In this day and age, many people are becoming more aware of the importance of lifestyle and a plethora of choices by making which we acquire and shape it. However, it is not only a matter of individual choice, but also a factor that often affects how businesses are run, especially those in the service industry, and among those, first and foremost catering businesses. The first order of the day in this area is providing restaurant clients with full disclosure regarding nutritional information.
It is argued by some that by disclosing detailed nutritional information restaurants might do more harm than good, making their patrons overly aware of the effects the comsumed food might potentially cause. This, sometimes unwanted, information might make a customer overly anxious and self-consious about what they are eating, even if they are not in any danger of gaining extra weight and are unlikely to suffer from a liver or heart disease. Also it has been said that the information provided by nutrition charts requires too much deciphering, as not everyone is educated enough as to know the exact ratio of nutritional elements they are supposed to consume. Moreover, experts themselves at times contradict each other while suggesting what a healthy, sustainable diet truly is.
However, it would seem that advantages of full disclosure oughtweigh its drawbacks. Anxiety over food consumption can be easily overidden by consulting reliable sources of information, which are in this day and age relatively easy to discover online, or even by consulting a GP. At the same time, having to be open about the composition of the food served to clients will definitely make catering businesses more responsible, as well as more informed when it comes to making healthier choices for their menus. All in all, such measure will definitely raise overall consumption culture and is highly likely to improve many people’s health and lifestyle.
In conclusion, although there are certain concerns as to how to implement the full disclosure rule when it comes to nutritional values of restaurant food, such as the risk of inducing certain anxieties, the issue of educating the general public on what healthy choices there are, and unresolved questions is this area, it is generally better to allow consumers to make informed choices, as well as to make sure that businesses are more responsible when it comes to offering said choices to their customers.