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L.A. Says 'No Fries With That'. Ada Bulka. Thesis. Hoping to improve people's diets, Los Angeles has banned new fast-food outlets in part of the city. Should what we eat be the government's business? By Jennifer Medina in Los Angeles. Fast Food Ban.
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L.A. Says 'No Fries With That' Ada Bulka
Thesis • Hoping to improve people's diets, Los Angeles has banned new fast-food outlets in part of the city. • Should what we eat be the government's business? • By Jennifer Medina in Los Angeles
Fast Food Ban • in Los Angeles fast-food joint on every corner • Los Angeles is banning new fast-food restaurants in South Los Angeles • higher rates of poverty and obesity
Healthier Food • ban encourages healthier dining • sit-down restaurants, • produce-filled grocery stores, and • takeout meals that center on salad rather than fries.
Government’s Business? • third of schoolchildren in America are overweight • Is what we eat the government's business? • Critics say they go beyond proper role of government
Nanny States • Nanny State • Use law to fight obesity • Many states have banned soda and candy from schools • California and New York City prohibited restaurants from using trans-fats • New York City passed law requiring calorie counts posted on chain-restaurant menus
Rules • The regulations not an absolute ban • existing fast-food places remain open • Restaurants inside shopping centers can be open • Casual restaurants get permits to open • City Council enacted first one-year ban in 2008 • Prevents fast food restaurants from opening in area • Area built supermarket instead
Spread of Ban • Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (advocacy group) pushing for other cities to enact similar limits. • little support for the idea.
nearly 1,000 fast-food places in 30 square miles of South Los Angeles • largely black and Hispanic area • 30% of area's 750,000 residents are obese • double the rate in wealthier parts of the city
Is Fast Food Ban Answer? • Study by RAND Corporation found ban was unlikely to change rate of obesity/diabetes • Said to focus on food in convenience stores/gas stations
Convenience • Easier to go out to eat than cook • Children like it • No healthy restaurants nearby • Children call high calorie fast food their “afterschool snack”
Credits • The New York Times Upfront • Vol. 143 • March 14, 2011