Understanding The Nitty-Gritty Behind The Federal Menu Mandate

Hot Air's Ed Morrissey talks with the vice president of the Davanni's pizza and sandwich chain in the Twin Cities area about the ins and outs of the federal menu mandate, which is part of health-care reform legislation and forces chains with 20 or more branches to publish extensive calorie counts of all items for sale.

As Morrissey finds out, that's easier said than done. This vid is particularly interesting, I think, in walking through the steps that even seemingly banal regulations force on business.

And all for no good reason: Like most big and small chain providers, Davanni's has the information available online and upon request, though exact counts are difficult to gin up in a world of personalized pizzas. Beyond that, it's far from clear that public calorie counts have much effect on eating behavior.

Video is about 7 minutes long.