Senator Denise Harper Angel, D-Louisville, filed legislation today that would require the posting of calorie information in Kentucky restaurants.
Senate Bill 133 would make it mandatory for chain restaurants with at least 10 locations in Kentucky to provide calorie information on menus and menu boards on all food and drink items sold. Senator Harper Angel said this bill, which she calls C-Meal (Consumer Menu Education and Labeling) truly is a consumer bill.
"Displaying calorie information in this manner is a common sense approach that would allow consumers to exercise personal responsibility by providing them with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions," said Senator Harper Angel. "C-Meal would allow people to make better dining choices."
This type of legislation is not a new concept in the United States. In October, California enacted similar legislation, and, in the early part of this decade, New York enacted menu-labeling legislation. In addition, Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR, have local ordinances regarding menu. On the national level, the 110th U.S. Congress introduced Senate and House bills calling for menu labeling requiring calorie information to be posted in restaurants across the country and, today, Senator Harper Angel's resolution urging the 111th U.S. Congress to enact a federal "Meal Act" passed the State Senate.
“Obesity continues to be a growing problem in this country and the problem is not just among adults, but it is also affecting our children and teenagers,” she said. “We are much more sedentary than our grandparents and great-grandparents and we are eating high calorie, high fat foods. Diet and exercise are two key factors in the weight problem facing Kentucky and the nation. Obesity leads to countless health problems, among those are diabetes, cancer and -- the number one cause of death in every single county in Kentucky --heart disease.
"I am concerned with the health problems attributed to obesity and believe it will help Kentuckians to have this nutrition information available so they can make healthy food choices," Senator Harper Angel added.
"The average American spends nearly half of his food budget in restaurants and dines out four times a week. Restaurant food tends to be served in larger portions and is usually higher in calories than food served at home. C-Meal is not intended to tell people what to eat, but just provide them with the tools to know what they are eating,” she explained. "Consumers need the facts, not guesswork, to make healthy choices.”
California now has a menu labeling law, and Senator Harper Angel intends for Kentucky to follow suit and to be a leader in the nation with this issue. Senate Bill 133 will be heard during the 2009 legislative session.
