Teen Needs 100 Stitches After Hell's Kitchen Gang Brawl
Breslin Charges $25 "Forkage Fee" to BYO Dessert
Video: Police Hunt For Suspect In Brutal Bar Attack
UPDATE: Richard Belzer Denies Harassing Apple Employee
Woman Brutally Beaten—Possibly Raped—In Midtown Bar
Back in January, health crusader Mayor Bloomberg launched a "voluntary" initiative encouraging fast food joints like Subway and supermarket chains like Food Emporium to cut the salt in hundreds of store brand products. The Salt Institute was outraged, Curtis Sliwa drank salt in protest, and panicked New Yorkers began hoarding salt in earnest (not really). But the initiative was voluntary, and lacked a certain, shall we say, despotism. Well, according to Reason's blog, NY Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) is kicking it up a notch by proposing a law fully banning "the use of salt by restaurants in the preparation of food." Now that's some hardcore legislating, or should we say legisalting? (Sorry.)
Bill A10129, introduced on Friday in the New York state assembly, would impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 on any restaurateur caught sneaking the deadly white powder into their food. And it's clear where this is going: The fastidious Prohibition-era speakeasy trend has just about run its course, so next up are the salteasies, where refined gentlemen and ladies can repair to savor the exotic pleasures of that proscribed condiment once favored by Pharaohs and Fry Guys alike! (Those who can't afford these exclusive underground salt "cuppings" will have to make do with a simple salt flask.) [Hat tip The Awl/JoeMyGod]
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Felix Ortiz - what idiot is this?
Clearly not a seasoned politician.
salt him.
We need that salt for the next snowicane!
Bwahahaha. Well said.
Salt is essential to cooking and to life. Yes, most of us should use less and there should be less of it in processed food, but cooking food w/o salt is nuts.
Is there no issue more pressing in Albany right now than worrying about the nutritional value of my f--king food and beverages?
I just don't get it. It is like being in a house that is on fire and all you worry about is dusting the coffee table.
Seriously, they should be worrying about how to fill the monster hole in the budget and how to repair their image now that every lawmaker in the entire state has been revealed as a complete moron over the last few weeks.
So they'll all have to use soy sauce?
Just don't touch my MSG!
or msg. mmm...msg.
ps: what the fuck. people seem to be taking alot of crazy pills lately.
hmm...meant as a reply to l3iodeez, but hey...msg comment right below it! convenient.
Felix Ortiz and Lindsay Lohan walk into a bar. The bartender says, "I hate to be nosy, but it's obvious that you two are celebrating something big. What's the occasion?"
Ortiz replies, "Well, we are just sooo proud of ourselves, because we just finished - just the two of us alone - a 50-piece jigsaw puzzle in only 3 days."
Confused, the bartender asks "What's so special about that?"
To which Lohan says, "Are you kidding? On the box it says 3 - 5 years."
WTF is wrong with these people? I'm beginning to suspect some sort of brain parasite that all public officials must share. Salt?!?!?! Really? Wow. We're f*cked.
What a friggin food Nazi, ban salt?! Whay don't you ban the air we breath while you at it bloomie?
A law that helps no one and is impossible to enforce.
Sounds like Albany.
I blame the Mrs. Dash lobby.
This guy can go fuck himself.
It's funny how you are for the soda tax but against this. I know the difference between taxing and banning but the concept is the same. Government telling you what you should eat or drink. I personally don't drink soda but I realize that it is the beginning of a precedent and trend that will be hard to repeal. Eventually they will come after something I enjoy. Like Duck sliders with foie gras cherry butter sauce.
exactly.
I see your point and agree with you. Just remember that it's governmental policies in the first place that affect what's in your soda: corn subsidies and sugar tariffs.
And just to add, of course government's solution to bad policy is to add more bad policy on top of it. Never would they (the lobbyists let them) think of eliminating the status quo.
You can claim the concept is the same, but that doesn't make it so.
The is an obvious world of difference between a tax and a ban.
The spirit of both is the same. The government trying to curb behaviors THEY feel are harmful.
PLease tell me he's making some sort of sarcastic commentary on the Nanny State. This is so beyond stupid it can't be real.
Bloomie, have you ever tasted food w/o salt? I have, and let me tell you, its like watching your mom starring in a porn flick. NASTY.
cigarettes then sugary drinks then salt then...
fuck you, felix ortiz.
this guy has a liberalism disease
nothing to do with Liberalism everything to do with douchebaggery
A guy walks into a bar and says "So, anyone wanna hear a joke?"
Feliz Ortiz and Lindsay Lohan are sitting at the bar and say, "Sure, we're in the mood for a laugh."
"Nah, forget it," says the guy. "I don't feel like explaining it three times."
Sign the petition today to protect your right to make your own food choices.
MyFoodMyChoice.org
I don't know...this makes sense to me. In my opinion, we should move swiftly on this modest proposal.
(Apologies if this double-posts.)
Haha.
Why don't we ban bread next
Let me tell you, those m--f--ers are working on that as we speak?
A salt tax was how the British lost India. Just sayin'.
Seriously. The salt tax led to the Salt March and Satyagraha; but I'd bet even Gandhi, being a stalwart vegetarian, would've take a nail-spiked cricket bat to anyone who even suggested banning the stuff.
Yeah, great idea. I'm sure that would have absolutely no effect on the reputation and business of our world renowned, multi-billion dollar grossing restaurant industry.
Regulating your sex lives is next, liberals, if religious conservatives get into Albany. You've laid the ground work and set the precedence that government should control your lives in any instance where your health may be at risk.
Cutting vegetables and bagels is a very risky task. Will I have to pay a chefs knife tax next?
You reap the seeds you sow, soda and cigarette tax proponents.
Sadly we're wasting everyone's time with frivolous governance.
It's liberals' fault if religious conservatives take over in Albany and regulate sex?
Point comprehension FAIL.
Actually, religious conservatives thousands of years ago laid the groundwork for government controlling people's lives. They're the originals. And when they regulate sex it's not because of health concerns.
Of course, but what if some statistic comes out about sex by people under 21 generates 300% STDs than those 21+...a stat that's probably in the ballpark.
For argument's sake, pretend that's a real stat.
Why not start to seek out ways with grizzly subway ads (a la the fat in a cup for soda) to have 'kids' abstain from sex? STDs probably cost us hundreds of millions of dollars in health care costs, so why not, right?
Supposedly, health care is a right in this nation and supposedly government knows what's best, so why stop at trans-fat, cigs, weed, salt, or whatever else is next?
The sterility from said STD's likely saves us even more in welfare costs.
In part. I don't care which group started it, but the legislation on personal consumption is a slippery slope. I believe trans-fat bans and cigarette tax increases had some bi-partisan support, so I blame that session in Albany at the time.
The government is little more than a puppet organization for people with money and influence. They're all conservative because they want to keep things the way they are. How quickly we forget about all the personal rights Little Bush and his handlers took away from us.
And Albany? I don't care if they call themselves liberal OR conservative they're a bunch of self-serving low-class yokels.
I don't agree with the soda and cigarette bullsh*t either, but to blame it on liberals is hilarious.
Total non-sequitur. You're comparing a president in DC to Albany---total apples and oranges.
We could play that game all day long.
All I know is that the so-called progressives in 2009 and 2010 have been laying out policies and tax increases to what we eat and how we eat it. If so-called conservatives were doing this, I would be equally as sickened.
It's a matter of freedom.
The best public health advocacy will never come from Albany or Bloomberg.
I was referring to the inherently conservative nature of the government in general.
However...
"It's a matter of freedom.
The best public health advocacy will never come from Albany or Bloomberg."
Is something we can both agree on.
This city and state have jumped the shark. Moving away seems more appealing with each passing day.
Come to Virginia. We can't smoke in bars anymore, but you can still eat whatever the hell you want.
Thanks for the offer, but the move would be to New England or eastern Canada.
Obviously Mr. Ortiz has never actually cooked anything in his life.
But, it's good to see that New York doesn't have any other problems.
It is incredibly obvious that this guy doesn't cook. If he did cook, he would know that salt is an essential ingredient, not just for taste, but for the basic chemistry of cooking food. Plus if he just banned crystal salt, well, then, ok, many restaurants would switch over to salt-containing things like soy sauce.
Limiting personal salt intake is a good idea, and requiring that kind of information be available is fine by me. After moving out of the City, I actually miss the calorie counts in fast food joints. But banning salt is stupid.
I agree with you 100%. Limiting salt intake is vital for some people, those with high blood pressure, and a good idea for almost everyone to prevent high blood pressure. The key word is "Limiting" not "eliminating." Ortiz just wants to get some press.
Bloomberg wants companies to voluntarily reduce salt use. The key words are "voluntary" and "reduce." I see nothing wrong with that. It's something that should be done. Some people view this as a threat to their freedom. They have very vivid imaginations.
this is great! i was getting so tired of making so decisions. now, when can i get a government official installed in my apartment to help me get dressed in the morning?
who cooks for felix ortiz? a chef w/o a tongue?
let's ban sugar and white flour while we're at it!
got a better idea: let's BAN idiotic politicians, starting with mr. ortiz. it will save lives. and brains.
In a perfect world.
so as far as i understand, logically, mr. ortiz most likely used to eat foods with lots of salt in them and found out one day that these "salty" foods are doing him harm. so he bans the use of salt for himself and he feels infinitely better, so now *"the most logical thing" for him to do is to make everyone do what he did...
...b/c to him, we all look, think, and feel the same way. of course, we're all very much alike mr. ortiz here, and there's no difference.
i cannot believe that someone with such lack of common sense (or 'human'-ness) is our friggin' assemblyman...
*it may be called "logic" by mr. ortiz, alone.
Uh oh, here comes the Salt Police with his tongue sticking out. How absurd. The human body needs salt to function.
Ortiz is a jerk, but I bet the people who have commented here dont have a remote clue as to their sodium consumption.
are we talking about salt or MSGs?!
There is a DIFFERENCE.
If is salt, this bill is plainly ABSURD!
not that there is a scientific consensus on the risks of MSGs, but some people truly distrusts the additives:
http://www.holisticmed.com/msg/TheErbreportonMSGtotheWHO.pdf
Watch the chef in the Chinese take out joint use the jumbo spoon to pick up MSG and pour it into the wok.
As far as salt is concerned, take the time and patience to count your sodium intake for a week. I bet it will exceed the reccomened amt. of 2,400 mg per day
What if the recipe expressly requires a certain quantity of salt?
Use crack instead. Crack's already illegal so why not shoot for the higher price point and repeat business?
If Ortiz has an issue with salt he should eat at home or brown bag his lunch. You will never be able to ban salt from a kitchen, besides most processed foods are already crammed full of sodium before they even hit the pan. Ortiz needs a crash course on the sodium content in processed food
Ortiz, typical liberal scum megalomanic, trying to impose his Totalitarian pathology upon the masses. Take this guy out. Really. Send a message.
Jawohl, Meinfuhrer!
Salty Dawgs
Ghey.