For over a year now there has been a moratorium on issuing new permits for fast-food restaurants in an area of South Central LA. Some see it as just one step government can take in combating an epidemic of obesity. Others say even if government could make us eat better, banning fast-food restaurants is not the solution. Plus, they're a long, and vibrant part of LA eating - food trucks. And humorist Brian Unger says life is scary enough - who needs Halloween?
Episode 204 Segments:
LA Food Wars
No sodas in public schools. Eliminating trans-fats. Banning fast-food restaurants. Can - or should - government intervene to help us improve what we eat?
Moveable Feast
Food trucks. From down-home to upscale, these mobile diners are a big part of living - and eating - in Southern California. Haute cuisine on the curb, coming right up.
Post-Recession Halloween
OOOOOh! Spectres and hobgoblins and devils and ghouls. Wait a minute? Aren't things scary enough in real life? Humorist Brian Unger isn't ready for another Halloween.
Web Extras:
Eating Thru Time: So Cal Style
Californians invented the cheeseburger, the fortune cookie and ...Pinkberry's. Take a brief look at some of the great moments in So Cal food history.
Ten Tips for Trim Kids
We're having an epidemic of obesity. Many parents are concerned about their children becoming over-weight. Get some practical advice from a local expert in child nutrition.
Find Your Favorite Food Trucks
Got a hankerin' for some roadside grub? Click inside for the essential info on the best of LA's mobile eateries, and how to find them.
Test Your Food IQ
Plain croissant or double bacon cheeseburger? What's got more fat? More calories? Take a quiz to find out how much you know about making smart food choices.
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nanny state? how about how the corporations creating these fat- and sugar- laden are already controlling our kids? hasn't it been proven that these two ingredients have an addicting effect on our kids' brains stronger than that of heroine? i'm a teacher at a high school in the southcentral zone. it's a constant, losing battle at my school against 'chips'-- hot cheat-O's. i need help. our administration turns a blind eye to the problem too, even though there are serious-minded folks at our district that would like to implement alternatives... it's not even near making any progress out of this poisonous behavior. yesterday it was cigarettes. today it's 'junk' food. i see the effects everyday! fatigue, short-attention spans, constant run-down immune systems!!! trust me, it's the problem!
Jan Perry and others wonder why there isn't any Whole Foods or other "trendy" food stores in South Los Angeles, you can only look at the high crime Ms. Perry's constituants live. Would you "risk" tons of money to know that your store will either be vandalized and/or robbed? or even have drive-by shootings?
I don't think you would and this goes for upscale restaurants as well. Until parents of gangbangers and hoodlums in those neighborhoods rein in their violent criminals, you will never have Whole Foods or upscale restaurants in those areas that are habitually dangerous. Maybe if South L.A. would behave themselves like Beverly Hills, Miracle Mile, West Hollywood then they would have a chance of getting the mentioned establisments.
Let's face it I'm very poor, but I won't resort to the violence that South L.A. "just love". My late mother raised me to respect things and others. Minorities in South L.A. and other areas aren't taught to respect, but to destroy.
Thank you for letting me get this off my chest. I pray that a miracle happens in South L.A. radically so those "Law Obeyding" individuals can avail themselves to "healthier eating"
Joseph Dunn
Miracle Mile
P.S. I have seen those designer movable eateries in my neighborhood and we welcome them and wish other restaurant chains would move into the Miracle Mile.
interesting too that jan perry spoke about her constituents not having the healthy food choices -- perry allowed for the huge garden in her district to be turned into a dirt lot. THAT certainly did nothing but harm to her constituents' food choices.
This segment showed a supermarket-specifically Superior-as an antidote to fast food outlets. But, when I visit my local Superior Market, I see customers still making poor food choices. To their credit, Superior has bountiful, fresh, and reasonably priced produce, placed just inside the entrance. It's the first thing customers see. Yet, check out what predominates in the average shopping cart at checkout: sugary drinks and pastries, fatty meats, and chemically ladened, processed entrees. Our unhealthy, obese population needs education to retrain its eating habits. Media saturation about what's really in fast food might help. But, would the food giants kill such a campaign?
MAYBE THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH LA WOULD BEHAVE (AS YOU SAY) IF THE HAD THE SAME RESOURCES AND ACCESS TO SERVICES YOU GOOD FOLK IN THE MIRCLE MILE DO. MAYBE YOU SHOULD COME ON DOWN AND LIVE HERE A WHILE AND SEE THE REAL REALITY.