. Personally- I would choose restaurants that took the guess work out of my daily routine.

I don’t think this law will have much impact on fighting obesity. People that are obese realize this fact and apparently don’t care enough to make the effort and sacrifices required to change this. However for the people who want to control their weight nutritional information is valuable. I’m not sure that the government should be mandating this but from the restaurants’ perspective I believe it’s good business.

He’s complaining about spending 2500 to get the nutritional content and his companies did 20 million dollars biz last year…? what a cheapA*S

I have no particular problem with an eatery being required to disclose - within reason - the nutritional content if its offerings, provided those are science-based and not guesses.

I have enormous problems with such mandates being driven by local communities, every bit as much as I do with certain food items (foi gras) being banned by local governments. The former merely is expensive to comply with; the latter subjects the marketplace to artificial constraints based on the liberalism (or not) of the local city council.

Regulating liquor sales, zoning, etc. is a local issue and should be handled as such. Regulating food sales that are matters of preference and taste, as well as health, should be left to the Federal government.

There is absolutely no reason in the world why horse flesh should be banned in Illinois but legal in Washington state; that New York City should ban trans-fats, as part of its licensing procedures; that Chicago should determine whehter or not it is cruel to force-feed ducks & geese (it isn’t - the procedure takes less than 30 seconds per bird and is both humane and comfortable) and so on.

Bottom line here is a bunch of fairly ignorant folks are expanding their power at the needless expense of commerce.

Raw milk? Yep, ban its sale. Foi gras? Not your place to make moral decisions for ME.

The power of intrusive and silly government over-regulation must be curbed.

The people that eat this garbage could care less how many calories are in it. They will continue to eat it and the obesity problem in this country won’t be affected one bit.

I Love that many food establishments are getting on the “bandwagon” and letting us know what we are eating. I have virtually stopped going out to eat as I have a heart condition and must watch my salt. For me salt is poison. Not many places are careful as I have ordered items requesting no salt be added and they are full of salt. Turns out that many of the dishes, esp. meat are preped ahead of time and the salt is already in it (LONESTAR STEAKHOUSE). You can always add salt to a dish later, at the table but you can’t take it out! List what’s in the dishes and I will eat out more often.

The government should not be telling me what I can and can’t eat as long as it is prepared in the correct manner. Why not just ban french fries since everyone says they cause us to be fat. Anything in moderation is fine.