Steve Chapman: On the Menu, Government Meddling

On
Thursday, hundreds of millions of Americans risked obesity, heart
disease and indigestion by eating large quantities of food with no
precise knowledge of the caloric content. If many of them felt
regret on Friday, it was not because they were duped into
overeating by the absence of nutritional data.

This may seem odd to the federal government, which has decreed
that chain restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines and
groceries shall provide information that most people don’t care
about and won’t heed. The Food and Drug Administration acted on a
provision of the Affordable Care Act mandating more nutritional
labeling, and it took an aggressive interpretation of its
authority: The mandate also includes movie theaters, vending
machines and bars.

But the need for federal intervention is nonexistent, writes
Steve Chapman, because diners already have an array of options in
where to get their food.

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