Please send a message to the DC Council to pass the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act of 2007 (B17-0139). The bill would require fast-food and other chain restaurants in DC to list calories, saturated plus trans fat, carbohydrates, and sodium on printed menus and calories on menu boards (where there is less space). 

Without clear, easy-to-use nutrition information, it’s difficult to make informed choices at chain restaurants.  Otherwise how can you know that a tuna fish sandwich has 50% more calories than a roast beef sandwich?  Or that a small chocolate milkshake at McDonald’s has more calories than a Big Mac?

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As your constituent, I urge you to work to pass the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act of 2007 (B17-0139) this Council session. This bill is a low cost way for the District to help prevent obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases in DC. It also is essential for people who have diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol who need nutrition information to follow their doctors' advice and manage their diseases. DC has over 43,000 residents living with diabetes, who need of carbohydrate information when eating out. Not being able to monitor their caloric intake and manage their blood sugar puts diabetics in both short term danger and at greater risk of having long term complications like blindness or amputation.

Although District residents eat out more than ever before, few restaurants provide nutrition information at the point of ordering. As a result, we often are served more calories, fat, and salt than we realize.

Leading health experts, including the National Academies' Institute of Medicine, the Food and Drug Administration, the Surgeon General, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, recommend that restaurants provide nutrition information at the point of decision making as an important strategy for supporting healthy eating and addressing obesity. The Washington Post has supported this initiative on its editorial page, and national polls show that over 80% of Americans want nutrition information when eating out.

This bill was first introduced almost four years ago and it is time the Council passed it. Please let me know if you support menu labeling in the District.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 13, 2007