- Author: Rose Hayden-Smith
For food policy and public health wonks, the summer of 2008 will go down in the books, and California is leading the way. On July 27th, I blogged about the state's newly passed legislation requiring restaurants to cook without artery-clogging trans fats. http://ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=532In
On July 29th, the Los Angeles City Council approved a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in South Los Angeles, a move that was not without controversy. And just yesterday, August 7th, Los Angeles County Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Mike Antonovich announced a proposal that will require fast food and chain restaurants to provide calorie counts for their menu items. While the legislation would only apply to unincorporated areas of the county, it would affect millions of residents. It comes to a vote next week, and is anticipated to receive a strong endorsement from the Los Angeles City Council.
Is this good public policy? Or do these measures represent the worst aspects of what some term the "nanny state?"
I don't claim to have the answers to these difficult questions, but I have reviewed a variety of statistics in the last two days. And after considering these statistics, I do understand why Los Angeles policy makers and legislators are feeling compelled to make some changes.
According to Los Angeles County Public Health statistics, the percentage of obese adults in the county increased from 14.3 percent in 1997 to 20.9 percent in 2005. So what does this mean?
This figure represents a lot of people. Per some sources, Los Angeles County is the most populous in the nation, with more than 10 million residents. (To give you an idea of the bigness of that figure, 27% of California's 38 million residents live in LA County).
It's got a young population, too: 28% of LA County residents are under the age of 18, and nearly 40% of the population is under the age of 24. About 15% of the county's population lives below the poverty line. (And that number is conservative: it doesn't reflect the alarming increase in families being pushed below the poverty line as the price of food and fuel skyrockets). 1 in 4 children living in the county are included in that sad statistic. And a significant percent of the county's population is uninsured; per the County's Public Health Department, 1 in 4 Los Angeles County children lack health insurance.
And many of those children desperately need medical care, because the childhood obesity rate in Los Angeles County is high. Based on California Physical Fitness testing assessments mandated for 5th, 7th and 9th graders, more than 1 in 5 of the county's students are obese. An excellent community survey conducted by the County's Department of Public Health http://lacounty.info/omd/q3_2007/cms1_077502.pdf showed a strong correlation between childhood obesity and economic hardship. This means that if you are a child living in poverty in Los Angeles County, you are more likely to be obese, for a number of reasons.
Will banning trans fats, providing moratoriums on fast food in poorer neighborhoods and requiring menu labeling help solve these problems?
I don't know, but it bears watching.
In the meantime, I've seen little legislation that promotes school, home and community gardening. That bears watching, too. Because banning "bad" foods is not the real solution. Providing healthier choices is...healthier choices like the fruits and vegetables that can be grown in a school, home or community garden.
"A Garden for Everyone. Everyone in a Garden."
- Author: Rose Hayden-Smith
California may be stuck in a budget impasse, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to move the state's public policy vis-a-vis nutrition and public health a big step forward on Friday, by signing Assembly Bill 97 into law. This landmark legislatation makes California the first state to prohibit restaurants from using artery-clogging trans fats in preparing food. The legislation, which takes effect in 2010, bans restaurants and other retail food establishments from using oil, margarine and shortening containing trans fats.
Schwarzenegger noted that consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease. "Today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California," he said.
The legislation, penned by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), isn't perfect. For example, food items sold in the manufacturers' sealed package are exempt. And restaurants get an extra year - until 1/1/2011 - to continue to use trans fats for deep frying and baking. But there are fines for those who violate the new legislation, ranging from $25 to $1000. All in all, it's a big step towards improving the ability of California consumers to eat healthier and smarter.
Some major U.S. cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Seattle already have legislation on the books that bans trans fats. California and Oregon (both leaders in the farm-to-school movement) also have laws banning trans fats in school meals. But California, ever a trend-setter, is the first state to adopt a law covering restaurants.
Governor Schwarzenegger has supported other healthy lifestyle legislation, including Assembly Bill 1535, which provides funds for gardens in California's public schools.
Will AB 97 and AB 1535 help the Golden State improve public health? It will take some time to tell. But California is truly a bellwether state; clearly, other states will be watching closely, and we can probably expect a rash of similar legislative efforts in the near future.
"A Garden for Everyone. Everyone in a Garden."