[kipperfan]

Maybe it's just me, but legislation like this is long overdue in Canada, especially with obesity continuing to plague our population and health care system. Why is it that every product I buy in a food store is made to provide me with a complete nutritional breakdown on the label but in a restaurant has no obligation to provide anything? That doesn’t make any sense. Some of the “chain” fast food places have little nutritional cards you can get if you ask, but the reality for most people is "out of sight, out of mind", which is why these laws are badly needed. California and NYC passed menu labelling in 2008 and both places have seen benefits already. The federal government (in the US) passed something similar in 2010 but I can't find anything to confirm if it has indeed gone into effect.

U.S. research shows that as few as one-tenth-of-one-percent of chain restaurant customers seek out nutritional brochures that are provided in less conspicuous places (such as underneath counters or on the bottom of tray liners). The usage rate is 150-fold higher when such information is posted on menus, according to a survey of restaurant customers in New York City where such labelling has been mandatory since 2008.

A Study of 8,000 New York City restaurant customers of 168 outlets of 11 chains before and after the city’s menu labelling law into effect found that the 15% of customers who reported using the calorie information purchased a very substantial 96 fewer calories (11% less) per transaction after controlling for gender, age, income level and neighbourhood income level.

Stanford university economists examining 100 million Starbucks transaction records at 222 outlets in NYC and 94 in comparison cities (Boston and Philadelphia) observed a 14% decline in calorie levels of food transactions in New York City as a result of customers choosing fewer foods and substituting lower calorie items.

Even trained dieticians are inaccurate at estimating the calorie counts and sodium levels in restaurant foods. Without nutrition information on menus, how could a consumer know that:

- Montana’s Large Beef Ribs have 1490 calories – three quarters of the daily recommended calories for an average adult – four and a half times as many calories as in its 8oz. Sirloin Steak (330 calories).

- Tim Horton’s Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich has nearly double the calories (530 calories) of the English Muffin with Egg and Cheese (280 calories).

- Pizza Hut children’s menu’s Boneless Bites with Honey BBQ sauce contains 1620mg of sodium, which is nearly four times the sodium in the children’s Veggie Lover’s 6’ pan pizza (430mg) and more than the 1,200 mg od Sodium recommended for children for an entire day.

- McDonald’s Angus Bacon & Cheese Sandwich has nearly triple the sodium (1,990 mg) of the Big Xtra Sandwich (700mg).

http://cspinet.org/canada/pdf/expert...-labelling.pdf

Meanwhile, this issue is currently heating up in the GTA. Toronto Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Mckeown is pushing to have chain restraurants list their calorie and sodium information on their menu boards. The doctor is even going so far as to advise the city to make a By-Law if the province themselves won't act.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04...-cheeseburger/

The author of the above article clearly disagrees with the doctor (and 92% of Canadians BTW) but all he can cite to support his own opinion is a 2011 study that took place in a Belgian cafeteria - not exactly what I would call intriguing consider what else I have cited above.


Anyways, enough from me, what does everyone else think? Is there any possible reason in this world we wouldn't want this information availible to us when eating out? Personally I would like to see this implemented at every restaurant - but realize the economics of that might not work. Thoughts?