No Fatty Food For You
LOS ANGELES PASSES MORATORIUM ON NEW FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS
FITSNews – July 30, 2008 – In yet another sign that government could really give a shit about individual liberties or the notion of a free market, Los Angeles is now banning new fast food chains in certain parts of in its fair city based on the obesity rate of the people who live there.
From the AP:
The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in an impoverished swath of the city with a proliferation of such eateries and above average rates of obesity.
The yearlong moratorium is intended to give the city time to attract restaurants that serve healthier food. The action, which the mayor must still sign into law, is believed to be the first of its kind by a major city to protect public health.
“Our communities have an extreme shortage of quality foods,” City Councilman Bernard Parks said.
First of all, how in the hell does an “impoverished” area also have “above average obesity rates?” Shouldn’t these people be “above-averagely emaciated?”
Speaking of being emaciated, ever since our girl Mande reminded us that fatties are responsible for global warming, we’ve been watching our calorie intake like hawks in the hopes of restoring the polar ice caps to their formerly frozen glory. And based on childhood obesity numbers, it’s pretty clear that the entire state of South Carolina needs a ban like this on new fast food restaurants.
Of course there’s just one small problem with government telling people what they can eat and where they can eat it … namely, that this is supposed to be a free country.
Comments
By Esteban on July 30th, 2008 at 11:01 am
I agree with you. They seem want to control the lives of people in South (Central – Oops we are not suppose to say South Central) Los Angeles. They must feel these people are little children and need help to make all decisions. Hey, they felt that they did not deserve a WalMart, even though, no doubt, they the city council shop and save there. They would rather have their children pay twice, three times the price.
By Crooner on July 30th, 2008 at 11:01 am
FREEDOM ISN’T FREE
You have to pay a price, you have to sacrifice, for your liberty.
At least that was the refrain before 9/11, in the aftermath of which we were told to shop.
By Chris on July 30th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Banning new fast food restaurants is not going to help. Teach the people how to open a freakin can of green beans once in a while rather than buying another double cheese burger. Teach them how to shop for low fat low cost foods. I recently started eating better and noticed my grocery bill went way DOWN. Eat healthy, save money and for god’s sake, Learn how to cook!.
By sam smoot on July 30th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
We laughed at George Orwell’s 1984. It can never happen we said, but day-by-day we come closer to total domination by such social and political elitists. Have you checked you mirror lately?
On a lighter note, this trend of governments dictating personal decisions and choice has become worrisome.
By reggie on July 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
i think that this is just to far. if you dont want to get fat, dont eat the foods. its that simple. its not our fault that someone is fat, its their own problem. dont ruin the fun for everone else polititians.
geez
By Janus on July 30th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Uhh, I do agree that personal choice is a problem. People should be allowed to buy what they will.
But I do take exception to the point that poor people shouldn’t be suffering from the highest obesity rates. In our modern fractured society, where children grow up without good parental role models, they do not necessarily learn to eat properly. They are unaware of the effects of refined sugars, simple carbohydrates, and high fructose corn syrup.
These children then grow up, not understanding the effects of poor food choices. They then make the rational economic decision to get the most amount of food for their dollar, thus purchasing the 1,500 calorie value meal from McDonald’s with a burger, fries and a coke. The problem is that that meal has a spiking effect on the bloodstream. You feel really full, because all the sugar (sugar in the coke, refined carbs in the bun, simple carbs in the fries) goes straight to your blood. But then you can’t process it all at once and then it gets stored as fat. You don’t have enough complex carbs to have a slow release of food to the bloodstream. You also don’t have enough protein in the meal for the amount of calories you are taking in at the time. So your blood sugar rises, and then drops quickly.
After your blood sugar spikes and drops dramatically after eating, you begin to feel hungry again. You then make the rational choice to get a cheap filling meal, and go to KFC, where you get a piece of chicken, a biscuit, a sweet tea and mashed potatoes. Again, the quick rise and crash of sugars, and the extra material being stored as fat.
Eventually, the body gains all the weight, because from every meal, you are storing up so much extra sugars in fat. Your body never pulls out the fat to use, because the body gets faint and slows down and makes you feel hungry, rather than knowing to pull it out of your adipose tissue.
So rational economic actors, using bad information, make irrational decisions. Namely, eating food that makes them fat.
So next time, stick to making solid points about freedom, and don’t make snide little comments about poor people being fat.
By Janus on July 30th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
By the way, I still disagree with the decision to not allow the stores to open. But the answer may be increasing food and dietary education in schools, in P.E. or Health or Biology.
By reggie on July 31st, 2008 at 11:39 am
no, the REAL answer is that we take all of the fat people in cali and make them enter the boston marathon, olympic trials, and numerous diets. after that we confront the parents of alll of the overweight 5 year olds and give them a lesson that they will never forget.
that should solve the problem.