6/3/2006: The restaurant at the end of the free world
The Food & Drug Administration is now "suggesting" that restaurants solve America's obesity problem. A report released Friday said that we now spend 46% of our food budget eating out, which now accounts for 32% of our calorie intake.
Never mind the fact that a very substantial amount of your tax dollars were likely paid to a place called the Keystone Center to come up with the 134 page report.. it resulted in the FDA requesting that restaurants and prepared food providers reduce portion sizes, offer more low-cal/healthy foods & beverages, promote these healthy items in their advertising, use healthier cooking methods, and provide calorie info for the foods they serve. As of now it's just a suggestion.. but we know how easily these things can turn into legislation when nobody's looking.
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach announced the new "suggestions" - he's only the "acting" FDA Commissioner though. Hopefully when they hire someone permanent they'll get somebody with a bit more common sense and - oh gee, I don't know, maybe someone who has a clue what the American public is about.
Von Eschenbach came up with these "suggestions" as if they're new and revolutionary ideas that will slim down the country. But most restaurants (including fast food) already offer alternatives to burgers and fries now, and nutritional info is already available by request or on the web for most restaurant chains (including fast food). Putting up a sign above the counter that the featured giant burger has more than 1,000 calories isn't going to surprise many and it isn't going to dissuade most who order it.
Last week the VA expected the news media to notify veterans that their social security numbers were stolen, and now the FDA is asking the restaurant industry to put the country on a diet. Why is the government expecting private business to handle their communications and solve the country's problems lately?
Obviously people who are overweight are aware that they are, and will do something about if they decide to do something about it. If the government really wanted to help, they'd take some of the suggestions put forth in Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me to get some of this healthy food into schools instead of the fast food franchises and soda, snack and candy machines that are in most schools now.
Better yet: cut all the boring wordy public service announcements and "suggested" nutrition placards in restaurants, along with ads & billboards showing Paris Hilton and other model types pretending they eat this stuff, and replace it all with pics of super-obese people eating juicy, calorie-laden burgers and fries as grease and ketchup dribbles down onto blubbery rolls of fat. That would be a lot more effective for what the FDA seems to be going for than what they're suggesting.
Meanwhile, here are a few links for Dr. Von Eschenbach and anyone else who might be interested. "The truth is (already) out there" - there's no need to legislate it, or even make "suggestions."
Arby's nutritional info
Burger King nutritional info
Carl's Jr. nutritional info
Domino's nutritional info
Hardee's nutritional info
Jack in the Box nutritional info
KFC nutritional info
McDonald's nutritional info
Pizza Hut nutritional info
Subway nutritional info
Taco Bell nutritional info
Wendy's nutritional info
White Castle nutritional info
Hmmm, maybe I should call this a "study" and send a bill for a few hundred thousand dollars to the FDA.
