LA Backs Fast Food Moratorium

City Council bans junk food in area where 30% of adults are obese
By Laurel Jorgensen,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 30, 2008 6:35 AM CDT
LA Backs Fast Food Moratorium
Customers enter a McDonald's restaurant in Los Angeles on Monday, July 28, 2008. The City Council is putting South Los Angeles on a diet.    (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Los Angeles city officials have voted to ban fast food restaurants from opening in an impoverished section of the city where 30% of adults are obese, AP reports. The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance that places a year-long moratorium on fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles, where the eateries already account for 73% of all dining options. City officials hope it will encourage healthier eateries to open in the area. 

Residents are sick of fast food, but many don’t have cars to drive to areas with better dining choices, said a councilwoman. Some fast food reps say they’re being unfairly targeted. “It’s not where you eat, it’s what you eat,” said the president of CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl’s Jr. The mayor must sign the ordinance into law before it can take effect. (More fast food stories.)

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