More than a dozen states and numerous cities are pondering legislation patterned after a new California law forcing chain restaurants to list calorie counts on menus. Los Angeles has a one-year moratorium on new fast-food outlets in a 32-square-mile area of South Los Angeles that is home to 500,000 residents. San Jose is looking at a similar proposal.
A legislative and consumer backlash against trans fats has pushed big restaurant chains -- including KFC, Burger King, IHOP, Applebee's, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell and Denny's -- to begin to eliminate trans fats from their foods.
Yum Brands Inc., the parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, isn't waiting for more legislation. It plans to add product calorie information to menu boards in its company-owned restaurants nationwide and to encourage franchise owners to do the same. The company said the calorie information would be phased onto menu boards starting this year and be completed by Jan. 1, 2011.
It's a big move by one of the largest purveyors of fast food. Louisville, Ky.-based Yum franchises or owns about 20,000 U.S. restaurants.
So far, the local regulatory initiatives have gained momentum because of rising rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease, said Amy Winterfeld, a health policy analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"If Americans ate healthier food and were more active they would not be as obese and there would not be as many obesity-related healthcare costs," Winterfeld said.
Yet restaurant customers don't always agree that legislating food rules or forcing chains to post nutritional information is the best way to tackle the problem.
"They are going too far trying to regulate people's lives and health. Soon they will be regulating portions," said David Yochelson, an Encino attorney who dines out with his family several times a month.
Policies such as the fast-food establishment moratorium in Los Angeles border on racism, said Joe R. Hicks, vice president of Community Advocates Inc., a Los Angeles civil rights organization.
"It's insulting. They are saying that if you live in Brentwood you have the ability to make choices for yourself but if you live in South Los Angeles you don't," Hicks said.
The restaurant industry calls the trend to legislate food choices a case of mistaken priorities.
"With crime and budget-shortfall issues, why are city and state legislators focusing on trans fats and fast-food restaurants?" asked Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Assn.
