Before reading on, answer one question: What did you eat for lunch yesterday? Was it a salad from a fast food joint or one you brought from home? Was it a burger with fries and a soda or leftovers from last night’s dinner?
For me, it was a frozen pizza, cooked on a piece of cardboard in the break room. It wasn’t great, but it’s was OK.
A follow-up question: Do you know the nutritional value of whatever you ate, whether you brought it from home or bought it in a drive-thru?
The Delaware House currently is considering a bill that would require those chain restaurants with more than 20 restaurants nationwide to post their nutritional information on menus or menu boards. The Delaware Restaurant Association opposes the bill because its members would rather the state wait for the federal government to pass a similar measure, making the requirements uniform throughout the United States.
In 2004, Ruby Tuesday’s tried this, having the fat and calories listed next to the menu item. This candid and, in many cases, scary information lasted a mere few months in prime real estate and was then moved to a supplement booklet.
Company officials said they were trying to cut down on the cost of reprinting menus when dishes changed, although I suspect it is for different economical reasons like slumping sales when customers discovered how fattening some of the items were.
While I’m all in favor of informing people of the positives — and surely the negatives — of what they put in their bodies, this information is readily available to those who seek it out anyway. It’s just that many don’t or don’t want to know.
In a Google search for “fast food nutrition information,” tons of sites turn up to help with this simple inquiry. Even better, most chain restaurants post this information on their own websites in addition to their menus. Some even let you build an entire meal based on what you might be in the mood to eat before you even leave the office or home.
Go to any sit-down chain restaurant and ask for the nutritional guide. In most cases, the server will have a pamphlet on hand.
It is true our unhealthy eating habits and obesity for all ages is a massive problem in the U.S. Like everyone else, I sometimes enjoy splurging on something I know I should not have. As a public, we are informed — if we choose to be. Putting nutritional information next to an item on a menu isn’t going to solve our weight problems. Developing common sense will.
One last question: When you ate that double cheeseburger with fries and soda for lunch, did you really think it was healthy for you?
The information is already out there. The truth about the aforementioned meal should come at no surprise.
Email Maureen Raitz at maureen.raitz@doverpost.com.
