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Judge rebuffs challenge to NYC menu calorie rule
BY COLLEEN LONG The Associated Press

    NEW YORK — New York City health officials won a big victory Wednesday when a federal judge upheld a regulation requiring some chain restaurants to post calories on menus and menu boards.
    U.S. District Judge Richard Holwell rebuffed a challenge from the New York State Restaurant Association, an industry trade group that argued that the rule violates the First Amendment by forcing restaurants to “convey the government’s message regarding the importance of calories.”
    The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene believes the regulation, which takes effect Monday, will help the city achieve its goal of reducing obesity. The judge agreed.
    “It seems reasonable to expect that some consumers will use the information disclosed … to select lower calorie meals … and these choices will lead to a lower incidence of obesity,” Holwell said.
    Chuck Hunt, executive vice president of the association’s New York City chapter, said it would ask the judge to stay his ruling pending an appeal. The health department said it would not start fining restaurants until June 3.
    “We don’t object to people doing it voluntarily,” Hunt said Wednesday. “Our problem was the government agency forcing them to do it. We think restaurants should be able to determine from their customers how they want to get the information.”
    The new rule applies to restaurants that are part of chains with at least 15 outlets across the country. That includes fast-food places like McDonald’s and Wendy’s, as well as sit-down establishments like Olive Garden and T.G.I. Friday’s.
    Some eateries, including Starbucks and Chipotle, have already started to post calorie information — and it appears to be having an effect.
    Mark Laughlin, a freelance art director eating lunch Wednesday at a Chipotle near Penn Station, said he opted to have his burrito without the tortilla or corn salsa after reading the calorie count. The menu said a burrito ranges from 420 to 910 calories, depending on toppings.
    His lunch companion, Sara Hearn, agreed that the listings are a good idea. “Just giving people the information will make them think twice about what they eat,” she said.
    Others customers thought the new rule was unnecessary.
    “People are going to eat what they want, it doesn’t matter what the menus say,” said Ken Poulin, who didn’t even glance at the calorie information as he ordered his burrito. “People need to eat more vegetables and have common sense.”
    According to the health department, more than half of New Yorkers are overweight or obese. Officials believe the regulation will prevent 150,000 New Yorkers from becoming obese and will stop another 30,000 from developing diabetes and other health concerns over the next five years.
    The impetus behind the rule, health officials have said, is to make people think twice about ordering a 1,000 calorie lunch, which for many is about half the recommended daily total of calories.
    The calorie rule is another in a string of public health measures promoted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. During his first term he banned smoking in bars and restaurants, and more recently pushed for a ban on artificial trans fats in restaurants.
    New York City is believed to be the first U.S. city to enact a regulation requiring calories on menus. Since then, California lawmakers and those in King County in Washington, which includes Seattle, have considered similar bills.
    The city Board of Health voted unanimously in January to approve the rule, a new version of a regulation struck down by Holwell last year after a challenge from the restaurant association. Holwell said at the time that the earlier version conflicted with federal food labeling laws.
    J. Justin Wilson, a researcher at the Center for Consumer Freedom, a Washington-based group supported by restaurants and food companies, called the regulation “dieting by guilt,” and said it leaves restaurants exposed to possible legal action.
    “We’re concerned if someone puts an extra dollop of sour cream on a taco, it becomes grounds for a lawsuit,” he said.
    Bob Bertini, a spokesman for Wendy’s, said the chain would comply with the rule.
    “We’ve been providing that information for nearly 30 years on a poster available for customers to review before they order,” Bertini said.
    New York City Health Commissioner Thomas R. Frieden said the decision will allow New Yorkers to make informed choices about what they eat. He said chain restaurants were singled out because they have standardized menus. The new policy won’t apply to most fine dining establishments, or the thousands of family owned delis and pizza shops around the city.
    “People can do whatever they want to do with the information,” he said. “A lot of people still choose to smoke even though the surgeon general’s warning is on the pack.”

BEBETO MATTHEWS/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Patrons sit inside a Starbucks in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood in this file photo. Starbucks is among a few chain restaurants that have already begun posting calories on menus in New York City as the city requirement to do so undergoes court challenges.

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According to the health department, more than half of New Yorkers are overweight or obese. Officials believe the regulation will prevent 150,000 New Yorkers from becoming obese and will stop another 30,000 from developing diabetes and other health concerns over the next five years.

just the way they like us,,,satiated and fattened up for the slaughter......baaaaaaaa

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CAPITOL
Lawmaker wants calories put on menus statewide
Restaurant association opposes any new regulation
BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Bob Conner at 462-2499 or bconner@dailygazette.net.

    Health advocates who got a law enacted in New York City requiring chain restaurants to post calorie contents of their dishes on the menu are looking to do the same thing statewide.
    Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, DBrooklyn, said at a news conference Thursday that he hopes his bill, A-729, will be passed by the Codes Committee and reach the floor of the Assembly before the end of the legislative session on June 23.
    Last year, the bill was voted down in the Codes Committee, which Ortiz attributed to the restaurant industry spending $4 million in a short period to lobby against it. The bill does not have a Senate sponsor, which would appear to make its prospects of passage this session remote.
    However, a legislative assistant to Ortiz, Tobey Zimber, said later Thursday that there are discussions under way with Senate Republicans. Democrats have the majority in the Assembly and Republicans in the Senate.
    Supporters of the bill include the New York State Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Alliance, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society. They said it would combat the American obesity epidemic, which would save public money through the Medicaid program.
    The New York State Restaurant Association opposes the measure, as it opposed the New York City law. Its representatives could not be reached for comment but NYSRA has argued that such measures violate the First Amendment and amount to heavy-handed, big government overregulation of the private sector.
    Further, NYSRA says there is no evidence the labeling will have a beneficial impact since restaurants have been voluntarily providing nutritional information in recent years at the same time that obesity rates have been rising.
    The health advocates said people have a right to know what they are proposing to eat and that while some chain restaurants do voluntarily provide information, much of it is not in a useful form for the consumer.
    The health advocates released Zogby polling data showing public support for the measure, along with public confusion about how many calories are in particular foods. For example, when asked which of four items at McDonald’s has the most calories, 30 percent of respondents said a Big Mac, 18 percent two sausage McGriddles, 16 percent four regular hamburgers, and only 14 percent got the correct answer, a large chocolate milkshake. Twentytwo percent were not sure of the answer.     

What's the point of this, other than to exert more government control over our lives?  No one is going to read these calorie tables anyway..

Not only that but at this point in time people have to know that Big Mac is full of fat and calories.  The sodium, cholesterol, and sugar content could be useful for health reasons, but another government mandate?  Does it ever end?  We should be taking responsibility for ourselves

The thing that gets me is that this stuff has been available, when asked for from the eateries, but on the 'net as well for years.  I understand for people with food allergies, or those with other health issues, but for the average consumer, this is useless, and pointless.  

As for personal responsibility, that's fast becoming a thing of the past.  The trend is that we're all victims, we're not responsible for anything we do.  There's always someone or something to blame.  When was the last time someone raised their hand and said "My fault, I screwed up.  No one else to blame but myself."

If you need to count calories just click on:
http://www.thecaloriecounter.com
or by the book "The Calorie Counter" that lists for $7.99 but you can get on sale for $4.98. The information is at our fingertips.

If your too freakin' lazy to eat an apple, peeled or not---then go kill yourself with a bigmac or whatever......when a person 'goes out' for food well, it's a jungle out there.