Mayors and their nutritional requirements
Kelly Burke | kelly@burkelasseterllc.com
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has decreed that all Chicago
vending machines must comply with his nutritional requirements as of Jan.
1, 2013. You have undoubtedly heard of Mayor Bloomberg’s jumbo drink ban in New
York, but Mayor Rahm wants to go one better with these requirements:
All vending drinks are limited to 12 ounces, no more. Only 25 percent of cold
drinks in the machine can have 25 calories or more. Hot drinks cannot be
“high” calorie at all.
The plan requires that 75 percent of food offerings should contain
250 calories or less. A Snickers bar is 270 calories, for instance. At least
five items in the machine should contain 250 mg or less of sodium. A gluten
free and nut free option is mandated in each machine. Most importantly, no
healthy option can cost more than the higher calorie offering.
Being a free market guy, I am disturbed by this intrusion of the government
into the vending machine economy. However, my free market views aren’t really
important here.
What is more important is the lead poisoning that so many
Chicagoans are dealing with this year. While his honor has been busy
promulgating rules on vending machines, Chicago is on track to have 504 murders
this year. They have had 19 murders in a single day. You have a better than one
in a 100 chance of being the victim of a violent crime in Chicago. The Chicago
gun ban is apparently only obeyed by the law-abiding victims, as the gang
bangers seem to be shooting everybody.
Instead of worrying about Chicagoans becoming fat, maybe Mayor Rahm should worry
about something more tangible, like the death rates of children due to gangland
shootings.
Kelly Burke, former district attorney and magistrate judge, is engaged in
private practice where he focuses on personal injury cases. These articles are
not designed to give legal advice, but are designed to inform the public about
how the law affects their daily lives. Contact Kelly at kelly@burkelasseterllc.com to
comment on this article or suggest articles about the law that you’d like to
see.
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