L.A. City Council Decides to Outlaw New Fast Food Restaurants

By Joanne Waldron | The City Council of Los Angeles, in an effort to combat the problem of the rapidly increasing number of obese citizens, has voted to put a moratorium on building new fast food restaurants in the area for a period of one year, according to an Associated Press report. For purposes of the moratorium, fast food restaurants are defined as those that fail to offer table service and provide quickly prepared or ready-made foods served in disposable wrappers. The moratorium could possibly be extended for one year and still needs to be signed into law by the mayor.

30% of South Los Angeles Adults are Obese

The article reports that a whopping thirty percent of adults in the South Los Angeles area are obese, compared to 19.1% of the adults in the metropolitan area and 14.1% in the wealthier Westside area. Many people feel that people with less money eat fast food primarily because it is cheaper than healthier alternatives. However, representatives from the various fast food restaurants argue that they already offer some healthy items but maintain that it’s up to the consumers to select those items.

Is it the Government’s Place to Ban Fast Food?

Though most natural health advocates won’t shed too many tears concerning the moratorium, many people question whether the government has the right to take such measures. Other people wonder if the measures will have any effect on the way that people are eating. Consumers seem to already have plenty of access to unhealthy foods, given the fact that three quarters of the restaurants in South Los Angeles are fast food establishments. Even in the highly unlikely event that the City Council would someday decide to shut all the fast food restaurants in the area down, junk food addicts with a hankering for fast food could always drive to get it somewhere else.

Other people might argue that fast food restaurants are being unfairly targeted. After all, there are plenty of sit-down restaurants that offer loads of unhealthy food choices. Eating habits aren’t something that can be easily legislated.

No Simple Solutions

While there are no simple solutions, maybe it would make more sense to put greater emphasis on public education programs concerning healthy eating and regular exercise. Perhaps fast food restaurants could be given tax incentives to provide greater percentages of healthy, affordable food choices. While what methods would be best to get the people in South Los Angeles to lose weight are a matter of debate, few people would argue that something needs to be done fast to get the obesity epidemic under control.

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