CA's Menu-Labeling Law Inspires Restaurants To Cut Calories
California's law requiring that chain restaurants post calorie counts for their foods took effect earlier this month. It's already producing results, as two chains, Macaroni Grill and Denny's, are reexamining and revising their offerings.
According to the Sacramento Bee:
Romano's Macaroni Grill, with four locations in the [Sacramento] region, has managed to squeeze a whopping 880 calories out of just one salad, as the chain's menu undergoes a massive revamp under new ownership.
...
The new [Denny's] Grand Slam – two eggs, two sausages, two bacon slices and pancakes – is a build-your-own option with substitutions such as chicken instead of pork, egg whites, turkey bacon and whole wheat pancakes. For another 49 cents, add-ons such as yogurt are available.With the healthier options, the Grand Slam drops from 882 calories to 546, not to mention a 70 percent drop in fat grams.
This is a nice bonus of menu-labeling: some restaurants will be too ashamed to continue offering items like 1,200 calorie salads and will look for ways to make their foods more healthful. Although we're sure there will be complaints about a person's individual freedom to eat as much crap and be as fat as he wants, we think the public health benefits outweigh such concerns (especially considering that in the instances here, Denny's is keeping things like Moon Over My Hammy intact, and the type of person we just described probably wasn't celebrating his gluttony with a 1,200-calorie scallop and spinach salad at Macaroni Grill).
Although it's good to see restaurants retooling their menus, the main purpose of menu-labeling laws is to allow consumers to make informed decisions about the foods they eat. It's up to you, not the restaurant, to ensure you eat reasonably.
California Calorie Law Alters Chains' Fare [SacBee]
(Photo: satosphere)
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Comments:
I bet deep-fried lettuce would be delicious.
We should watch this list (The 20 Worst Foods in America) and see restaurants pull them from their menus.
"... there will be complaints about a person's individual freedom to eat as much crap and be as fat as he wants"
Well the only way to curb that is to put up a speaker that plays an irritating noise which only the fatties will be able to hear.. thus dispersing them like that noise the teens hate does.
"Although we're sure there will be complaints about a person's individual freedom to eat as much crap and be as fat as he wants, we think the public health benefits outweigh such concerns"
People are still free to eat whatever they want. This only gives the people who DON'T want to eat a 1200 calorie salad the information they need to avoid them.
Whenever I was trying to lose weight, I found it very frustrating trying to figure out the caloric content of the foods I was eating at restaurants. Google found me a few hits, but I always questioned the accuracy of the information that produced. Often times, I found recipes to make dishes similar to the restaurant offerings. But useful nutritional information was difficult to come by.
With this info, I could eat wherever looks good and still find something on the menu I could eat. If I couldn't find something to eat, I could always order something I would eat, and eat only 1/2 the portion to adjust the calories. It's difficult to do that if I don't know what's in it.
@henrygates: Mayo. Lots of Mayo. And cheese. Fried chicken, and ground beef. The only salad part of it is a week old leaf of lettuce at the bottom which most people will throw away.
@Skeetz: I get accused a lot of being an elitist jerk with no empathy or political correctness whatsoever, but even I wouldnt have made that comment :P
you might have a right to be a fatty, but you're making my health premiums higher. jerk.
@Skeetz: That's easy, play the sound of salad being made and eaten, without any bacon bits, croutons, or dressing.
@henrygates:
Bud light presents 'real men of genius'
Today we salute you, Mr giant taco salad inverter...
@Elcheecho: So are people who drink. And smoke. And drive fast. And so on and so on. It's a sliperry slope.
@MostlyHarmless:
Ground beef, refried beans, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, and if there's any room left, a few shreds of lettuce. A culinary creation that baffles the human mind. A 12,000-calorie salad. Ay caramba. Some may ask, is your taco salad healthy? Of course it is, it's a salad, isn't it?
@Skeetz: But wait! THERES MORE! If you order this salad right NOW I'll throw in a glob of Baconnaise, FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE! THATS RIGHT! A pound full of gooey heart attacky goodness FOR AN UNBEATABLE PRICE OF ONE BLOCKED ARTERY!
Well, we've had the Surgeon General's warning on cigarette packs for a few decades now. About 20% of the country's population still smokes. This information may be useful and it's good that some restaurants are offering healthier choices, but a person ordering a Baconator at Wendy's is not going to care that the caloric and fat content is greater than a cup of yogurt. I'd like to see a followup on how the new choices are selling.
@Skeetz:
irritating noise which only the fatties will be able to hear
"Buffet's clooooosssssed" sung in middle C
OMG, here we go. Everyone fire up your "death to fatties" arguments, we haven't had this debate on Consumerist in two days or so, we're about due.
@H3ion: Yes, but a lot more than a 20% of the country's population are overweight. And most of these people are not the baconator ordering types. If they knew they were getting into a 2500 calorie milk shake, they'll steer clear of it.
Just because this would not work on some glutton does not mean its not worth it.
@H3ion: True, but when the data isn't staring one in the face when ordering, it's amazing what one can rationalize as being "healthy". I do it all the time.
I had them hold the mayonnaise on that double cheeseburger. I'm doing great today.
@Adam Stewart: agreeing entirely. besides that it is expensive, the other primary reason why i don't eat out very much (and i now refuse to get dessert) is that it is hard to judge the calorie and saturated fat counts. even if they just list the calories and satFat, i'm happy to set aside an appropriate proportion for later meal(s)... it is just hard to know what proportion without this info.
@JMB: Correct, It is a very slippery slope. It can only lead to an I, Robot plot where all people are imprisoned by robots for their own safety. Or nobody gets insurance coverage. Definitely one of those two.
"outweigh" might not have been the best term :P
@MostlyHarmless: Agreed. Knowledge is power. What people choose to do with that power is up to them.
@JMB: Don't forget having babies. Policies that do not cover maternity are much cheaper, but men can't really get those breaks in a group insurance setting.
@LadySiren: Natural selection has a way of sorting this crap out. We just have to sit back and watch for a few thousand years.
@MostlyHarmless: I agree. I'm fat, but I really do try not to consume excessive amounts of calories in one sitting because I don't want to get fatter. It's been years since I've had a Blizzard at Dairy Queen. I stopped as soon as I found out they had 1200-1600 calories. They don't anymore, but 700-1000 is still too much for dessert.
@MaelstromRider: Having babies is evolutionarily necessary for continued survival of the human race. Paying to treat a chain smoker's lung cancer, or to treat that guy's heart attack because he could not keep his hands off a double quarterpounder with extra cheese and a side of the baconator is not.
@LiquidGravity: I'm not too sure... several thousand years of human evolution has brought us to this point :P
Humanity has basically hacked the evolutionary process with technology. And I just talked to Shiva. He is not pleased with what he sees (with his third eye).
@MaelstromRider: Yeah, I too love having those guilty pleasures, once in a while, and used to drink lots of mountain dew everyday. But I cut back progressively when I caught myself putting on a few extra pounds.
These days, I still look up calorie values to see what I am getting into. And you'd be surprised by how many things you think are "a healthier option" and turn out not to be.
@MostlyHarmless: True that. Esquire or Men's Health, I forget which, had an article on false healthy options a while back. The only one I remember clearly was Bacon vs. Turkey Bacon. It turns out turkey bacon has so much more sodium, you are better off just enjoying regular bacon.
About the soda thing, apparently cutting soda out of your diet for one year (and doing nothing else) will help you drop a few pounds.
It's good to have choice but... why do we have to legislate it? Many restaurants have this information available in one form or another. If you're truly seeking it, you can find it - or eat elsewhere.
I find the intrusion of the government unwelcome. Frankly, I don't eat out that much - and when I do, I'm going to get what I want, because it's a treat. The reason I don't eat out? I like to know what I'm eating, and control my portions and ingredients.
What's so hard about that?
@LiquidGravity: Americans' transition from 120 years ago, when our ancestors were dirt-farming peasants or newly-freed slaves, is why we're fat.
Our bodies are still in the "clean the plate, you'll starve to death" mode, even as we approach 300 pounds in 21st Century America.
We have to legislate it precisely because most businesses weren't sharing the information voluntarily. And even those that were, weren't sharing it transparently enough to help customers make informed decisions at the time of their orders.
@Adam Stewart: Agree and have two other thoughts:
1. The restaurants are going to start putting up 'Eat here at your own risk' type signs to avoid being sued for heart attacks.
2. Even with the new law, I wouldn't entirely trust the reported calorie contents and breakdowns. Who's going to be checking? While most places will probably get it right, I can envision others doing salad calorie count using less-than-usual meat, cheese, dressing, etc. and calling it a normal variation if caught.
@varro: I think it has less to do with how much we are eating and more to do with *what* we are eating. I don't think our ancestors had snickers, deep fried Twinkies or 7-layer nachos back then.
@LiquidGravity: This may no longer be the case. With all the various options people have to combat the ill-effects of obesity, such as cholesterol medications, gastric bypass, angioplasty, heart surgery, etc, technology has really lowered the risks of obesity. Obesity still leads to all sorts of health related complications and expenses, but the risk of mortality due to obesity has been lowered, or at least delayed, significantly.
Eric Finkelstein writes about this in "The Fattening of America", which examines the recent increase of obesity in this country through the lens of an economist. He argues that cheapening foods combined with enabling technologies has lead to higher instances of obesity as the costs associated with obesity (i.e. protracted lifespsan) have been reduced.
@Elcheecho: Haven't you heard? Everything and everybody is to blame for your health premiums being higher.
I'm all for individual freedom. I love the Outback Cheese Fries (which are on one of those worst food lists) but the frequency that I go to Outback is about once a year so the fact that I order this item once a year or once every two years isn't going to do me in. I know it is bad for me but all things in moderation. I'm happy to know the nutritional value (or lack thereof) so I can make an informed choice. But I would have a case of the sads if I ended up at Outback and those yummy cheesy fries were yanked off the menu by the food police. Plus I order them without bacon so they are totally healthy.
@dohtem: Not barbaric enough!
Richard Simon's "Sweating to the Oldies" on continuous loop!
DIEEEE!1!!1!!!
@Ryan Millner: I'm having a recipe inspiration due to this thread. I'll share it here. Romaine hearts, well chilled, cut in half lengthwise. Quickly dipped in thin tempura and immediately deep fried & drained. On a bed of cold dressed soba noodles, the lettuce dressed with ponzu sauce. A side garnish of pickled summer vegetables with added jalapeno. Ambitious, but I think I'm going to give it a try soon.
Well I don't mind properly listing what sort of calories I will ingest on a menu item, as long as I can still buy it.
How does a salad have 1,200 calories?