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From Super-sized to Shut-Out: Fast Food in South LA
Councilwoman Jan Perry made do witha one-year moratorium on the addition of new fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles that went into effect last year, but now she's gearing up to fight the battle of the bulge in a more permanent way by asking for a complete ban on new fast food joints in the area.
According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, "The ban is intended to stop the proliferation of eateries that serve unhealthful food and save the remaining vacant land in the area for other development. It would be the largest such ban in the nation, according to experts familiar with such issues."
Ideally, this large-scale ban would apply to a 32-square mile swath of land that covers the segment of Perry's district that falls "south of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway and all of neighboring City Councilman Bernard Parks' district. It also includes a tiny section of City Councilman Ed Reyes' district" which, combined, holds 700,000 Angelenos, who are currently lucky enough to enjoy eating at an estimated 40% of the city's fast food establishments already located in the area. While fans of the region's multiple McDonald's, Taco Bell, and KFC locations (among so many more delicious and nutritious spots) can still enjoy what's already there, Perry hopes to improve the health of residents by not allowing even more unhealthy places to open up shop. It is uncertain what the feedback--or fight--will be like from fast food corps who swear they have the public's best interest at heart.
Photo by nickstone333 via Flickr
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