This is INSANE

[buster]

One Example

Most people realize how bad eating out can be. Have you ever actually taken a look at the nutritional info. of your favorite chain? Here is one example. Click on the "show info".


There has been talk of the government forcing these places to tell people what they are eating. I think it's a good idea. I know McDonald's puts it on the box. It may be big brother, but it might help lower health care costs and force restaurants to provide better, more healthy food, when people start realizing how bad the food is they are actually getting.

I'm sure there are ways to make things healthier. I truly don't think people realize how bad some of this food is. 109g of fat! Are you kidding me? PF Changs does serve large portions, but it's still ridiculous. Sure we could simply not eat it, but that doesn't seem to be working as the obesity rate is sky rocketing in this country leading to many diseases and ultimately driving up health care costs.

 

[thooks]

Lemme guess....


You are a stark skinny guy who does not have a healthy appetite or has ever gained an unwanted pound.

 

[Pablo]

I thought you said you aren't a liberal?

People know what they are eating! For crying out loud buster!!

It's flaggin' spareribs, calm down. It tastes good....I'm assumimg - I've never eaten there. You know China eats some very high fat/oil items yet are not as fat and lazy and stupid as us? Well maybe stupid in other areas, but they simply don't eat all the baked crap and doughnuts and other sheet we gulp down with 48 liter bottles of carbonated concentrated sugar water. People know what they are doing.......

 

[Dan4510]

Another health nazi...healthier eating/lifestyel cannot be forced by law. Nor can much anything, it only creates a black market which has worse effects on society than the original problem.

You would still be able to get whatever you wanted, just at an insane price.

Dan

 

[dima]

It is a personal choice what to eat. If it is taste good it must be bad for you.
In life what makes us feel good leaves to three things: Obesity, preason or sexualy transmited disease.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

P.F. Chang's Shrimp Fried Rice is spot-on the same as a certain little ma & pa Chinese place in Chinatown on 22nd St in Chicago (directly west of the Fire Station). (Can't think of the name of it now, it's NOT Three Happiness though...)

THE BEST shrimp fried rice around!!!

 

[TheTanSedan]

P.F. Chang is lousy, no better than any other chain restaurant. However, providing info like this is hardly a burden and serves a decent purpose.

 

[sprintman]

Macka's have some good salads and such and they sell apples and fruit juice. But better to give chains a miss and search out good ethnic places. Turkish, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Mexican have excellent healthy food if you chose well. Our new find is Au Lac Vegan Vietnamese and the tastes are sensational. Very cheap as well. most people are just to lazy to look for something 'different' IMO.

 

[buster]

No, actually I am not a stark skinny guy, I have a healthy appetite. I find it ridiculous that nothing can be said without being attacked by ridiculous ignorant comments of extremes and generalizations. Are YOU kidding ME with your assumation that the average person knows the exact fat and calorie count of all food in restaurants? There needs to be more transparency!

Are YOU kidding ME with your assumption that if people were to physically see the true nutritional facts it wouldn't make them think twice about what they are eating? That's what I'm getting at. Wanting people to have access to information to be truly informed does not equate to me being a health Nazi. It's a shame that you need to attack someone on an oil forum to feel better about yourselves.

Before the FDA existed, the meat industry was corrupt. I'm not in favor of too much gov. regulation, but sometimes it does work for the common good. I was an economics major and I know the implications of too much regulations.

 

[Shannow]

I agree that places should have rough guides on "nutritional content", but leave it to the basics. Protein, Carbs, Fat, Sodium, Potassium, MSG.

Don't agree with people having to sign a release form before indulging in a feed of Chinese, or bernaise sauce.

It's interesting that when McDonalds had their issues a few years ago, an Oz Qtr. Pounder dropped from 36g fat to 26. Overnight, and very quietly.

 

[buster]

The point is consumers should know what they are eating. Would you buy any product, say a car, without knowing what engine is in it? It's about disclosing more information so consumers can make better informed decisiones. I have news for you, many people I know who have recently looked into how much fat some of these places have in their food, aren't going there anymore.

 

[buster]

As Shannow stated, when places are forced to disclose the true fat/calorie contents of things, they are in turn forced to make things healthier, because if they don't they will lose business. I'm sorry Pablo, that you are so narrow-minded that you didn't bother to actually read what I was actually trying to say before you started writing. I never said I wasn't a liberal either. I prefer being open-minded and informed over being close-minded and physically unable to absorb new information.

 

[OriginHacker21]

buster - you are right. This semester in college I took a Health class that required us to track the number of calories we eat for two weeks. I was seriously shocked at the calories/fat of Burger King, In & Out, and Subway. So I know what you mean about the average person not knowing the exact amount. I knew fast foods were bad for you but until you see the numbers, it really doesn't mean much and you keep doing what you are doing.

Still, it is an old argument on whether or not the government has the right to protect you. Think about the debates on wearing seatbelts/airbags/bicycle helmets.

I do not think the government should have too much regulation on what we eat. Obviously, clean standards (meat industry) are a +. But, who can live without an In & Out hamburger now and then??

In the end, people are responsible for their weight. If you want to be thin then you'll take steps to be thin otherwise the exact opposite will happen. Sure, fattier foods are easier to find and obtain but... lifting weights is harder than sitting on the couch.

EFFORT IS REQUIRED!

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Outlaw ice cream I tell you!

 

[OriginHacker21]

NEVER!!!

 

[buster]

I am NOT trying to say we need to physically REGULATE what people eat. I am simply saying that people should have the opportunity to be informed, restaurants should provide that information freely to their consumers. That's it. Period. The end. (Obviously some of you construe that to mean "outlaw ice cream," which is in no way similar to "information")

 

[Pablo]

buster - you are calling me narrow minded and say I didn't read what you wrote.

Hmm....how did I know 109g of fat referred to the spareribs?

Also YOU wrote:

quote:

---

There has been talk of the government forcing these places to tell people what they are eating. I think it's a good idea.

---

You want the government to FORCE food places to tell people what they are eating. Then you said it you this is a GOOD idea. How am I supposed to interpret this, buster?

From webster.com:

quote:

---

3 : violence, compulsion, or constraint exerted upon or against a person or thing

---

My narrow mind did come up with something....maybe some people have no concept how much 109 grams is???

 

[buster]

Forcing restaurants to disclose the nutritional content of the food. Not forcing people WHAT to eat. Get it yet? Some things are worth implementing for the greater good. With obesity in this country as high as it is, it would only HELP to know what you are actually eating. I was shocked by how much calories in fat are even in some salads! It's unreal.

Remember, we do have the best technology for healthcare, but we are not the healthiest people. One way to, READ ONE WAY, to help fix the problem is to focus on a preventative healthcare system. I'm not in favor of socialized medicine, although the free market system here has probably just as many problems.

 

[Pablo]

I think restaurants HAVE to do that already, buster! Please stop insulting me.

 

[97f150]

I dont think the general public really gives a shat about the nutritional value of the food they eat at a fast food resturant. They know what they are eating. No one in their right mind will eat a piece of cow and potatoes deep fat fried and believe for one second that it is good for them. I dont need a chart to tell me Popeyes is clogging my arteries but that chart wont stop me from eating it either.