Public Schools, nutrition, obestity, ect. Please read!

thanks for those cheryl.
the dining out with kids article really hits home. for the first time EVER (16 years of eating out with kids) we go to a Ruby Tuesday in florida last june and their menu is labeled ---every single item has a carb/calorie/fat gram breakdown. it was so incredible to see, considering i've lived with this child for 13 years who basically "guesses" at the carbohydrate count in his dinner when we eat at restaurants. it was such a relief to see this.
every single chain should be required to label their menus, and not just for the sake of the diabetics who eat there. i am sure it would be a rude awakening to the majority of people who'd have a chance to gaze at that labeled menu while deciding what to order..... chains market those blasted chicken fingers and fries to kids; the fat content is disgusting. my kids always got chicken fingers.

As I've maintained previously, more govt. regulation and/or mandates are not the solution to every perceived ill in society. This knee jerk, reactionary attitude that we should slap a new law on the books to correct a problem out there is silly & invasive to restauranteers. Most of which are already drowning in federal, state, and local laws. Here are some alternative solutions - Patronize Ruby Tuesday more frequently, Provide positive feedback to local and/or national store mgmt. - Applaud them for a job well done on the new menus - Share this information with your friends/family - (And the biggest one of all) -- Vote with your pocketbook; Don't patronize restaurants that don't label their menus in this manner. Don't patronize restaurants that offer poor choices for kids meals. I'm sorry if this is such a sore subject with me. It just seems like many people in this country are willing to give up freedom for more govt. oversight. The continually erosion of our freedoms is very troublesome to me. :twocents:

well, its a sore subject with me as well, but government intervention is the last thing on my mind.
i believe looking at a labeled menu GIVES YOU (the consumer) THE FREEDOM to make an informed choice about the absolute c**p you are about to shove down your throat. but relax sonny, it will never ever happen because it would definately mean a loss of money to chains who will be exposed for providing something akin to pigfeed disguised as POPCORN shrimp to the expanding, disgusting waistlines of the FAT AMERICAN POPULATION.
wouldn't it be cool if restaurants followed Ruby Tuesday's lead and did this on their own? not a chance.

It is happening. Applebees (I think...) is posting WW & Atkins info in their menus nationwide. Ruby Tuesday is posting fat/calorie info. Some local restaurants (non chains) here in Atlanta are posting calorie/fat/carb information to appease the Atkins crowd. Somehow you have it in your mind that businesses work in a vacuum and are immune to societal pressure. Nothing could be further from the truth.

well then, societal pressure is a good thing here. i haven't been to any of those restaurants; we have an Olive Garden and that's it within a comfortable driving distance. as much as i scoffed at the Atkins diet and its enormous following, some good is coming out of it, restaurants are at least caving to the ATKINS customers and their absolute need to know.... it appears then that the ball is rolling and one will most likely follow the other.
to my way of thinking though, it's just long overdue and this industry is 100% accountable to the general public for the slop they serve and have been serving forever. for their efforts at labeling to be effective, however,they need to include the entire menu, not only an "ATKINS FRIENDLY" section on the back. i want to see fat grams and sodium on every single menu item. if that won't take your appetite away, nothing will.
thanks for the update sonny.

The problem here is that there are two distinct groups in society whose rights are in conflict. The restauranteur's right to serve the public whatever garbage they want as long as it tastes good. And the restaurant patron's right to know what's in the garbage they're eating. I think you would agree that its the government's job to decide who's rights need to be protected more, right?

Probably not. We have a thing called the Bill of Rights. It defines our rights in America pretty well.
IMHO, the govt. should only step in if someone's rights are being violated. If go eat three plates of popcorn shrimp tonight at Red Lobster -- Are RollingRock's rights violated in any shape or fashion?

Do you have a right to know what the content is of the food being supplied to you as a consumer? I'm not talking about your rights vs other restaurant patrons - I'm talking your rights vs the restaurant owners.
So the way you see it there are no ambiguities, room for interpretation or unforseen circumstances unaccounted for within the US Bill of rights?

:1:
if the restaurant industry isn't going to be voluntarily accountable for their c**p disguised in a beautiful plate presentation then i'm all for forcing them to tell the tale in nutrition labeling.
sorry this has gotten off topic. we were talking about schools.