Facts Don't Matter
To the food nannies, actual facts are irrelevant.
Jacob Grier cites some of these facts.
I myself was so discombobulated I went all Boudreaux on the New and Observer, for this story.
Labels: feed the nanny, food, goin' all Boudreaux
posted by Mungowitz @ 1/18/2011 05:45:00 AM
5 Comments
Links to this post
5 Comments:
"Boudreaux" is now a verb. Long may he write.
Doesn't giving calorie information provide a selection bias problem? For instance, I hardly ever go to Cinnabon more than once or twice a week now that I know how many calories those things have.
But think of the stimulus this has given to printers.
And quidnuncs.
I hardly think that anyone entering a Taco Time (is that like Taco Bell?) is going to be bothered by the nutritional facts.
I love this blog! I have browsed around for a while, but never commented.
Food nannies? I think that's a bit excessive.
We know the market works best when information is free. Restaurant patrons face an inherent asymmetric information problem, which we know will lead to suboptimal choices. Moreover, restaurants are already required to have nutritional information available. All they have to do is incorporate the information into their menus the next time they're reprinted (assuming an appropriate lag time between the announcement of the new requirement and the beginning of enforcement).
As for ignoring facts, how do you respond to studies such as Burton et al 2006, Roberto et al 2009, Kuo et al 2009, and Bollinger et al 2010?
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home