Introduction
Thousands of Americans order pizza, coffee, fried chicken, hamburgers, and other items daily from more than three hundred thousand take-out restaurants nationwide. Other fast-food restaurants, on the other hand, suffer significant losses as customers flock to fast-casual restaurants that emphasize eco-friendly, distinctive, and creatively prepared food production. As a result, fast-food restaurants have decided to introduce healthier foods and reduce their high-calorie foods to compete with fast-casual restaurants. Moreover, other restaurants are also working on reducing pollution caused by their operations. These pollution reduction strategies include serving plant-based, white-castle, and meatless burgers to appeal to health-conscious and environmentally-minded customers.
Chains like McDonald’s increasingly rely on mobile delivery apps and buzz-worthy internet campaigns to stay relevant to young people and teens. However, the rise in the cost of labor has resulted in high prices for these fast foods. Therefore, fast-food production industries predict they will rely more on robots and less on human labor. It is therefore important to note that now more than ever, people are concerned about the foods they eat and where they come from. Although an argument can be made in favor of adding calorie counts to restaurant menus, research seems to be pointing toward the conclusion that this addition does not lead to healthier customer choices.
The Advantages of Labeling
Firstly, it needs to be established that there are certain benefits to adding calorie counts to the menus, such as providing vital information to consumers. It is no secret that American citizens prefer take-out to food prepared at home. In a report by Maynard, Wootan states that, as a result, these individuals get a third of their calories from take-out (17). Moreover, Wootan reveals that frequently eating out is largely linked to eating more fat and sugary drinks and fewer healthy fruits and vegetables (Maynard 17). In addition, take-outs are associated with a high intake of calories, resulting in obesity. Wootan contends that people have a right to know the number of calories in every restaurant meal (Maynard 17). Therefore, labeling calories on restaurant menus helps customers make an informed choice.
Secondly, the effect of labeling calories on menus seems well-studied. Other small studies point out no significant effects are caused by menu labeling (Maynard 17). However, these studies need more power to measure the population-wide effects expected from introducing calories to restaurant menus. Cochrane, a non-profit health research institute in Britain, conducted a meta-analysis study on labeling the best-quality menus (Maynard 17). This institute found that fifty calories in every restaurant meal were reduced due to menu labeling (Maynard 17). The argument is that there is research regarding labeling, and although it has not shown many positive findings, this is due to the limitations of those studies.
The Disadvantages of Labeling
First and foremost, the overwhelming amount of research points towards the fact that labeling does not impact customers’ habits. Over the last decade, obesity in the United States of America has continued to rise (Maynard 17). Despite the economic costs of obesity varying widely, some studies argue that the obesity rates justify government intervention.
However, due to the long history of obesity in the United States, a wide selection of studies shows that menu labeling has a minimal impact on obesity, body weight, and other health outcomes. An example of such a study is a recent work by Yelowitz for the Cato Institute exploring whether the introduction of calorie labeling on restaurant menus contributed to reducing obesity (Maynard 17). The labeling requirement was adopted after the Affordable Care Act, also referred to as Obamacare, took effect in 2018 (Maynard 17). However, no significant effects were attributed to this stipulation.
Secondarily, any effect that labeling might have on consumer habits does not appear to be long-term. Menu labeling may impact obesity and body weight only in the short term. Yelowitz attributes this impact to the ‘novelty effect,’ which wears off quickly (Maynard 17). Groups that are considered to experience the highest knowledge gains from menu labeling exhibit limited weight changes (Maynard 17).
The New York City leadership supported this futility, especially when the former mayor spearheaded various efforts that improved public health and included calorie labeling on menus in 2008 (Maynard 17). However, despite these efforts, the percentages of people with obesity and large body weight in New York increased. This underscores the lack of long-term effects of menu labeling.
Finally, proponents of calorie labeling on restaurant menus mistakenly believe that people lack information on the health benefits and drawbacks of their food. Yelowitz explains that nowadays, almost all significant restaurants have developed mobile applications that provide detailed nutritional information (Maynard 17). As this information is already widely available, stipulating that calorie counts be added to menus seems largely redundant.
Conclusion
After reviewing several arguments in favor of and against menu labeling in restaurants, it can be concluded that it does not appear to significantly impact the habits of American consumers. The proponents of such legislation argue that it is the right of the consumer to have access to this vital information. Nonetheless, even the proponents of this strategy admit that research has shown the lack of long-term effects of menu labeling. In addition, this information is more readily available than ever with the advent of downloadable restaurant applications. To sum up, although there is a case to be made for calorie counts to be added to restaurant menus, evidence suggests that doing so does not encourage diners to make healthier choices.
Works Cited
Ambacher, Richard. Semantics: Arriving at Meaning. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1993.
Fischer, David. The New Magic Machines. U.S. News & World Report, vol. 120, no, 11, 1996, pp. 60-64.
Maynard, Micheline. “Fast-Food Shakeout.” CQ Researcher, 2019.
