The California State Assembly will be voting on SB 1420, introduced by Senator Padilla, which requires chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards where customers will see it.  Similar policies have passed in New York City, San Francisco, Santa Clara County, King County (Seattle), and Multnomah County (Portland, OR).  Californians deserve similar information.

The restaurant industry will tell you that they want the information in the restaurant, but not on the menu.  That just doesn’t make sense!  As this video shows, information that is not on the menu at the point of decision making is virtually useless for people who want to place their order as quickly and easily as possible:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD4m6WN3Tlg

We need your support to pass menu labeling in California.  Please send a message today to your Assembly Member and to Governor Schwarzenegger to urge them to pass the California menu labeling bill. 

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a resident of California, I urge you to vote in support of SB 1420. This bill would require restaurant chains in the state to post nutrition information next to items on menus and menu boards.

Increasingly, California residents are relying on restaurants to feed themselves and their families. If we hope to address problems like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, we need to ensure that Californians have access to nutrition information when they eat out.

Few restaurants provide nutrition information at the point of decision-making. It's nice that information may sometimes be found on the Internet or tray-liners, but that's not very helpful when you're weighing your choices at a restaurant. As a result, people often consume more calories than they realize. For example, a large chocolate shake at McDonald's has more calories than two Big Macs.

SB 1420 is an important step in giving people the information they need to make informed choices, and to address the problems of obesity and diabetes in California. I urge you to support the health of your constituents by supporting passage of SB 1420.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
August 08, 2008