Is a Fast-Food Ban Racist?
Friday, August 1, 2008
New fast-food restaurants are banned in low-income areas, but not every mom is happy about this.
This week, Los Angeles passed a law banning new fast-food restaurants in poor neighborhoods. The fast-food restaurant ban, passed unanimously by the city council, is supposedly intended to entice healthier restaurants into the low-income, largely African-American area of south Los Angeles. Proponents of the bill say this will help reduce childhood obesity. But others say the ban is just plain racist.
Cindy, a mom of three, says that if it brings healthier places into her neighborhood, she's all for it. "Every ten feet, there's another drive-thru fast-food restaurant," she says. "It's hard to eat healthy when fast food is all you see for miles."But Joselyn, an African-American single mom of two, is completely offended by the ban. "Fast-food doesn't only make black people fat -- it's bad for everyone. But why are they targeting only black areas? It's like telling me I'm not smart enough to make good food choices so the government will have to make them for me. Last time I checked, the U.S. was not a communist country! You don't see them doing a fast-food ban in Beverly Hills or an affluent white neighborhood, but there are fat people there, too."
What do you think of the fast-food ban: okay or no way?
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Email7 comments so far | Post a comment now >>
I think this is ridiculous. We need to learn to be responsible for ourselves. No one forces you to eat fast food. Also, there are healthier options now being offered. You can choose a grilled chicken sandwich over a whopper! The government is interfering too much and people are not taking responsibility for their own actions. Also, just because there are healthier places opening doesn’t mean people will choose them. And they are typically sit down restaurants and they are more expensive and you have to tip. This is really really stupid. I think they need to repeal this and let people decide for themselves what to eat!
- Anonymous
I find this really scary, it’s a slippery slope towards the government controlling our entire life.
- Jennifer675
What’s next? A government issued grocery list to ensure we all buy healthy foods? We should all be angered…and careful because (not to sound paranoid) any neighborhood could be next with a ban on most anything.
- calimom 3
Racist? No. That’s like saying that the government has corralled all African-Americans and relegated them to live in certain communities. I, for one, think that there should be some zoning restrictions to curb the amount of fast-food available in *all* communities. As far as obesity, there will always be people who lack self control or are capable of making wise food decisions and there’s not a thing in the world that ANYBODY can do to help them. You can point somebody in the right direction, but you can’t choke them with a carrot stick.
- Heather
it’s not a ban on fast food restaurants it’s a ban on new fast food restaurants, correct? as someone who had plenty of friends in the area discussed, i would find it hard to figure somewhere to eat that wasn’t fattening. i think this will be a good thing. unless you’ve lived in or near that area, you wouldn’t know.
- Naomi
There was just a huge article in Time Magazine that discussed obesity in our children all over the country. Unfortunately this area is the hardest-hit. We can not ask young children and teenagers to eat healthful foods when 1. their parents work long hours and make short money, and 2. everywhere you look there is a fast-food joint offering tons of choices from a $1 menu. Go online and read this article. The most troubling thing is that there are virtually NO healthy choices for these communities. The residents said they buy their groceries from the liquor stores in the area - and the only fruit and veggies you may find there are rotten. Also, when a child walks out of the school there are vendors waiting on the streets with piles of chips, sodas, and candy to sell to these kids. Eating healthy is not in the cards for them. Read the article and you may change your mind. It’s a very sad situation.
- Cindy
Being an African-American, I’m very offended by the passing of this law. This is a very racist act; and I can’t believe others in Congress let it pass!
- D Upson
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