| A while back, JayinPortland wrote about the restaurant industry-backed "LEAN" act vs. the stronger "MEAL" act. Both bills deal with menu labeling, and the LEAN Act was the weaker of the two - hence the industry support. If you want to see details on the bills, the LEAN (Labeling Education and Nutrition) Act is introduced into the House as H.R.1398 and in the Senate as S.558. MEAL (The Menu Education and Labeling Act), meanwhile, is H.R.2426.
I wasn't shocked when I saw this post about the National Restaurant Association supporting LEAN... but then the post talked about CSPI's support for the same bill. What???! Turns out, there's been a compromise between the two bills:
Legislation that would require calories on chain restaurant menus and menu boards now has the support of the restaurant industry as well as health groups thanks to an agreement struck among senators who were previously supporting separate labeling bills. Besides requiring calories on menus, menu boards and drive-through displays, the new legislation would require chains with 20 or more outlets to provide additional nutrition information upon request.
That language is included among other prevention measures in the draft health reform legislation released last night by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
But note that the new compromise has been tucked neatly into the Senate version of the health care reform bill. So we need to pass the health care bill if we're gonna get our menu labeling. Another important thing to look at: When does the menu labeling law go into effect in the compromise bill vs. in the stricter MEAL Act? I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to push out its enforcement for a year or two as a means of evading the new law.
Also, I wonder about the effects of consumers seeing 1900-calorie entrees (like Friday's Jack Daniels Ribs & Shrimp) on the menu next to 700-calorie meals (like Friday's Grilled Cedar Salmon)... does that make the salmon look comparatively low-cal? And would it influence the diner to perhaps splurge on a Coke (with free refills) and maybe even appetizers and dessert? Menu labeling is a good first step, but at some point we've got to get our freaking food under control. 1900 calories is not an acceptable meal - it's nearly an entire day's worth of food. |
