L.A.: No new fast-food outlets in poor area - CNN.com

This sort of goes along with our question of the week regarding California banning trans fats in restaurants. I have mixed feeling about the ban on new fast food restaurants in poor neighborhoods. On one hand, I think it's good that Los Angeles is trying to give people healthier food choices. On the other hand, I think the poor are being unfairly targeted. How come new fast food restaurants aren't being banned in afluent areas? How come LA can't encourage all of it's citizens, no matter what their income level is, to eat healthier?

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"Anybody who believes the pen is mightier than the sword hasn't been inside a maximum security prison." ~ Lisa Scottoline

The problem is these restaurants target these low-income areas ... and maybe this is what it takes to protect the people. Not to mention it isn't closing existing fast food, just not allowing new ones. Again from the previous California thread, while I support freedom to choose your food, as long as people are making poor choices with food, and as long as those people are needing medical attention due to those choices of food and are requiring the state to pay for those medical treatments, then I do believe the state should have some say so and at least take steps to protect their "investment".

i think that people have to remember that when there is an area that is poorer its also about money if you want these people to eat healthier thats great but you have to also make it afordable to these people.. come on there are some people who are poor but ya know what they also may work 3 jobs and don't have alot of time or the means to eat healthier i don't think a ban on fast food joints is gonna make the difference i think there needs to be other things considered.. so you open a healthy resturaunt how much are you gonna charge because when it comes down to money that person is gonna say 10.50 for a healthy meal or 4.99 at a fast food resturaunt... thats the reality of it.

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SILENCE IS GOLDEN BUT DUCK TAPE IS SILVER.

I think it's a great plan. I think the motivating beliefs behind it are abhorrent. Our county has Head Start (a preschool program for lower incomes families). I attend ECFE courses with my babe. Now, both are government funded and provide preschool/early childhood education resources. Head Start has a mandatory child lead testing requirement. ECFE does not. This McDonalds thing is just another step in that direction. The problem is that people in the lower income brackets are being targeted and either don't know or don't care. Activism is kinda rare here. But yes, McDonalds and other fast food corporations do prey on people with lower incomes or those who are in a hurry (think mothers) so I like the idea of banning them. Really we need to stop childhood obesity since it keeps growing. Our other methods don't seem to be doing the trick so this is just another attempt at curbing the problem.