Slow Food home | About us | Foundation | Editore | Sloweb | Press Office | Store     Sloweb     Home | Sloweek | Voices from the Slow world | Slow Talk | News | Watch & Listen             Oh LA la 31 Jul 08 - Sloweb Yesterday Los Angeles City Council approved a yearlong ban on new fast food restaurants opening in South LA, the city’s poorest area where the concentration of fast food restaurants is the highest and obesity levels are above average. The LA city council voted unanimously for the 12 month long moratorium - thought to be the first of its kind established by a major city in defense of public health – with the intention of encouraging the growth of healthier restaurants in the area. Figures from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health have shown that thirty per cent of adults in South Los Angeles area are obese, compared with 19.1 per cent in the metropolitan area and 14.1 per cent in the affluent Westside. The city mayor is still to sign the action into law, but once endorsed chains such as McDonald's will not be granted permission to open in this area of the city for one year. A report conducted by the Community Health Councils revealed that 73 per cent of restaurants in South Los Angeles are fast -food establishments compared with 42 per cent in West Los Angeles. Representatives of major fast-food chain have stated they are in agreement with promoting better diets, but feel they are being unfairly targeted by this ban. They claim that healthier options have now been included on their menus. The ban comes at a time when governments worldwide are considering restaurant menus as a public health matter much more. The California Restaurant Association and its members are currently debating whether to legally challenge the moratorium. At a regional level, California became the first U.S state to ban trans fats from restaurants last Friday - deemed as lowering levels of good cholesterol and increasing bad cholesterol. Source This is London Victoria Blackshaw v.blackshaw@slowfood.it   News archive from Terramadre News archive from Slowfood Foundation for Biodiversity News archive from University of Gastronomic Sciences News archive from Watch & Listen           News     Bulgaria - 27 Jul 10     Brotherhood Across the Balkans     A communal desire to support small-scale traditional producers in the face of growing threats from regulations and the food industry united food communities from ten countries across the...           News archive     Italy - 22 Jul 10     Dream Canteens     Slow Food buildings a strong network of schools putting good, clean and fair in the canteen ...     Belgium - 16 Jul 10     A Slow Voice in Policy Reform     Slow Food President Carlo Petrini participates in a public debate conference on Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy ...     Denmark - 14 Jul 10     Convivial Danes     Danish convivial join the country’s largest fair of artisan producers to share the Slow Food message ...     Argentina - 08 Jul 10     Flavors from the Andes to Patagonia     Terra Madre Argentina unites producers, cooks, academics and consumers in Buenos Aires ...     Macedonia - 02 Jul 10     Preserving Figs and a Gastronomic Heritage     The Wild Fig Slatko Presidium is created to protect a traditional preserve ...     Croatia - 23 Jun 10     Thank you for Everything, Giani     Farewell to Giani Banich, a friend and dynamic figure in the Slow Food movement ...     Archive previous news   Slow Food 2010 - All rights reserved - P.iva 91008360041 - Powered by Blulab