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January is always a tough month.
Post-festive blues combined with stretched wallets and waistlines leave most of us disillusioned as we starve, save, sacrifice and more, attempting to limit long-lasting damage.
But as the month of detox and poverty draws to a close, it appears that health and bureaucracy are now top of the agenda and we are a long way from good times.
For those of us who feel like a hearty meal to take our mind off global misery, even this luxury now comes with some small print designed to lower our deflated spirits and fill our bellies with guilt.
The assumption that the government has bigger things on their plate then worrying about what’s on ours, evaporated earlier this week when they announced a pointlessly depressing plan to let us all know the calorific content of menus.
Under the new plans, announced by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), restaurants will give calorie information on menus and at point of sale, proving once again, that if something is remotely enjoyable, our government will tax or discourage it.
It is proposing that all restaurants in Britain - from Cipriani’s to your local chip shop - break down the granular detail of nutrition to provide some education at the dinner table and it is already in talks with a number of companies that will adopt the scheme later this year.
In these times of economic hardship, eating can be one of life's little indulgences: a chance to enjoy a beautifully cooked meal, a glass of wine and some sparkling conversation to take the edge off a long and tiring week.
For the majority it is still a special treat, and as most households are now struggling to pay their bills, it’s becoming increasingly rare.
The last thing people need in this hyper-informative age, when they do find the time and money for a meal out, is a dossier of sobering statistics to point out that their favourite dish of the day is dangerously loaded with fat.
Most find it difficult enough choosing what to eat based on preference and cost, without a calorie counter hovering by the salt, guilting them into selecting a pile of leaves when they really feel like a steak.
Many in the industry fear it will be difficult for independent restaurants to comply, as menus and portions change from day to day and chefs are forced to keep track of calories, instead of focusing on quality.
Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, which represents 30,000 restaurants and catering firms, said: “The sector is having its most difficult trading in 40 years and the last thing we want is anything that is an added cost to the business. The next 12 months is not the time for anything like this. We are looking to protect jobs.”
There is no doubt that we have a massive obesity problem in the UK and something needs to be done, but the way to tackle it is through nutritional education at a young age, promoting healthy attitudes and lifestyle.
The FSA initiative may be well-intentioned, but it is another knee-jerk reaction which won’t make a dent of difference to the real problem, partly because printing calories next to a dish is a misleading way of conveying reality.
The whole calorie-counting business is far too anal and a pointless waste of time as calorific content alone is not a healthy measuring tool.
Olive oil, for example, is very good for you but it would add a lot of calories to a dish along with avocados, nuts and a whole range of high fat foods which encourage nutrient absorption, facilitate nerve transmission and maintain cell integrity.
On a practical level, the scheme would drive restaurants into the ground and anger overworked chefs who should be focused on creativity in the kitchen instead of filling out forms behind a desk to justify their choice of ingredients.
All the scheme will achieve is a rise in the national level of food-related neuroticism, which is surely peaking in conjunction with the latest obesity statistics.
A similar system in New York restaurants apparently reduced the average diner's intake by around 100 calories.
A success, on the face of it, although the figures don't show how many of them went home and tucked into a bowl of Ben & Jerry's because they really fancied a dessert without being judged an indolent slob by the waitress.
People do not want to leave a restaurant confused and depressed with a headful of damning numbers, perpetually totting up their score like a failing bookmaker carrying out an internal audit.
It's the same with alcohol and units. Literally no one understands the units system, most chose to ignore it and alcohol abuse and related problems continue to rise through the roof.
This latest nanny state intervention is merely an extension of this unnecessary, relentless measuring, designed to take the last bit of fun out of restaurants by cursing us with calorific blazonry instead of leaving us to dine in peace.
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