As pointed out by Skinny Jeans in a tweet, 60 minutes had a story this evening about restaurants and calorie info. Unfortunately, it was the wrong story. They chose a rather specific angle about a well-meaning, but perhaps misguided New York activist health commissioner, Thomas Friedan (...Has outlawed trans fat in NYC, and most public smoking), who wants NYC fast food restaurants to visually display caloric information on their menu. Not make it available on websites (they already do that) not have it on a giant poster (they already do that) not have it in brochures on-site (they already do that.) No. Add it to a fourth place; the menu, when other chains don't have calorie data anywhere.This guy is starting to seem forced and political. I really depend on calorie info, and would kill for places I actually want to eat at to have even half of the same data available that fast food chains do.
Fast food restaurants easily have the most information about their food and caloric content compared to any other kind of chain restaurant (I'm letting non-chains off the hook here.) Tried looking up caloric info for PF Chang's? Macaroni Grill? Red Robin? Denny's? Chili's? Ruby Tuesday's? (Covered in this episode as a restaurant that tried and then abandoned publishing caloric info.) Some of these places have selected info available on their website, for some of their items, but they're far behind fast food places in terms of having good data. Keep in mind I'm not confusing fast food (horrible) with fast food data (the best I've seen of restaurants). But if the issue is having good info available so citizens can make healthy decisions, please go after other chains for a first layer of data, before grilling fast food chains for a fourth. "Upscale" chains often use equally scary ingredients and portions.
When all is right with the world, I cook at home, but when I know I'm going to be away for extended period of times, I actually do check websites and online menu's and try to plan ahead for what I can order. I'm often frustrated trying to look up info for chains. Their menus are just as regimented as fast food places, so it should be quite easy for them to make this info available.
I'd also like to add something regarding this episode. In the name of "balanced" coverage, they went to a Subway to show an example of one of the few chains that wanted to participate in displaying calorie info right on the menu. The menu displayed a calorie number for a particular size with a particular set of condiments. Leslie Stahl feigned total confusion at how to keep track of how the changes in her sandwich size and additional condiments changed the calorie count displayed on the menu (!!!!?!). As pointed out by commenters on both the Yahoo 60 minutes site, and official CBS one, this wasn't really believable.
- Related: A feature about Thomas Friedan, a well meaning but kind of over-controlling seeming politician.
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