Fast Food Ban Proposed for Los Angeles

Los Angeles Councilwoman Jan Perry recently proposed a two-year ban on building new fast food restaurants while the city comes up with a plan for dealing with the high levels of obesity in South Los Angeles: 30 percent of adults and 29 percent of children in South Los Angeles are obese. According to the Times, South Los Angeles also has Los Angeles county’s highest concentration of fast-food restaurants.

While reading about this story, I remembered another situation in Oakland a few years ago where the city of Oakland proposed a litter tax to be levied against fast food restaurants and convenience stores. The theory was that their packaging produced an inordinate amount of trash, and since the businesses were making money and customers weren’t cleaning up, the businesses should pay a fee for the city to clean up after their customers. Obviously this proposal was not without its controversial side, but it does raise the interesting questions of who should be responsible for the individual: government, businesses, communities, or the people themselves?

The proposed law in South Los Angeles is in response to an inordinate amount of fast food restaurants setting up business in a very poor part of the city. The people who live there typically cannot afford better food, and even if they can, their selection is limited. Should the government step in to help correct their situation?