The History and Impact of the New York City Menu-Labeling Law
Citation
Brent Bernell, The History and Impact of the New York City Menu-Labeling Law (April 2010).Abstract
As a result of the recent federal health care legislation, all restaurants in the United States that are part of a chain with twenty or more locations will be required to post the calorie information of the food they serve directly on the menu or menu board. This development represents the culmination of a regulatory initiative to combat the growth of obesity that only began in 2006 with the decision by the New York City Board of Health to require calorie posting in New York City chain restaurants. That initiative, Regulation 81.50, was the first of its kind in the United States; and yet, less than four years later, the idea has become a national standard. This paper tracks the history of New York City’s landmark regulation, detailing the drafting of the law, the initial legal victory for the restaurant association challenging it, and the ultimate triumph of the City in winning legal validation of its calorie posting mandate. In doing so, this paper will also use the New York City regulation as launching point to discuss the rationale behind menu labeling, to examine the potential legal pitfalls of menu-labeling laws, to track the development of the initiative from New York City to a national standard, and finally to evaluate the preliminary data on whether or not menu labeling is actually effective in achieving its ultimate goal: changing consumer eating habits and reducing obesity.Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAACitable link to this page
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:10015298
Collections
- HLS Student Papers [498]
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)