A Return to Nutrition Normalcy

Earlier this year, Harvard University Dining Services removed its customary nutrition fact cards from the dining halls, citing concerns from President Drew G. Faust and other university administrators about the cards’ impact on students with eating disorders. After other concerned students protested that the new policy deprived them of necessary nutritional knowledge, HUDS provided information through alternative methods. While the new HUDS policy is a reasonable compromise between the debating parties, HUDS must continue to make every effort to provide as much nutrition information to the students. To that end, our dining halls should avoid any further attempts to proscribe the dissemination of valuable nutritional information.

When considering what policies to institute for student health, the needs of nutritional minorities should be considered. Crista Martin, the HUDS spokesperson, put it best when she explained that, “for people who have eating disorders or who struggle with issues around the literal value of food, the emphasis on nutrition information does not always lead people to eat in a healthy manner.” But the policy that followed Martin’s announcement was neither fair nor sensible. Food nutrition information was only available on HUDS’s website and some scattered dining-hall kiosks after it had been removed.

The new policy soon attracted criticism from various sources. In response, HUDS administrators announced the formation of a new committee, comprised of representatives from University Heath Services, Residential Life, the Bureau of Study Counsel, and Eating Concerns Hotline Outreach. This body continued to review the labeling decision and eventually decided to provide a permanent, single-page printout of nutrition information at all dining stations where the core items remain constant—such as the salad bar, deli, bread box, and cereal dispensers.

While it was heartening to see the committee continue deliberations regarding the best approach to the release of nutrition information, students should have had more of a role in the process. To be fair, the committee did invite students to contact committee members, but there should have been a more proactive outreach campaign in order to facilitate student interaction. College students ought to be provided with as much information regarding health matters as possible. Therefore, maximizing the dissemination of information ought to be made the highest priority.

It is also heartening to see that the administration is keeping school politics out of the nutrition-fact deliberations. Administrators have the Harvard student body’s health as the highest priority when making their judgments. In addition to the administration, there are many students who voice their opinions on the subject. It may seem that the subject would not cause much student debate, but, in fact, students debate with one another on the nutrition policies. It is important for HUDS and the committee to understand that the general population of students at Harvard do care about the nutrition card issue.

Increasing the amount of information available to HUDS’s customers would also mirror important trends in public health legislation. New York City has adopted calorie-disclosure regulations that force many restaurants to post calorie information wherever the restaurant lists the information that customers use to make their choices. In a New York Times interview, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city’s health commissioner, remarked “most people underestimate calorie content by a lot” and added that he considered the rules a potent weapon in the crusade against rising obesity rates. At the other end of the spectrum, individuals who have slow metabolisms or suffer from compulsive eating disorders should have nutritional information readily available in order to help them moderate their caloric intake.

Though the placement of nutrition facts is a very serious issue, one place where they should have remained in the open is at the dessert table. Common sense dictates that desserts should be consumed in moderation. Placing calorie counts next to desserts should not be observed as a paternalistic action of imposing guilt upon diners, but rather a disclosure of nutritional content of an extra meal option.

Ultimately, nutrition information should be considered first and foremost as information. In principle, information should be as accessible as possible so that students can make well-informed decisions. Following this line of reasoning, it is important that HUDS make every effort to provide as much nutrition information as possible to students at the College.


Anthony J. Bonilla ’12, a Crimson editorial writer, lives in Wigglesworth Hall.