The impossibly impenetrable health care bill (click here for a PDF) that just passed the House has one little piece of good news buried in it: national calorie labeling.

The provision covers chains with 20 or more outlets throughout the country and is supposed to go into effect in a year or so. It also covers vending machines! These are great steps. Calorie labeling has two effects: it educates anyone who is interested enough to look, and it encourages chain restaurants to offer lower-calorie options.

Cheers to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has lobbied for years to get this into law.