The last I heard restaurants have three months left to work out the calorie content of their meals, after which every menu in the country will have the calorie content of every dish listed!
Thank you Food Safety Authority! At last I can eat out and relax about it! To be able to go anywhere and make lower calorie choices! I'm so happy!
I think this is a great idea. I think many people, not just those trying to lose weight, would freak out if they knew how many calories they were eating when they eat out. Here in the States portions are 2 or more times larger than a single serving so you can easily eat 1,000's of calories and not realize it! Having the calorie count there for you when you order will allow you to make better choices.
Awesome! We've had that in NY for a couple of years now and I love it! Also now I wouldn't mind going back to Ireland, haha. Haven't been there in 8 years
A word of caution though: sometimes the calorie counts are misleading! I don't know how in-depth the rules are going to be for Ireland, but a lot of the restaurants here will only list the calorie counts of the "bare bones" version of the dish (i.e. a cheeseburger WITHOUT CHEESE and without sides). You still might have to go online to get the information. If I don't have a chance to do that, I just assume that they're only counting the bare bones version of the dish.
I'm not a fan of the idea myself. I like that I can go online for major chain restaurants and figure out the calorie count of a cheeseburger, but I don't think it's a business's responsibility to tell me how many calories are in what I'm eating.
If they want to do it on their own, more power to them. But if not? I don't want the government policing every little thing.
It's not like I can't figure out for myself that the serving bowl full of pasta Alfredo at my local Italian joint isn't diet food, or that the ubiquitous grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, hold-the-oil order is a safe choice.
I wish that was everywhere here. I don't get good internet connection on my phone at all restaurants, so even bringing my tablet wouldn't do me any good. Plus, I don't always know I'll be going out to eat when I leave the house that day so I can't just look it up before leaving.
For instance- yesterday I left at 7AM to pick my grandmother up from the sleep clinic. We ended up going out to eat. That was not expected or planned. She didn't even plan it- it was an on the whim type thing.
I'd totally support this where I am.
It'll be interesting to see if it impacts the weight problems in Ireland over the next five years or so. People have been getting fatter here every year and fast food and eating out is definitely a part of that. How much a part is going to be interesting to see.
I'm not a fan of the idea myself. I like that I can go online for major chain restaurants and figure out the calorie count of a cheeseburger, but I don't think it's a business's responsibility to tell me how many calories are in what I'm eating.
If they want to do it on their own, more power to them. But if not? I don't want the government policing every little thing.
It's not like I can't figure out for myself that the serving bowl full of pasta Alfredo at my local Italian joint isn't diet food, or that the ubiquitous grilled chicken, steamed broccoli, hold-the-oil order is a safe choice.
Just my two cents.
Agree 100%. Obviously, I'm a calorie counter, so it would only benefit me if such a law were ubiquitous, but it's the principal of government intrusion on private business that bothers me. The more that principal is violated, the worse off we are.
Also, I think knowledge is a good thing, but it's a mistake to assume that knowledge will lead to a change in behavior. I remember reading that when NYC mandated the same thing for chain restaurants (i.e., calorie counts on their menus), it made no difference in how the people ordered. It's like we say to ourselves, "I'd be thin if our town had more sidewalks and I could walk more places" or "I'd be thin if restaurants would only put calorie counts on their menus," etc. In a sense, it's almost as if we want to convince ourselves that it's someone else's fault that we're fat (I'm speaking about the general public, not to anyone here in particular, of course).
Of course those calorie counts are only accurate if everything is weighed and measured.
This, too. I think that to appease the government, restaurants will do this, but I would not expect it to be too accurate. After all, who would police it regularly? The Calorie Police? It's like the laws concerning hygiene in restaurants. Yes, they get a rating, but on any given day, the cleanliness of a place can be abyssmal, and no one knows. I wouldn't bank on the fact that the calorie count printed by the restaurant would be accurate. After all, wouldn't it be to the restaurant's advantage to serve a "400-calorie" dish that tastes heavenly? And if the chef throws a little extra butter on the grill, well, who's going to know?
Your right about the calorie counts being unreliable, but even a ball park effort is better than none.
As for the current government interfering not all interference is bad. What a strange notion!
Well, obviously, not everyone thinks it's a "strange notion"; it's about the underlying principal of the government interfering in the rights of a privately ownedbusiness, but I realize not everyone will agree with that. However, let's agree to disagree rather than characterizing each others' opinions as "strange" or something equally insulting.
A restaurant owner was interviewed on radio about this. He said that initially he thought that this was ridiculous and no one really wanted this so he polled his customers to prove his point. He was shocked to find out that 98% of them wanted this so now he is behind the idea, although it gives him more work to do. I hope others think the same.
Lin43, I had no intention of insulting you. Perhaps this is a cultural thing but in Ireland saying that someone's opinion is strange is not considered an insult. Of course we are both entitled to have different opinions on this.
Lin43, I had no intention of insulting you. Perhaps this is a cultural thing but in Ireland saying that someone's opinion is strange is not considered an insult. Of course we are both entitled to have different opinions on this.
Yeah, I'm sure that calling someone's opinion "strange" is even considered a compliment in Ireland. Whatever . . .
Fabulous calorie law in Ireland! Yippee!
I don't know how in-depth the rules are going to be for Ireland, but a lot of the restaurants here will only list the calorie counts of the "bare bones" version of the dish (i.e. a cheeseburger WITHOUT CHEESE and without sides). You still might have to go online to get the information. If I don't have a chance to do that, I just assume that they're only counting the bare bones version of the dish.
Whatever . . .
