Hi all,

The anti-menu labeling bill, the (cynically named) Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act (H.R. 2017), is scheduled for a House floor vote on Friday. The bill would weaken/repeal several parts of the national menu labeling law (section 4205 of the Affordable Care Act), creating consumer confusion and making it harder for customers to get nutrition information at many restaurants and retail food establishments. Supermarkets, convenience stores, and pizza chains (especially Domino’s) have been pushing for this bill.

Like with the fight over school nutrition standards, this bill has been positioned as providing modest flexibility to industry, when really it would withhold nutrition information from consumers, hampering their ability to make informed choices.

Below are some model social media and an action alert for you or your networks. Please let us know if and how you can help oppose the bill before the floor vote on Friday. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or would like more information on the bill and if you need any materials.

If you’d like a great example of menu labeling to include in your social media and/or action alert, please see the attached.

Tweets

· Nothing common sense about it. Ask Congress to vote NO on the anti-menu labeling bill #HR2017 http://ow.ly/Y8Foq

· Congress’ anti-menu labeling bill #HR2017 would keep nutrition info from customers: take action http://ow.ly/Y8Foq @CSPI

· Ask your US Representative to oppose the anti-menu labeling bill #HR2017 http://ow.ly/Y8Foq @CSPI

· Stop Congress & Big Food from thwarting efforts to prevent obesity: oppose the anti-menu labeling bill #HR2017 http://ow.ly/Y8Foq

· Shame on @dominos for lobbying to keep nutrition information from its customers. Ask Congress to resist http://ow.ly/Y8Foq

Facebook

· Please email your U.S. Representative and ask them to oppose HR 2017: http://ow.ly/Y8Foq. Just because a crafty Big Food lobbyist named it the Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act, doesn’t change the fact that this anti-menu labeling bill would withhold important nutrition information from people when eating out. The bill would weaken/repeal parts of the national menu labeling law and it’s scheduled for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

· Please join me today in asking Congress to vote against an anti-menu labeling bill, H.R. 2017: http://ow.ly/Y8Foq. The bill would allow restaurants and other food establishments to make up their own serving sizes, deny customers calorie information from inside pizza chains and many fast-food restaurants, and weaken enforcement and consumer protection. The bill would result in consumer confusion and prevent straight-forward, consistent calorie information at many food service establishments.

Thanks,

Colin

Colin Schwartz

Senior Nutrition Policy Associate

Center for Science in the Public Interest

1220 L Street, NW, Suite 300

Washington, D.C. 20005

202-777-8387