Sure, we have all seen calorie counters, and nutritional information at restaurants, but now, a small burger chain in Portland, Oregon is printing calories on its fast food fans’ receipts.
At Burgerville restaurants, guests can choose anything. The kind of bun they’d like, what kind of cheese, their preferred sauce. And now, because of a statewide labeling law (and the inability of providing such a customized nutritional info menu), Burgerville’s customers are receiving custom burgers with a side of carbohydrate, calorie, fat, fiber and protein intake information.
Already known for using local ingredients and sustainable business practices, is Burgerville taking a step to make Portland residents a little bit healthier? Judging by their plan for a bicycle drive-thru, I’d say yes.
Will this hurt their business when people see the gluttonous amount of calories and fat hidden in their fast food lunch, or will it simply be numbers on a piece of paper that lays hidden on the bottom of a bag full of burgers?
Blogger Cabel Sasser recently described his Burgerville experience, and seemed to appreciate the information he received. “I mean, it’s not surprising that tartar sauce is high on calories. But it was slightly surprising that Sweet Potato Fries were so much “worse” than regular fries. Sure, there is some irony that you get this receipt after you’ve paid for your meal. But I say any nutritional education is better than none at all,” writes Sasser.
I agree. Putting an exact number to the amount of calories you are about to consume may cause one to take one less bite, eat only half of their fries, or scrape off a little mayo.
While I am sure that some fast food junkies will choose to ignore the info, or drive-thru elsewhere, we can only hope that some consumers will rethink their eating habits and revamp their orders.
Image: Cabel Sasser
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I think this is one of those cases where even if you think your Burgerville calories are high, you can only imagine how much worse they must be elsewhere!