If one student has his way, Brookline restaurant patrons may think twice before ordering a side of fries after reading just how many calories it contains.
University of Massachusetts Boston senior Andrew Ghobrial is trying to pass a resolution that would encourage all Brookline restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus. Though cities like New York and Philadelphia have passed laws requiring chain restaurants such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s to post calorie counts, Ghobrial’s resolution would be the widest-reaching measure of its kind, he said.
‘As a consumer and a restaurant goer, you have a right to know what’s in your food,’ Ghobrial said. ‘My main goal is to help educate the public and to help them make better decisions when eating out.’
After pressure from the city’s restaurants and Brookline Public Health and Human Services Director Alan Balsam, Ghobrial tweaked his original proposal, which set a five-year timeframe for restaurants to meet this requirement. His resolution is now a suggestion rather than a requirement, and will no longer set a deadline for restaurants to publish calorie counts on their menus.
Balsam said at a Brookline town meeting Tuesday evening he opposed the initial measure because it would have been out of line with every other regulation in the country.
The initial proposal elicited two major objections from opponents concerning the enforcement of the law and its impact on local businesses.
Andrea Ferrini, the owner and chef at Bottega Fiorentina, said it would be nearly impossible for his restaurant to determine the number of calories in its dishes.
‘Because of cost and the way our restaurant works, there is no way that we can pay to have a guy next to us telling us the calorie count when somebody wants extra meat on their sandwich,’ Ferrini said.
Ferrini said Ghobrial wants to pass this measure to gain political notoriety. Ghobrial previously ran for Brookline town selectman when he was 19.
‘These things are done by people who have never been in this business,’ Ferrini said. ‘They just want to do it to be the first, like with the trans fat oil law.’
Brookline gained a progressive public health reputation in the past year after it became the first town in Massachusetts to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants and schools.
Boston University political science professor Graham Wilson said he initially thought Ghobrial’s resolution would help people make informed decisions. However, he said these policies could be intrusive.
‘ ‘It’s almost Big Brother-ish,’ he said. ‘I know that there are public health costs to obesity and heart trouble . . . but almost everything we do can [have] adverse health consequences.’
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Bonnie Tuballa said she is also against the resolution.
‘ ‘I really enjoy eating out at restaurants, and if I had the calorie count in the back of my head, it would take away from the experience,’ Tuballa said.
Ghobrial said his original proposal was unlikely to pass, but hopes the revised proposal has a better chance.
‘I want at least something to pass,’ Ghobrial said. ‘At the same time, I don’t want to burden the employees at the restaurants.’
Balsam said even though he opposed the original resolution, the revised proposal does address obesity by encouraging restaurants to be more health conscious.
‘It raises awareness, and I think raising awareness is important,’ Balsam said. ‘No one thing is an answer to obesity.’
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