Trans Fats Redux-L.A.'s Moratorium On Fast Food

If you followed the last discussion on trans fats you probably read me and my cousin Kathy's concerns about the dearth of junk food in poor neighborhoods.

Well, it appears that sentiment is a popular one. L.A. is going to put a year-long moratorium on new fast food establishments in an impoverished part of the city.

Right on.

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Published:
at 12:52 AM on Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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7 comments:

  1. Drew 5:58 AM

    "Councilwoman Jan Perry said that view repeatedly surfaced at the five community meetings she held during the past two years. Residents are tired of fast food, and many don't have cars to drive to places with other choices, she said."

    I'll assume that is true and if so, good for them for listening to the community.

    Personally, I don't think the moratorium will achieve its desired results. There is currently nothing stopping the "healthier" restaurants from being there now other than they don't believe they can be economically viable. In case we have forgotten, that is why they are in business, to make money. How do you remedy that? Tax breaks for "fast-food casual" and "wait staff" restaurants?

    Yet don't those restaurants also typically charge more for their food? There is a reason Curtis English went to McDonald's and not Subway or Applebee's. He had breakfast and lunch for under $3. Nothing on either of the other two's menus are less than that for a single meal.

    I'll guess we'll see how successful it is in a year.

     
  2. Lyman 7:42 AM

    Its hard for a small-business owner to open a restaurant if they are surrounded by fast food joints. Real estate is a hot commodity in LA and with less competition smaller restaurants will have more of a chance.

     
  3. KHM 11:35 AM

    Let's hear it for the pinkocommies of LA!!! YES! Nice move.

    The small business owner will still have an uphill battle on the cost issue as they won't benefit from economies of scale but to hold steady the number of large-scale fast food outlets is a great move for both business owners and consumers.

     
  4. Anonymous 12:38 PM

    A little food for thought . . .

    McD's Big Mac: 540 calories, 29 grams of fat

    Denny's Classic Burger with cheese: 940 calories, 59 grams of fat

    I don't think it is where we eat, but what we eat. I do think McDonald's and other fast food chains have done an excellent job of providing healthier options, as well as providing nutritional information. I tried to find the nutritional information for popular places like Chili's and Applebee's, but they only publish the nutritional information for their low-fat and the like menu options.

    At the end of the day, it comes down to choice. For example, when you go to 7-11 in the morning to get coffee, it is equally convenient and inexpensive to get either a donut or a banana. Most of us choose the donut even though we know its not the healthiest choice . . . Fast food restaurants, sit-down restaurants, and gas station markets have both healthy and unhealthy options . . .

    Jenny H.

     
  5. Carrie 1:39 PM

    I don't know. If a Jamba Juice (Lyman will arguee the South Beach opinion that a cup of Juice is not healthy) opened here in my neighborhood sandwiched between the McD and Burger King, I don't know if it would do so well. Poor people eat a lot of fast food because it's cheep and fills you up. Other more healthy options often aren't either cheeper or more filling (except Subway's $5 footlong, but I think that was meant to be shared. This all just makes me wonder what is healthy fast food? It's an oximoron, unless you take Jenny's point of view. I am happy for the pause in building becasue maybe something new can have a try, but I think the ban on trans-fats is the more welcome news to me.

     
  6. Don 4:33 PM

    What LA should do is to tax the profits of the big chains and use that money to subsidize the small independent restaurants that they hope to attract.

     
  7. Lyman 6:05 PM

    I never meant to advocate Denny's or Applebee's instead of McDonald's, that stuff is bad. And as I mentioned before I don't care what people eat, I just worry that they are raising their kids on junk food. And obviously families in poor communities don't have many options.

    And Don I agree totally but I think this law is needed for LA because it is such an urban area and real estate can be hard to come by. There literally might not be room for both.

     

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