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Burger Ban?
August 5th, 2008

Los Angeles may be famous for all those incredibly toned Holly wood bodies but in the less celebrated district of South Los Angeles, the obesity epidemic looms, with 30 percent of children considered obese. (In the city as a whole about a quarter of children weigh in as obese).

In response the Los Angeles City Council last week unanimously banned any new fast food restaurant in the area, home to some 500,000 people.

Faced with its own onslaught of obesity and diabetes, New York has taken on fast food as well, banning trans fats in restaurants and requiring chain restaurants to post calories contents. Indications are that most city restaurants have complied with the menu posting requirement, though as Sara Jerome reports in Gotham Gazette this week, the veracity of what they post (chocolate doughnuts with a mere 80 calories, apple tarts at 140) is open to question.

So does Los Angeles have the right idea?

Some New York officials think it might. “People are literally being poisoned by their diets — LA’s idea deserves serious consideration as we look for holistic solutions to a serious problem,” Council Member Eric Gioia said in a statement.

The council’s minority leader, James Oddo, agreed, wrapping his support in fiscal conservatism. “I drive around my district and I see people engaging in incredibly unhealthy lifestyles that I know I pay for, to some degree,” Oddo told the Sun. “If there’s a way to make them have a healthier lifestyle so I don’t pay for it, I would be open to it.”

Actually Los Angeles is following the lead of a New Yorker — City Councilmember Joel Rivera. In 2006, Rivera, who represents a part of the Bronx packed with fatty food franchises, proposed using city zoning laws to limit fast food outlets in some parts of the city.

Already some towns restrict fast food restaurants — many because of aesthetic concerns and pollution — and Detroit does not allow them near schools. Rivera’ proposal, though, never got off the ground. Maybe now its time has come.

By Gail Robinson on August 5, 2008, 11:47 am
In category: Gotham City | No Comments »

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