Sodas have been banned from public schools, trans fats are getting axed, and even the National Restaurant Association, bowing to pressure, is considering proposing a national standard wherein nutritional information would be written on tray liners (though not on the menus themselves).

When does government regulation of what food is available cross the line from serving the public health interest into fascism, anti-business, or anti-Americanism, as some accuse?  Opinions are divided. “It’s insulting,” says a radio talk show host who believes the law is over-meddling.  “You can almost infer a racial insult out of the interference.” 

The councilwoman behind the law believes that this kind of urban planning is no different from other ways of manipulating a neighborhood’s character (limiting liquor stores, for instance, or moving factories away).  The South Los Angeles neighborhood already has quite a few places to grab a burger: 45% of its 900 restaurants are fast-food chains, and the new law, a moratorium on new ones, doesn’t affect existing ones. Calling the moratorium racist is “a diversion,” the article paraphrases her saying. 

But others are bothered by the moratorium and its execution. “Our policy makers abhor nuance,” says a man whose gourmet hot dog cart would be threatened by the letter of this law, although in spirit the cart abides. Jonathan Gold, food critic for the L.A. Weekly, thinks that although fast food chains choke out independent businesses, the wording of the law (outlawing all fast food, not just chains) will kill quality food that just happens to be served fast, or in disposable wrapping, like barbacoa and pupusas.

South Los Angeles has plenty of chain fast-food restaurants already, and I don’t think the government is unfair to ban new ones.  But listing calorie counts is a lame way to get people to eat better, especially since calories aren’t that relevant in telling you whether a food is good for you or not.  And, as Larry Bain, the gourmet hot dog man, says, “[There are] subtle but distinct qualities that differentiate fast food from food that can be served fast.”