Inside the health care reform bill was a nice little section that requires restaurants of 20 or more outlets to submit to calorie labeling on menus, menu boards and drive-through displays as well as vending machines. Additional information will be available by request to consumers.

Jamie Oliver was making a point when he came to Huntington, WV. Take the “sickest” city in America and turn it’s citizens on to healthy eating habits. Overhaul the school lunch program and create lots of happy, healthier citizens. But now the school board might just let it die.

Jamie Oliver is capping off his six episode run of “Food Revolution” tonight. It’s his last chance to get our attention. It’s his last chance to try to change the way we eat in the United States. He’ll only succeed if you vote with your remote.

One of my favorite twitter people, Linda Marshall, sent me these shots from a Yahoo post and I was horrified. I’ve done a lot of reading about the food industry this past year and one of the things I learned is that the Cheesecake Factory employs chemists and nutritionists to come up with ways to make food taste better.

Banning transfats, publishing calorie counts at fast food restaurants, banning high fructose corn syrup, revamping school lunch programs … some of these ideas have been implemented into laws in local municipalities, some of them have been adopted by food chains looking for a marketing advantage and some of them could be passed in your town sometime soon. We might even be taxed an extra 25 cents, a “sin tax” every time we reach for a twinkie or an ice cream cone.

What do you think about it? Can you legislate “fat people”? Is that even fair? Are we just creating a new level of classicism?

The most recent episode of Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution” continues to show people in Huntington, WV resisting his presence. Many were cautious of how a reality show would portray them and their fellow citizens. They just didn’t like the label of “fattest city in the US” that the Centers for Disease Control report had burdened them with.

I recently reviewed some diet information urging participants to drink eight 8 ounce glasses of water per day and I rolled my eyes … just how long had that information been out there? So I decided to go find out for myself and you know what? It’s actually pretty accurate. Here’s the stats

This is the way it’s done in the United States. People will donate to Haiti if Wyclef Jean asks them to, they’ll give to Katrina Victims if Brad Pitt flashes his baby blues. In our era of total media saturation you need a celebrity to get people’s attention. It is often the first step in a cause’s crusade these days, but it is the regular folk, like you and me, that take over and actually get things done. We are the ones who make lasting change.