Fast food ban in Los Angeles 洛杉矶的快餐禁令

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City councilwoman pushes for a moratorium on opening of new fast food restaurants.

In South-Central LA, teenagers scarf down fast food on their way to school.

-For me, it's good. I know it's bad but I still eat it.

And a mother who's running late drives to McDonald's to save time.

-There's never er, eating place you can go over here, to buy, er, like organic food. OK? There's no Trader Joe's over here. I go all the way to Torrance to Trader Joe's.

That's 15 miles away in LA traffic. Critics call it "food apartheid."

-45% of the restaurants in south LA are fast-food restaurants. That’s a pretty shocking statistic.

Especially compared to the city's west side, where only 16% of restaurants serve fast food. City Councilwoman Jan Perry is pushing for a moratorium that would stop any new fast food places from opening in South Central. She hopes to see more restaurants and grocery stores like the one about to break ground. If approved by City Council, the ban would cover 32 square miles, and some say that hurts small businesses.

-Cause' we think of the big fast food chains. What happens if I decide I wanna open a hamburger joint in that area?

Joe Hicks runs an economic empowerment group. He says fast food places provide jobs, and people choose to eat there because the food tastes good and doesn't cost much.

-So it's insulting to insist that government has to tell people what’s good for them or not.

The Health Department says more South-Central children are obese compared to other kids in LA County. Even though the chains have added healthier options to their menus, supporters of the ban are demanding more grocery stores and casual restaurants that serve fresh vegetables and food that' not fried.

-With gas price rises, it would be a lot more convenient if there was in our neighborhood.

They are probably gonna vote on the moratorium in the fall, and again, if it passes, it doesn't mean these go away, just means no new ones would be allowed to be built.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.

WORDS IN THE NEWS

1. scarf : verb (used with object), verb (used without object) Slang

to eat, esp. voraciously (often fol. by down or up)

eg: to scarf down junk food.

2. moratorium : n-count

A moratorium on a particular activity or process is the stopping of it for a fixed period of time, usually as a result of an official agreement.

文本参考中文翻译

在洛杉矶的中南部地区，青少年经常在上学的路上打包快餐。

——对我来说，这很方便。我知道对身体不好，但是我还是会吃。

一位时间紧的母亲也是去麦当劳来节省时间。

——那里从来不会有位置给你坐着吃饭，也没有地方购买有机食品。对吗？那里没有Trader Joe's食品超市，我只能去托兰斯的Trader Joe's。

开车到那里有15英里之遥。评论说这是“食物的种族隔离”。

洛杉矶南部有45%的餐馆提供快餐。这是非常惊人的统计数字。

而洛杉矶西部仅有16%的餐馆提供快餐。城市委员会委员Jan Perry申请禁止中南部地区新的快餐店开张。她希望更多提供有机食品的餐馆和杂货铺出现。如果城市委员会通过该提议，该禁令会覆盖32平方英里的范围，有人说这对一些小餐馆会造成伤害。

——因为我们在考虑大型的快餐食品连锁店。如果我决定在那个区域开一个加盟店怎么办呢？

Joe Hicks经营一个经济授权小组。他说，快餐店可以提供工作机会，人们喜欢到那里就餐，因为食物口味很好，而且价格优惠。

——所以如果政府坚持告诉人们什么是好的，这是非常侮辱性的事情。

卫生部门表示，相对于洛杉矶的其他孩子，中南部的孩子肥胖率更高。虽然快餐连锁店已经在菜单中加入了更加健康的元素，禁令的支持者仍然要求开设更多提供新鲜蔬菜和非油炸食品的杂货店和常规餐馆。

——由于油价上升，如果我们的社区里就有杂货店，将会更加方便。

今年秋天可能会对该提案进行投票。如果该提案通过，这些原有的快餐店并不会消失，而只是不允许新的快餐店开张。