Calorie Counts

Since politicians have been so gung-ho on approving fast food and trans fat bans, Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky is clearly excited about his calorie count law proposal. If passed, chain restaurants in unincorporated parts of the county would have to include a caloric breakdown for all their offerings, a la New York City. According to Yaroslavsky: "Most people do not have a clue how many calories they are taking in when they have a milkshake or a double hamburger with cheese and fries. Menu labeling is a powerful education tool...what we want to do is offer information so people can make the right choices." The proposal is expected to go before the board next Tuesday, and could be in place by the end of the year. Some thinkage: Do people who know fast/chain food is bad for them need calorie counts listed to tell them it's bad? They know it, so they avoid or limit their intake. People who don't care won't care if they know a Big Mac, medium fries and soda has 1,130 calories. Aren't there schools to save or something? [LAT]