The Happy Meal Effect: Five More Food Bans
A veto-proof ban on Happy Meals passed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last week, but it wasn't the first time this city or others around the country have tried to legislate what its citizens should be consuming. Which of these initiatives are silly, and which are a good use of local resources?
Soda Pop
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom banned soda on all city property in July, a valiant effort to combat the hopelessly insidious problem of carbonation. The issue is bigger and more serious in New York, where efforts to prohibit the purchase of soda with food stamps actually raises a larger question about whether low-income shoppers can decide for themselves what they choose to drink.
Salt
New York State Assemblyman Felix Ortiz called for a statewide ban on seasoning food with excessive sodium in March. Chefs got more than salty about it, even staging protests.
Fast Food
Cities from L.A. to D.C. have tried to limit the spread of quick-service restaurants in poor and already burger-saturated neighborhoods.
"Corn Sugar"
High fructose corn syrup has such a bad reputation, it recently began trying for an Extreme Makeover-style rebranding and a second chance at life as "corn sugar." There's a national movement to stop it.
Daniel L./ Yelp
Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs
These late-night drunken delights were banned in Los Angeles in 2008. No word on whether that's impacted the amount of drunk drivers on the road who have been deprived of a shot of sobering up via greasy meat products.
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