Part One
Restaurants should be required to provide customers with nutritional as well as content of food information. This would allow customers to make more specific and informed decisions regarding the food they are consuming. Making appropriate decisions regarding food intake allows customers with medical conditions to be more aware of the contents of their food. It also allows customers with particular food allergies to make appropriate decisions from the restaurant menu. And, this would allow customers that want or need to be aware of the nutritional value of food being consumed. Although many Americans do partake in dining out, there are many who do not have that choice. Addressing this group of individuals would provide a better sense of belonging for them as well as enhance customer income at the restaurants.
In order to obtain support for this type of issue, I could contact physicians and nutritionists as well as national medical associations. I would contact physicians for their support regarding those who need to know their food content in order to make proper food choices. I would contact nutritionists for support as they are concerned about food intake as well. And, I would contact organizations such as the American Diabetic Association and the American Heart Association as they would surely offer support as this relates to health of individuals with medical conditions.
Dear Senator,
I am writing to you to gain support and possible sponsorship for a bill that would require restaurants to provide customers with nutritional information ingredient information on food choices. Making informed decisions is important in a democratic society, and deciding what to eat is one of these decision. Many people who would choose to eat out forgo going out to dinner because they do not have the needed information about the food so they stay home and cook their own meals. Although dinning out is more convenient and takes less time, there are those who do not have that option due to lack of information of nutritional value. If a law was introduced requiring such information to be given to customers upon request, it is likely that more people would eat at restaurants; even more than already estimated. This would boost our economy. I hope that you will take into account the importance of a bill of this nature. It can help keep citizens with medical and nutrition’s needs or requirements safe while allowing them to enjoy more freedom of choice.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Student name
In order to get my idea about a bill to the media, I would review local news to see if the issue has been presented lately in the media. If this has been done, I can piggyback my idea onto the news story. I could also relate my ideas to the growth of economy as the more people eat out the better the economy will do.
My classmates reviewed my proposition and supported it. However, a couple of my classmates indicated that those who need a special diet or choose a special diet should not be privileged by getting a law passed that makes restaurants give them information. This is a valid argument, however; it really would not be a privilege in my opinion. It would be better service for restaurants, and better service equals more profit and a better economy.
Part Two
The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act was enacted by the 89th Congress in 1966. The bill was introduced and sponsored by legislator Philip Hart of Michigan. The committee that discussed, analyzed and drafted the bill was the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill passed the Senate in June and the House in October. It was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on November 3, 1966. This law applies to consumer products and requires particular information to be included on food labels. The information that must be included is the product identity, the name of the manufacturer, packager and distributer, and the quantity of the product both in metric and United States units. This law was amended in September 2015. The amendment was made by the Federal Trade Commission and included modernization of online listings and it eliminated out dated references.
There have been several bills in the last two years that have been introduced concerning food packaging. One particular bill was introduced and sponsored by Diane Feinstein of California. This bill concerns a particular ingredient in food` to be required on a label. The bill was sent to committee but has not been sent to either the House or Senate for passing. Senate bill 821: Food Packaging Right to Know Act. Other bills that have pertained to packaging include bills related to labeling foods that are genetically engineered.
My local congressmen include Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand as Senators and Lee Zeldin as my district House of Representative member.
The legislation discussed above was not sponsored by any of these New York legislators.
References
Fair Packaging and Labeling Act. (2016). Retrieved from U.S. Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/Legislation/ucm148722.htm
FTC Amends Fair Packaging and Labeling Act Rules. (2016). Retrieved from Federal Trade Commission: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/fair-packaging-labeling-act
Members of U.S. Congress. (2016). Retrieved from Congress.gov: https://www.congress.gov/members
Nutrition. (2016). Retrieved from Govtrack.us: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/subjects/nutrition/2714
Weinreich, N. K. (2006). Getting Your Message Out Through the Media. Retrieved from Weinrich Communications: http://www.social-marketing.com/media.html
