Panera Bread's Calorie Postings: The Writing's On the Wall, Literally

(MoneyWatch)  Panera Bread's decision to put calorie information on its menu boards -- the first national chain to do so -- is an indication of just how far the restaurant industry has come on this once controversial issue.

It was only a few years ago that officials from the restaurant industry were insisting that so-called menu labeling would be impossible for restaurants to pull off because they serve all sorts of variations on their meals. "Tell me how you even begin to list that," Rick Sampson, president of the New York State Restaurant Association, said in 2005, referring to all the different Subway toppings that go into making a sandwich. The National Restaurant Association lobbied intensely to kill a bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, even though the measure never really had a prayer of becoming law.

Panera's move, which will go into effect by March 24th at 585 company-owned stores, is simply a smart way for the company to get ahead of the curve. It's only a matter of time before every McDonald's (MCD), Applebee's, Taco Bell (YUM) and Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) opens the calorie kimono for all to see. If you don't want to know that the Volcano Nachos you're about to wolf down has 1,000 calories -- well, close your eyes when you order.

California already has a calorie labeling law for chain restaurants that goes into effect next year, and New York City's rule has been up and running since 2008. At least 20 other states and localities, including New Jersey, Florida and Philadelphia, have passed or are considering similar measures.

With the realization that they've lost this battle, the National Restaurant Association now supports a federal requirement for calorie postings, instead of the patchwork of local and state laws that are becoming a confusing headache for restaurants. The Senate health reform bill contains a calorie labeling requirement, but if that doesn't pass it's expected that a separate initiative will.

Whether any of this will achieve its intended goal of changing consumers' eating behaviors and thus helping to reduce obesity is another matter. The restaurant industry has always argued that menu labeling won't make a big impact on people's food choices, though they don't trot that argument out too much anymore.

They may have a point, though. After all, calories are listed on ice cream, Doritos and frozen pizza in the supermarket and people consume vast quantities of them anyway.

What the calories on menus and menu boards may do is help shame restaurants into creating lower calorie options so that they don't have to post the words "Chicken Burrito: 1,200 calories" for all to see, or if they do need to make such an embarrassing disclosure they can also offer a smaller burrito bowl, for instance, that doesn't stuff you with more than half your daily calories.

Some of that's already happening. Denny's (DENN) created a Fit Fare menu last year, Applebee's recently added new items to its Under 500 Calorie menu, Starbucks (SBUX) is touting its "skinny" drinks that are less than 100 calories and even Chipotle (CMG), land of the 1,200 calorie burrito, is considering smaller portions.

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