22-year-old Brookline resident Andy Ghobrial has filed a Town Meeting article that would require each and every one of Brookline’s food service businesses to post the calorie counts for all items on their menus. If passed, Brookline would be the first community in the nation with such a law. We caught up over email with the very busy Ghobrial, who explained the reasoning behind his controversial proposal.
What was the impetus behind your proposal to require that every food-serving establishment in Brookline display calorie counts?
Over the past several years there has been a rise in child obesity. Even more older individuals including our teens are becoming obese. This new proposal is aimed at helping individuals see and learn the amounts of calories they consume when they go out. It is about education so we as a society can help curb this obesity epidemic.
Why is now the time for your proposal?
Now is the time for this proposal as this is an epidemic that is ongoing. We are frequently reading up on this in the paper, in magazines and in the media. Small measures such as my proposal will go a long way in education and will slowly bring about a change in peoples eating habits.
What’s your response to opponents to the proposal who claim that it would cause many consumers to choose restaurants in Boston or Newton over those in Brookline?
I strongly disagree with this notion. Seeing calories posted in a restaurant will help bring in more business from surrounding communities as the general public would prefer to eat in a restaurant that they know cares about their guests.
Brookline’s health director said that your proposal would put Brookline “completely out of line with every other regulation in the country.” Why shouldn’t Brookline go with a less extreme proposal like the one currently being considered by Massachusetts?
Brookline has been home to many out of line proposals that today have been adopted many municipalities and states across the United States. This is a measure for the betterment of the public health of the general public and should not be considered out of line. Such a measure would be well received by the general public. Such an example of this was the 1995 passage of the towns no smoking by-law. Additionally, business owners thought that this would drive their customers to other municipalities. Since then, most other Massachusetts municipalities have followed Brookline’s footsteps and are now smoke-free. Recently, for other communities that still permitted smoking, the state passed the workplace smoking law banning smoking from all other municipals.
What’s your favorite restaurant in Brookline? Do you want to know how many calories your favorite dish there contains?
I must say I love pizza. My favorite restaurant would have to be Village Pizza House in Brookline Village. However, I do not have a clue how many calories are in the slices I eat.
Do you want to know the calorie count of every food you eat or is Ghobrial way off the mark? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Previously: Brookline Could Be First in the Nation to Require Calorie Counts on All Menus
