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Argument: Marketplace can encourage restaurants to voluntarily list calories
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Supporting quotations
Chuck Hunt, executive vice president of the restaurant association's New York City chapter: "We don't object to people doing it voluntarily. Our problem was the government agency forcing them to do it. We think restaurants should be able to determine from their customers how they want to get the information."[1]
Jeff Jacoby. "Want a warning label with those fries?" The Boston Globe. January 11, 2009: "Is it really the job of the state to coerce restaurants into confronting diners with information most of them aren't interested in? The food-service industry is exceptionally competitive and highly sensitive to customer preferences; if enough diners wanted to look at obtrusive calorie charts when eating out, restaurants would already be providing them."
Steve Chapman. "Force-fed the facts". Reason. June 23, 2008: "Americans may say they would also like to see dietary information on menus. But providing it costs money, in a fiercely competitive industry. If patrons really wanted such disclosures, no law would be needed. Restaurants, eager to attract customers, would already be providing the numbers—just as they strive to offer other things that bring in business."
