WASHINGTON, DC – Today the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) criticized the New York City Board of Health for mandating that chain restaurants incorporate nutrition labels on their menus. This morning the Board unanimously supported the proposal, even though similar legislation had been previously struck down in court.

“It doesn’t take a PhD in nutrition, let alone a high school diploma to tell the difference between a 12-piece bucket of chicken and a salad,” said J. Justin Wilson, senior research analyst at the Center for Consumer Freedom. “Mayor Bloomberg’s Big Brother Board of Health is getting more outrageous as it spends taxpayer funded time and money regulating food choices, when its own internal research shows the law will only impact 3 percent of the average calories in a New Yorker’s diet.”

Wilson added: “Sooner or later New Yorkers will realize Bloomberg and his Board are slowly sacrificing common sense on the altar of Nanny-state public health policies.”

According to the Board of Health's own report, restaurants account for less than one-third of an average New Yorker's diet and the new ordinance would only apply to 10 percent of New York's 23,000 restaurants. Thus, the new legislation will only affect 3 percent of the calories consumed by an average New Yorker.

Beyond the ordinances narrow scope, the Board’s shortsighted legislation totally ignores the complicated causes of obesity. In fact, Small Choices, Big Bodies, a new report released by the Center for Consumer Freedom details that numerous daily lifestyle choices have the biggest impact on our waistlines.

The Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit coalition supported by restaurants, food companies, and consumers, working together to promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices.

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