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R/E/P => R/E/P Archives => R/E/P Saloon => Topic started by: bblackwood on July 29, 2008, 02:28:26 PM

Title: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: bblackwood on July 29, 2008, 02:28:26 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/fast_food_ban

I don't eat fast food, haven't had any in almost 14 years, but that's my choice. Can things really get this ridiculous?
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jessica A. Engle on July 29, 2008, 02:38:40 PM
Ummmm... the article says it would place a moratorium on building new fast food resturants in South LA because there aren't any healthy food source alternatives like grocery stores, and 30% of the residents there are obese.

I'm not sure I see what's so bad about this.  Even if they are lying about wanting people to eat healthier food, it sounds like they're trying to be responsible business people and diversify their local economy a little.  
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jay Kadis on July 29, 2008, 02:48:30 PM
bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 11:28

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/fast_food_ban

I don't eat fast food, haven't had any in almost 14 years, but that's my choice. Can things really get this ridiculous?
It may appear ridiculous on the surface, but if you look deeper, there is a real problem.  Many low-income neighborhoods have no grocery stores, making preparing your own food far more difficult than we find in the suburbs.  When industrially-prepared food is all that is readily available, they then determine the nutritional content for the consumer.  As long as they are motivated by corporate profit they will use the cheapest ingredients, including many that are unhealthy like hydrogenated oils.

While this may not be the best solution, it is at least a recognition of the problem.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: bblackwood on July 29, 2008, 02:55:45 PM
Recognizing the problem is fine, addressing it by essentially saying 'you're too stupid to make the proper decisions' isn't.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jay Kadis on July 29, 2008, 02:59:15 PM
bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 11:55

Recognizing the problem is fine, addressing it by essentially saying 'you're too stupid to make the proper decisions' isn't.
That's not what it is saying at all.  It is saying we need to promote viable alternatives.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: bblackwood on July 29, 2008, 03:01:17 PM
Jay Kadis wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 13:59

bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 11:55

Recognizing the problem is fine, addressing it by essentially saying 'you're too stupid to make the proper decisions' isn't.
That's not what it is saying at all.  It is saying we need to promote viable alternatives.


Promoting alternatives is great if it doesn't happen by limiting what some may want. They can give financial incentives to 'healthier' restaurants, stores, etc, but by limiting what someone may want, they are reducing one's freedom to choose because of what the government deems is 'good for you'.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jessica A. Engle on July 29, 2008, 03:09:22 PM
Brad?

Did you read this article?

"A report by the Community Health Councils found 73 percent of South L.A. restaurants were fast food, compared to 42 percent in West Los Angeles."

They just don't want to build any more.  For one year.  To try and lure other businesses into the area.  

Noone is forcing people to drive past the drive-thrus.  

Jess
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: bblackwood on July 29, 2008, 03:13:29 PM
Jessica A. Engle wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:09

Brad?

Did you read this article?

"A report by the Community Health Councils found 73 percent of South L.A. restaurants were fast food, compared to 42 percent in West Los Angeles."

They just don't want to build any more.  For one year.  To try and lure other businesses into the area.  

Noone is forcing people to drive past the drive-thrus.  


Now.....
do you wanna go out for some onion rings?

Jess

Hah, yes, I actually do read the articles before I post them...

I suppose some people just view the same thing in different ways, but when the government starts legislating stuff like this, it ticks me off. What if the people want another fast food restaurant? The nanny state needs to stop that, of course! The gov't has to take care of the people as they can't possibly do so themselves.

You do realize history shows us that rights aren't taken away all at once, right?
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jay Kadis on July 29, 2008, 03:25:40 PM
bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 12:13



You do realize history shows us that rights aren't taken away all at once, right?
With all the rights we've surrendered in the name of terrorism, this is what you worry about?  Somehow I don't get the idea you understood what the article actually said.  It's a one-year moratorium one new fast food restaurants.  It's not the Gestapo shooting hamburger consumers.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: bblackwood on July 29, 2008, 03:26:59 PM
Jay Kadis wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:25

bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 12:13



You do realize history shows us that rights aren't taken away all at once, right?
With all the rights we've surrendered in the name of terrorism, this is what you worry about?  Somehow I don't get the idea you understood what the article actually said.  It's a one-year moratorium one new fast food restaurants.  It's not the Gestapo shooting hamburger consumers.


It's not tough to understand, jay.

You know, nevermind...
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jay Kadis on July 29, 2008, 03:28:01 PM
bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 12:26


You know, nevermind...
Agreed.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jessica A. Engle on July 29, 2008, 03:29:38 PM
Sorry Brad, I wasn't trying to be snide.  Of course I know you read it, I just don't understand why it makes you upset.  

I think I see your point, but building a resturant is not a "right".  One has to have permission from the city.  And I assume there are guidelines as to who gets permission and who doesn't.  Fast food places don't exist to address people's "wants" or "needs".  They exist to profit the company.  And if that means creating a market for fast food where there once was none, I am sure they would do it.  There is no evidence in the article that more fast food places are what the residents are clamoring for.  

It is the city's duty to take care of the city.  That is what city officials are hired for.  I've never been to South LA, but I do live along old RT66.  And there are many dead towns along the old highway where all the economy consists of is fast food resturants and maybe a gas station or a motel.  It is not exactly what I would consider flourishing.  And it's not the fault of the residents when a city dies like that.

Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Devin Knutson on July 29, 2008, 03:58:37 PM
Attracting grocery stores and/or more healthy alternatives won't necessarily help all that much.

This article is almost a year old, but was a real eye-opener for me.

"For most of history, after all, the poor have typically suffered from a shortage of calories, not a surfeit. So how is it that today the people with the least amount of money to spend on food are the ones most likely to be overweight?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22wwlnlede.t.html
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: fiasco ( P.M.DuMont ) on July 29, 2008, 04:07:43 PM
Jessica A. Engle wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:38

... it sounds like they're trying to be responsible business people and diversify their local economy a little.  


The free market dictates what works where.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jessica A. Engle on July 29, 2008, 04:34:50 PM
Fiasco wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 15:07

Jessica A. Engle wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:38

... it sounds like they're trying to be responsible business people and diversify their local economy a little.  


The free market dictates what works where.




So, the real beef (pun intended) is not that the city planners are ceasing the building of more fast food resturants for one year (regardless of the reason).  

Is the problem that the city planners are trying to do anything in the first place?  

Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: fiasco ( P.M.DuMont ) on July 29, 2008, 04:48:04 PM
Jessica A. Engle wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 16:34




So, the real beef (pun intended) is not that the city planners are ceasing the building of more fast food resturants for one year (regardless of the reason).  

Is the problem that the city planners are trying to do anything in the first place?  




No, not at all.
They could and should decide if their city has enough of one certain thing or another.
All I know is that people will frequent what they want. Most folks who frequent (frequently) fast food restaurants won't go elsewhere even if given an alternative.

It takes a whole lot more effort to buy groceries and cook your own food.

There is no solution but to change minds, and how are you going to do that?

Take away choice?
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jessica A. Engle on July 29, 2008, 05:04:28 PM
You know, I think this article is poorly written.  I think that is why I am confused.  This is an article about urban decay and economics, not obesity.

If I was in charge of this deal in South LA, I wouldn't even pretend this was a public health issue.  That might be one factor, but that's not the heart of the issue.  It just gets people's blood angried up and makes people afraid their choices are being taken away.

I'm not suggesting they try and change anyone's minds.  I'm totally in favor of people being able to choose whatever they want to eat, and it *is* a person's right to be fat if they want.

This city, as far as I can tell, can't attract any foodservice businesses *other* than fast food.  That, to me, is a very serious indicator of how unhealthy the city is, not how unhealthy its citizens are.  If the decision was in my hands, I might take a year to think about how I could improve the situation, too.  

I don't see anyone's choices being taken away.  The article seems to imply that some of the residents do, in fact, want more choices.  If the city can't recruit more business, it only makes sense to me that they should take pause to figure out why.  

Their obesity problem is an unfortuante side effect.  But I don't see that as The causal factor of their moratorium.  And if they say it is, maybe that is just because it is in vogue to presume to tell fat people what to do.  

But in actuality, they aren't telling anyone what to do or not to do, as far as I can tell.  They aren't keeping anyone from frequenting their place of choice.  
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Berolzheimer on July 29, 2008, 05:15:06 PM
Brad, they're not regulating individual choice, they're reigning in massive corporations with disproportionate influence over the community.  Anyone who lives there is still free to eat whatever the want, their just trying to hold open a little opportunity for some other, more beneficial businesses to get in there.

Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Taproot on July 29, 2008, 05:22:22 PM
bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 13:13

The nanny state needs to stop that, of course! The gov't has to take care of the people as they can't possibly do so themselves.




Now Brad, you can't possibly expect people to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Why that's downright un-American!


Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: fiasco ( P.M.DuMont ) on July 29, 2008, 05:35:15 PM
Jessica A. Engle wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 17:04

  ...I think that is why I am confused.



I haven't ever thought you were confused.

I feel there is something deeper here, something confounding.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: fiasco ( P.M.DuMont ) on July 29, 2008, 05:38:40 PM
Berolzheimer wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 17:15

Brad, they're not regulating individual choice, they're reigning in massive corporations with disproportionate influence over the community.



I in no way mean disrespect but, who's choice is it to be influenced?
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: fiasco ( P.M.DuMont ) on July 29, 2008, 05:41:42 PM
Taproot wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 17:22

bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 13:13

The nanny state needs to stop that, of course! The gov't has to take care of the people as they can't possibly do so themselves.




Now Brad, you can't possibly expect people to take responsibility for themselves and their actions. Why that's downright un-American!





Responsibility?

That's when someone else does something bad that makes one do something bad, right?
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Berolzheimer on July 29, 2008, 06:44:34 PM
Fiasco wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:38

Berolzheimer wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 17:15

Brad, they're not regulating individual choice, they're reigning in massive corporations with disproportionate influence over the community.



I in no way mean disrespect but, who's choice is it to be influenced?



The fast food comanys have huge piles of money and can buy up property-paying more than market value to prevent competitors from getting in there- and bribe city officials with campaign contributions- I'm not talking about the residents being influenced, but politicians & business property owners & developers.  Not people who live in the commuinty & care about it, people who are just out to make obscene profits & don't give a rat's ass about anything else.

Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: danickstr on July 29, 2008, 11:06:36 PM
Berolzheimer is drinking the same kool-aid I am ...hats off to that...


maybe Brad is republican... they don't ever seem to understand the relevance of "catering" social programs....not that it is their fault, but it seems to escape them as a general rule, since they do not understand how victims can actually not be able to act proactively.

I actually don;t understand it all the time, but I simply accept is as reality, since it seems to be the status quo.
low income neighborhoods are "caught up in the game" so to speak, (forgive me for my bad attempt at colloquialism)  so they miss the relevance of not having a grocery store near by, and just go to the Jock in the Crotch  for a berger.  

Their thought process accepts the layout of the neighborhood as a given and not something that could be changed with a letter to the councilman.

But on a purely intellectual level, i agree with Brad 100%.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: bblackwood on July 29, 2008, 11:17:38 PM
danickstr wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 22:06

maybe Brad is republican...

Not in a million years...
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: danickstr on July 29, 2008, 11:22:03 PM
OK sorry for that.   Embarassed
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jerry Tubb on July 30, 2008, 01:52:32 AM
bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:01

Promoting alternatives is great if it doesn't happen by limiting what some may want. They can give financial incentives to 'healthier' restaurants, stores, etc, but by limiting what someone may want, they are reducing one's freedom to choose because of what the government deems is 'good for you'.


bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:13

but when the government starts legislating stuff like this, it ticks me off. What if the people want another fast food restaurant? The nanny state needs to stop that, of course! The gov't has to take care of the people as they can't possibly do so themselves.

You do realize history shows us that rights aren't taken away all at once, right?


I'm in complete agreement with Brad here.

Too much legislation and regulation will choke society to death!

Amen to Freedom and Choice... (a Libertarian at heart).

That said, next time in L.A. I'm making a special trip to:

http://www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/

Hopefully see Snoop there, I'm buyin' the wings.

JT
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Bill_Urick on July 30, 2008, 07:10:09 AM
So yesterday at lunch I stop in the Burger-Doodle. I knew I should have gotten the grilled chicken salad, but my inner cave man really wanted that hunk of cow meat. We typically prefer food that is high fat and high calorie as at one time that was important for survival. The fast food joints know this and give us what we want. You can't legislate away that kind of hard wired preference.

There is a difference between a city issuing building permits selectively and telling merchants how to conduct their business. And this is a real problem they are trying to address.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Taproot on July 30, 2008, 08:12:25 AM
[quote title=Jerry Tubb wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 23:52]
bblackwood wrote on Tue, 29 July 2008 14:01



I'm in complete agreement with Brad here.

Too much legislation and regulation will choke society to death!

Amen to Freedom and Choice... (a Libertarian at heart).

That said, next time in L.A. I'm making a special trip to:

http://www.roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/

Hopefully see Snoop there, I'm buyin' the wings.

JT


Amen JT. That's the only place in LA I can find grits. Good food. Somebody please save me from Roscoe!

As far as the whole fast food, trans fat B.S. is concerned, I believe it was Jay Leno that summed it up best. Rough quote: "I hear there's a new pizza diet out now.........it's called ONE SLICE!!!" Personal responsibility. Of course people will always come up with a million excuses to justify a "want" over a "need". It's the American way.  Rolling Eyes
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jessica A. Engle on July 30, 2008, 03:00:09 PM
"LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Los Angeles City Council has approved a one-year moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a low-income area of the city.

The moratorium unanimously approved Tuesday is a bid to attract restaurants that offer healthier food choices to residents in a 32-square-mile area of South Los Angeles.

Councilwoman Jan Perry says residents at five public meetings expressed concern with the proliferation of fast-food outlets in a community plagued by above-average rates of obesity.

Nearly three-quarters of the restaurants in South L.A. serve fast food. That’s a higher percentage than other parts of the city but the restaurant industry says the moratorium won’t help bring in alternatives.

Posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008."
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Jay Kadis on July 30, 2008, 03:25:51 PM
Taproot wrote on Wed, 30 July 2008 05:12


As far as the whole fast food, trans fat B.S. is concerned, I believe it was Jay Leno that summed it up best. Rough quote: "I hear there's a new pizza diet out now.........it's called ONE SLICE!!!"

Actually, a single slice of some pizzas contain more fat and sodium than a 200 pound male should consume in a day.  One slice they showed recently on the Food Network had something like 3500 calories.

Better make that a half-slice.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: danickstr on July 30, 2008, 06:35:13 PM
Jay that sounds unbelievable.  But the slice could stretch from the tip of a hand to the mouth.  350 calories, perhaps?
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: Taproot on July 30, 2008, 07:13:51 PM
Jay Kadis wrote on Wed, 30 July 2008 13:25

Taproot wrote on Wed, 30 July 2008 05:12


As far as the whole fast food, trans fat B.S. is concerned, I believe it was Jay Leno that summed it up best. Rough quote: "I hear there's a new pizza diet out now.........it's called ONE SLICE!!!"

Actually, a single slice of some pizzas contain more fat and sodium than a 200 pound male should consume in a day.  One slice they showed recently on the Food Network had something like 3500 calories.

Better make that a half-slice.



I stand corrected. I should have put an (if) into the test.  Razz  Laughing
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: JDNelson on July 30, 2008, 07:25:20 PM
Maybe I'm missing something but how does preventing a fast-food operation from being built at 'x' location lead to a conclusion that a healthier alternative business will be built there instead?  IOW, maybe all they'll end up with is a vacant lot...

If it made financial sense for a health-oriented food service to open a store there wouldn't they already be doing so?
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: danickstr on July 30, 2008, 07:45:52 PM
not if the land is purchased at a premium by Ron McDon.
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: JDNelson on July 31, 2008, 12:55:38 PM
Are you from L.A.?  I live in SoCal and something tells me there isn't a shortage of affordable real estate in South Central.

Here's the real 411 on the situation... The "healthier" alternative to fast food is the grocery store, and folks cooking their own (presumably healthier) meals at home.  

But there has historically been a reluctance for major grocery retailers to open stores in South Central.  Why?  Because they incur significantly higher losses from shoplifting and employee shrinkage in this area.  Ordinarily the retailer would raise the prices accordingly to cover the losses, but in the case of retailers who operate over a wide area, they by law must charge the same price for something in one neighborhood as another, otherwise they're breaking the law.  What's holding Trader Joe's back from building in South Central isn't the cost of real estate, I guarantee you.

There are small grocery chains which have historically operated only in South Central (Boys, ABC) and they are free to cover these costs with higher prices because they only operate in relatively depressed areas.  And actually, they do a pretty good job of catering to the ethnic proclivities of their customers.  
Title: Re: Let freedom (onion) ring!
Post by: J-Texas on August 01, 2008, 12:26:59 AM
Hey, leave it to Cali to be the first to try out crazy shit!

Kind of like pharmacies not selling cigarettes!