The Menu Police of L.A.

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12, 2007 — -- Jack, Carl, Wendy, Mac and some other members of their fast food posse may soon be having their Los Angeles privileges revoked, but the plan to ban new fast food restaurants in parts of the city is getting mixed reviews.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry says her south Los Angeles district of mostly working class, ethnic residents has a serious weight problem.

"The rates of obesity, heart disease, hypertension and diabetes are quite high," Perry said, "and you look around and what do you see? You don't see a lot of healthy food options."

What you do see, she describes, are blocks full of "quick-serve" eateries peddling high-fat, high-sugar and high-salt foods.

Perry has drafted a proposal that would put a two-year moratorium on new fast food restaurants in her district.

Perry says she consulted public health experts, food companies and restaurant organizations for input, but some food industry representatives say the proposal makes them nervous.

"When you start restricting one type of business, what's next?" said Kearsten Shepherd of the California Restaurant Association.

"It can possibly send the wrong message to the business community as a whole and have a negative affect on the economy of those neighborhoods," Shepherd said.

The fast food industry's contribution to the economy of Los Angeles neighborhoods is apparently no small potatoes.

"According to a recent study, McDonald's creates more than 38,660 jobs and about $752.4 million in spending in Los Angeles County, representing a contribution of $20 million in taxes and licenses," said McDonald's franchisee Lindsay Hughes in a published statement.

But the cost to the economy of the nation's so-called "obesity epidemic" is raising red flags throughout the country.

"Businesses, employers and individuals are screaming about the cost of health care," said Robert K. Ross, head of the California Endowment, a foundation that supports projects designed to improve health and health care.