By: jackie.sauter

Is ignorance bliss? I ask because I’m not sure I’ll ever again be able to justify having a rainbow cookie from Starbucks now that I know that one of my favorite treats there will cost me 420 calories (not to mention 17 grams of fat).

I learned this after flipping through some literature about HB 601 during a House committee hearing Tuesday. The bill proposes — among other things — posting the calorie content of each menu item next to the price.

The intent of the bill, according to its supporters, is to help those at risk for diabetes and obesity more easily make safe decisions about their meal choice when going out to eat. Rather than looking it up online or asking for a pamphlet, the nutritional information would be readily available for customers to factor in to their order.

A spokesman for the state’s restaurant industry told me today they are not so much concerned about the “wow” factor posting caloric content may have; they are concerned about making it a state-by-state issue when they’d rather see it be federally mandated. But as a consumer who is not at risk of diabetes or obesity, I think I was much happier before I knew how much some guilty little pleasures really cost me — goodbye, ignorance, goodbye bliss…and probably goodbye rainbow cookies.

Even though the restaurant industry says they are not concerned people will begin holding back on their food orders if this bill goes into effect, should they be?

LIZ FARMER, Business Writer