Those of you out there who are political science junkies are undoubtedly familiar with Benjamin Barber's notion of "Jihad vs. McWorld" that I have alluded to in the title of my post. In that piece, Barber recounts how the forces of tribalism and globalism are rending democracy asunder. What I have here is something related and actually has something to do with burgers. Let me explain. At the end of last year, New York City decided that, in the public's health interest, dietary information for fast food products had to be made more prominently displayed. From the city's site comes this bit of information:Restaurants that publish calorie information generally do so in hard-to-find brochures, on the internet, or on food wrappers or tray liners where customers cannot see it at the time of purchase. Today, the New York City Board of Health voted unanimously to require restaurants that make calorie information publicly available as of March 1, 2007 to post it on menus and menu boards, where consumers can see it when they order. The Health Department estimates that this proposal would affect about one in 10 restaurants...Some wiseguy fast-food industry players tried to dodge New York's ordinance by removing calorie information in restaurants altogether to avoid posting calorie counts more prominently:
Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden said, "Eating too many calories leads to weight gain, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Today, the Board of Health helped New Yorkers make better informed choices by requiring restaurants that have made calorie information available to the public now place it where consumers can see it when they are deciding what to buy. New Yorkers have this information available to them when they buy their groceries. Now we will be empowered to make more informed choices in restaurants as well. Comments on this proposal were overwhelmingly favorable, by a ratio of 100:1. Nonetheless, in response to difficulties voiced by some restaurant operators, we’ve changed the implementation plan to help restaurants implement the new regulations."This proposal will affect restaurants with standard menu items that make calorie information publicly available (e.g., in a brochure, on packaging or online), on or after March 1, 2007 – an estimated one in 10 New York City restaurants.
In response to comments received, the Department will:
A total of 2,267 written comments were received (including 45 people who spoke at the October 30 public hearing). Overall, 2,245 (99%) comments supported the proposal and 22 were in opposition. Unqualified support for the proposed changes came from many leading national and local professional societies, academic institutions, local hospitals and advocacy groups, including the American Medical Association, American Diabetes Association, American Cancer Society, New York Academy of Medicine, New York University, Columbia University, Yale University, Harlem Hospital Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Community Service Society of New York and the Citizens’ Committee for Children.
- Allow alternative ways to post calories if approved in advance by the Health Department
- Change posting to calorie range (instead of median) for menu items that come in different flavors or varieties
- Allow a 3-month grace period (July 1, 2007 – Oct. 1, 2007)
- No fines during grace period
- Violations will not be considered in the pass/fail decision of routine sanitary inspection
Restaurants have now even resorted to litigation to keep calorie counts away from the teeming masses:New York diners curious to know how many calories are packed into the hamburger they just bought from White Castle or Wendy's are out of luck.
The two popular fast food restaurant chains pulled posters listing calorie counts for menu items from the walls of their New York City restaurants and thus will avoid having to comply with a new mandate approved by the Board of Health that will affect thousands of New York restaurants.
The rule, which goes into effect July 1, will require about 10% of city restaurants to post calorie counts beside food items listed on their menus. The measure affects mostly chain and fast food restaurants, but only those providing calorie information to customers on or after March 1. By removing any calorie information from their New York City restaurants before the legislative deadline, Wendy's and White Castle won't be held to the same standard as other fast food restaurants in the city.
A spokesman for Wendy's, Denny Lynch, said the company replaced its nutrition posters in New York earlier this week with new ones that include a wide range of nutrition information, including fat, carbohydrates, sodium, and protein, but not calories.
"We were forced to do it," he said. "Complying with the regulation is way too difficult for us to do."
Mr. Lynch said that because Wendy's food is made to order and customers pick and choose side dishes and toppings for their meals, it would be challenging for the company to provide diners with every possible calorie combination. He said Wendy's had been told it could post a range of calories on its menu, but Mr. Lynch said he thought that would likely confuse people and prompt numerous questions at the register.
The director of marketing for White Castle, Jamie Richardson, said the chain had been planning to take a close look at the nutritional information it displayed nationwide, and decided to remove its posters and brochures from New York restaurants before March 1.
A restaurant trade group asked a court to outlaw a new city regulation that would require some eateries to list calorie counts on their menu boards right next to the price.The New York State Restaurant Association filed the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, asking that the rule be declared unconstitutional and that it be awarded unspecified damages.
The association said the rule would apply only to a small group of restaurants — effectively punishing those that have made efforts to tell the public the nutritional facts about food on their menus.
The city law due to take effect July 1 targets big, national fast-food chains. It applies only to restaurants that were already making calorie information available voluntarily as of March 1.
The association argued the regulation infringes on the rights of the affected restaurants and has chilled their desire to provide the facts to customers at all.
According to the regulation, calorie counts would have to be displayed on eatery menus in the same type-size as the name of the dish and the price...
In a statement, the city Health Department said the rule merely requires restaurant to provide the information in a manner so that customers will actually see it.
"It is unfortunate that some restaurants are so ashamed of what they are serving the public that they would rather go to court than share this information with their customers," it said.
Well, the July deadline for displaying calorie counts more prominently is now here yet some fast food restaurants are still holding out on the matter:
McDonald's Corp. and Burger King Holdings Inc. were among chains that ignored the rule requiring that certain fast food restaurants list the counts next to menu items in type that is at least as large as the price.
City officials were not planning to issue fines for violations of the new rules until Oct. 1. Before then, the New York Restaurant Association hopes a lawsuit in federal court will get the calorie rule thrown out.
Since New York passed the trans fat ban last year, Philadelphia, Montgomery County in Maryland and the Boston suburb of Brookline have followed with similar measures that take effect later this year or in 2008. Several other states and cities including California and Chicago are also considering trans fat prohibitions...In the lawsuit over posting calorie content, the eateries argued that their First Amendment rights were being violated, and complained that the rule would turn each of their menu boards into a cluttered mess.
This incident is interesting from a political-economic angle as professed concern for public health is increasing due to rising incidences of obesity and its related illnesses. Indeed, what we have here is a "tribalism" of nanny state supporters going up against more globalism-oriented interests. This conflict is likely to be played out more frequently elsewhere. Who will win? You have those who want to use government intervention in the public interest howsoever defined against libertarians and the fast food industry. As Barber suggests, democracy might be the victim as both sides clash more frequently with each other.
We'll see how this episode plays out. My question, though, has always been whether publishing calorie count information more prominently will deter fast food diners from their fare. As a pretty regular consumer of Wendy's Triple Old Fashioned Burgers in the past (pictured above), I really didn't care that much about my 980 calorie meal--and that's without the medium fries and Coke which brought things up to 1610 calories. Ah well, caveat emptor. My opinion here is that we are responsible for what we eat and that posting foot-high calorie count signs will not deter those weaned on fast food fare anyway. Wendy's, by the way, has a note on its website for NYC customers. It's ever-so-slightly disingenuous IMHO:
We regret that Wendy's cannot provide product calorie information to residents or customers in New York City. The New York City Department of Health passed a regulation requiring restaurants that already provide calorie information to post product calories on their menu boards -- using the same type size as the product listing.
We fully support the intent of this regulation; however, since most of our food is made-to-order, there isn't enough room on our existing menu boards to comply with the regulation. We have for years provided complete nutritional information on posters inside the restaurant and on our website. To continue to provide caloric information to residents and customers of our New York City restaurants on our website and on our nutritional posters would subject us to this regulation. As a result, we will no longer provide caloric information to residents and customers of our New York City restaurants.
