Picture a warm Friday or Saturday night. The moon is out, stars are shining, stomachs are empty, and individuals just don‘t feel like cooking. Smiling families, friends, or lovers all expect a satisfied stomach before the night begins. They all turn to restaurants.

Within today’s society, many persecute the food industry for causing the up rise of the obesity epidemic. One of the first actions that took place was the lawsuit against Kraft by an organization, to eliminate trans fats. The result was that Kraft had to eliminate and reduce the amount of hydrogenated oil not only in Oreos, but in other products as well. In addition, a menu bill has already been proposed to New York City, Montgomery County, and King County that forces restaurants to provide menus with guidelines that include the following: calories, sodium, and fat content (Washington Post).

As a result, many conclude that the obesity dilemma lies in trans fats and the use of menus without nutritional guidelines that restaurants provide.

Many are convinced that the causes of obesity is due to the existence of trans fats. On the other hand, many fail to recognize that there are other factors as well, such as; over eating or poor exercise. According to the MSNBC News Services, the FDA has estimated that the average American consumes 4.7 pounds of trans fats each year. Evidently not all of those trans fats consumed, are served from restaurants. Trans fats are readily available within a lot of packaged foods that we love today: cookie dough, frozen pancakes, etc. They are guilty pleasures packed within everyone’s cupboard. As a result, many food industry representatives realize this, and therefore claim the ban burdensome and unnecessary (MSNBC News Services).

To add on, not only do individuals blame restaurants for serving trans fats, but that food providers failure to present menus with nutritional information is one of the other causes of increasing the overweight dilemma. A nutritional menu would be nice, I agree. However, if one was to imagine replacing every menu already existing within restaurants today, think of all the funding and how costly it would be to remake every menu.


Author, Chad Lacasse agrees that it is not simple and effortless in the article, “Simple System Solves the Restaurant Nutritional”. He states: “Many restaurants are researching the best way to convey information to their consumers, and most of them are very costly or not feasible”.


Overall, in truth, without trans fats and nutritional guidelines, there are hundreds of other causes that make individuals large today. Whether it is a small local restaurant or a food chain, individuals are responsible for how they eat. These food providers are only available to feed, not force, consumers with tasteful foods.

I am a cook myself, and my passion is to create culinary works of art. If one was to put themselves in an artists position, one would understand how frustrating it is to be limited and instructed on what can or can not be used. For instance, what if a painting made someone sad, does that mean painters are not allowed to create sad portraits?

In reality, society needs to understand that this is not good vs. evil. Restaurants are not trying to make their consumers obese. They are only trying to do what they do best, and that is creating culinary masterpieces. Without funds and financial capability, new menus with nutritional guidelines are just not feasible.