TheAgitator.com
New York Lawmaker Wants To Ban Salt
Thursday, March 11th, 2010“No owner or operator of a restaurant in this state shall use salt in any form in the preparation of any food for consumption by customers of such restaurant, including food prepared to be consumed on the premises of such restaurant or off of such premises,” the bill, A. 10129 , states in part.
The legislation, which Assemblyman Felix Ortiz , D-Brooklyn, introduced on March 5, would fine restaurants $1,000 for each violation.
This is extraordinarily stupid. I’m curious if Ortiz has ever prepared a meal in his life.
Ortiz is probably the most paternalistic legislator in America. I wrote about him in a piece for Forbes back in 2005.
The all-time nanny might be New York State Democratic Assemblyman Felix Ortiz. In 2004 Ortiz introduced a law that would require every car sold in New York to come equipped with an ignition interlock device. Motorists would need to blow into a tube and pass an alcohol breath test before the car would start, then perform the test again every 20 to 40 minutes.
In just the first four months of 2005 Ortiz has introduced laws that would ban all cell phone use while driving (including hands-free); ban pornography from newsstands; force consumers to show two forms of identification when using a credit card; test all public school children for diabetes; ban expiration dates on retail gift certificates; ban alcohol billboard advertisements within a mile of every school and day care center; require nutritional labeling on restaurant menus; measure the fat of every public school student; and impose a “fat tax,” not just on junk food but also on “videogames, commercials and movies.”
The salt ban is nutty. But I included all of the items in the graph above because back in 2005, they all seemed pretty nutty, too. Scary how many of them have now either been enacted or are being given serious consideration by local, state and federal lawmakers.
He seems to be acting as some sort of triangulation point man for the nanny state. After his lunacy gets voted down, things like trans fat bans and mandatory nutrition information will *seem* donwright reasonable.
Just like Bloomberg, this guy is sure that he knows what’s best for you – and you don’t.
I’ve been telling people for years that the BEST thing Mayor Bloomberg could ever do as mayor is to retire and return to the business that made him so rich.
Seems like the representative sees personal freedom generally as a problem.
I am going to New York later this month, I hope my food will be prepared with the proper seasoning. What an idiot, I hope the legislators like their steaks seasoned and NOT pass this stupid bill.
Watch Demolition Man over the weekend. Everything in that movie is happening to America. They even banned salt in the movie. It’s a modern version of 1984 with better one-liners.
Next on the legislative agenda: anyone attempting to transport salt into a restaurant for personal use will be charged with a misdemeanor; salt shakers and paper salt-packets shall be considered paraphernalia and will warrant a fine of $500.
So he essentially wants to turn New York into future LA from Demolition Man? Good thing virtual reality still sucks or he might try to ban ‘fluid exchanges’.
Seriously this guy needs to grow up. Knowing absolutely nothing about daily life in New York, I can still say with confidence that salt content of meals should not be this high of a priority for a legislator. Unless someone fixed all the other problems in that city and no one told me about it.
Not to mention the ridiculousness of it, salt is in everything. In cooking you add salt to everything, not huge portions of it mind you, to balance flavors. Its like saying lets ban sugar, or carbs, or calories. Such a mindbogglingly ignorant proclamation can only be made village idiots and legislators, and its depressing how frequently those are the same person.
There is almost no food on earth that tastes right without salt. Shit man, even desserts have salt! I plan on a pinch of salt in my onions that I’m sauteeing tonight for my clam sauce.
In a related article, he talked about how he avoids dishes with salt at restaurants, and instead sticks to foods like bread, cheese, and ham.
Um.
The newly skinny Alton Brown is going to kick this guy’s ass.
Thinking over what I ate yesterday, literally everything I prepared, from oatmeal in the morning to carrots with dinner, had a recipe that called for salt. Hell, the only thing I can think of in the past week that I cooked without a salt shaker had soy sauce in it, and there’s no way that counts as salt-free.
What a goddamned moron.
As nanniest (if that is even a word) as this man is, what does it say about the idiots who continue to elect him to office.
David brings up another good point with the soy sauce:
“Salt in any form”
That leaves a pretty wide margin. Parmesan cheese has a lot of salt in it. So does Bacon. Is Carbonara okay, even if the chef doesn’t add any further salt? Let’s say those two ingredients count as ‘food’, and not ‘salt in any form’. Okay – what about salt-based sauces? Are they going to remove Worcestershire, Soy, and Tabasco from the kitchen?
And last but not least – won’t somebody *please* think of the margaritas?!
Just hope he doesn’t try to ban breast milk cheese…
If they passed this foolishness, EVERY restaurant in a city renowned for them would have to close.
I wonder what purpose Ortiz will claim that his proposed law is going to serve? Too much salt is only a problem for those already predisposed to hypertension. It doesn’t really make a difference for anyone else. So for the inevitable hand-wringing, tears, tales of heart attack survivors and subtle appeal to immortality (we’d all remain at age 25 forever if not for fat, salt, sugar, etc.), what does he think he’s going to accomplish?
You’re being too harsh- How is banning expiration dates on Gift Certificates a symptom of the nanny-state?
Why does he hate cupcakes and other goodness? Was he molested by a clown or something?
I’ll be joining Dr. Cocteau for a very fine meal at Taco Bell this evening, thank you very much.
Be well.
Balloon Juice had a thread about the proposed salt ban. A number of people there pointed out that salt isn’t just used for taste — it is needed for the chemistry involved in food preparation. I pointed out that not using it in cooking could make people use even more salt at the table when they don’t like how the first bite tastes. Someone found some quotes from him in which he admits that he didn’t do much (or was it any?) research before submitting the bill. He didn’t know that you need NaCl for the food chemistry to work. Truly a moron.
People need salt– they get sick if they don’t get enough of it.
#6, spot on.
He reminds me of an evil Mr. Rogers
In a word…DUMBASS.
How is banning expiration dates on Gift Certificates a symptom of the nanny-state?
Why does the government need to dictate the terms of your private transaction with a retailer?
If they’re ripping people off, they’ve committed fraud. Otherwise, check the terms before you buy.
Well, since Gatorade(TM) has salt, it looks like the Knicks, Yankees, Giants, Jets, etc. wouldn’t be playing as well, either.
But I haven’t learned how to use the three shells yet!
I just urinated…there are drops left attached. Will someone call Assemblyman Felix Ortiz and tell him I need a shake or at least visual government confirmation that I do, in fact, need a shake. Also tell him he needs to block off some time this evening as I plan on taking a shit later and will need my ass wiped.
“test all public school children for diabetes”
A really, really good idea. The other stuff is nuts, sure, but…
“test all public school children for diabetes”
A really, really good idea. The other stuff is nuts, sure, but…
As both a diabetic and a survivor of Arkansas’s public school system, I can assure you it’s a ridiculous idea. Diabetes is not like cancer- given the way the condition initially develops there’s no real survival benefit to catching it earlier than the presentation of symptoms. If it’s still mild enough that there are no noticeable symptoms (excessive urination, lethargy, nausea), then the blood sugar isn’t high enough to be an immediate threat. Diagnosis in March as opposed to June of a weak-onset diabetic isn’t going to matter much in the grand scheme of things, and I assure you there’s no avoiding eventual diagnosis.
Besides, most school age children are going to have Type I (“juvenile”) diabetes like I do, which has nothing to do with the lardass diabetes people are worried about. It’s the Type II diabetes that is associated with obesity, etc., and that’s extraordinarily rare in children. Sure, it happens, but if you’re worried about Type II diabetes you should be focusing on Baby Boomers, not high schoolers.
Also, my high school nurse was the least competent medical professional to ever try to insert herself (most unwantedly) into the management of my diabetes. This woman wanted me to record *for her* my daily blood sugars at lunch, information which is both completely useless by itself and as confidential as any other medical data. She also insisted I had to keep my supplies in her office, as opposed to on my person- an arrangement that lasted for about a day. I guess I could have used a lancet as a weapon or something.
Put her in charge of finger-poking all the students? Are you kidding? That’s only marginally less frightening than police taking roadside blood samples.
Banning gift card expiration dates is a good idea. The rest of it? Hello, nut-job land!
You know…I take pride in usually keeping my political commentary civilized, even in regard to those with whom I disagree. So please keep that in mind when I say someone needs to punch Felix Ortiz in the dick.
ARCraig – The problem is that diagnosis “eventually” is often after a fair amount of damage has been done by blood sugar levels being all over the place. (Also, I wouldn’t make assumptions about my level of medical training, if I were you, heh)
I’m also quite aware it would be screening for type I, and I’m unconcerned about the general public not understanding the difference between the types. In any case, it’s one of the chronic conditions where screening every few years is a good idea – early management is important for developing a working treatment regime and preventing organ damage.
In addition, in some people there is a period before they start needing insulin which can be extended considerably if treatment is given – the drugs to do so are in late-stage trials. That’s harder to do if you’re waiting until the kid’s brought to the doctor with chronic fatigue or has seizures on the playground when they skipped breakfast one day.
Hey, cut Ortiz a break! The salt burns when his enemies sprinkle it on him.
Salt in any form? Potassium salt is a healthy alternative to table salt, doesn’t cause any of the problems with some people that table salt does, but because it a form of salt he would ban it too? Yes, absolutely an idiot.
Personally, I use Himalayan Crystal salt.
Perhaps he should volunteer to have all salt removed from his body.
I MUST hear Tony Bourdain’s comment on this. I know he did a bit for reason tv about foie gras a while back.
Leon-
Getting checked for diabetes is fine. I’m not objecting to that. I’m saying it’s not such a public health emergency that there should be universal annual testing done in public schools by the nurse. That’s something that should be done, if recommended by a doctor, during routine physicals, none of which is the responsibility of the school board. They’ve stuck their nose into way too many non-educational matters as it is.
People don’t just sick for lack of salt, they can get dead. It’s a nutrient vital to life. Think of Potassium: too much will kill you, especially in Texas. Too little will kill you different.
Focus on the NY State election laws, which make it virtually impossible to remove douchebags like Ortiz from office unless he’s being dragged out in handcuffs.
Is that a $1000 fine per grain?
ARCraig – “Routine Physicals” is the issue, given how many Americans don’t have them. A program in (but not necessarily run by) schools…
There were two peanuts walking down the street in New York City, and one was assaulted…peanut.
The other peanut said, “Dude, you are definitely from out of town.”
Salt tastes good for a reason – as others have said, you kind of need it to, you know, fucking LIVE.
Without salt, neurons do not transmit. Cells cannot power their ion pumps. Nature has selected on us to be a bunch of salt junkies because it’s such an essential nutrient. This is the same reason sugars taste delicious as well. Your gustatory sense is quite literally a chemical detector. Salt in excess tends to taste bad – this is the body’s way of telling you you’re overdoing it. I trust my gustatory senses a lot more than I trust this Ortiz clown. Where’d this guy get his degree in biology/medicine/nutrition again? The only people that need to really worry about salt intake are people with kidney disease. If anything New Yorkers, being inclined to use stimulants such as coffee in their daily lives, should get more salt(s) in their diet, as well as more fluids.
Are there no more useful laws left to be written that these hacks have to resort to this silliness?? If this is what it’s coming too, maybe we don’t need elected bureaucrats anymore. I’d say we’ve got enough laws at this point.
If a legislator considers something to be a problem, then his only tool is to make a law.
This is unsurprising in the extreme, makes “dog bites man” look downright sensational.
It seems to me the problem lies in the code of the system. My solution is to outlaw legislation.
I believe it was Radley who, the other day, wrote that if a law is overly broad, it practically invites a prosecutor to interpret it in an overly broad manner, leading to tyranny.
What could possibly be broader than the basic power to create law in the first place? Is that not at the root of societal rot?
Hispanics have an extensive history of the patron/padron system. Of course, the padron is the “father” who tells EVERYONE what to do and when.
I’ve lived with them and their attitude for most of my close to 60 years. It is a problem from the bottom up because most want someone to decide FOR THEM.
Laws have replaced ethics and morality in this country. And if it’s not “illegal”, it must be ok to do!
Tiocfaidh ar la!
cynical,
Your comment exemplifies one of the realizations that led me to libertarianism. All laws are freedom-reducing acts, excepting those whose only purpose is to undo other laws. Each creates a new set of rules the state uses to justify the punishment of citizens. I realized at some point that since punishment is an implicit part of every new law, regardless of what legislators may claim, it becomes necessary to ensure that all laws prevent a greater degree of harm to society than the harm imposed by the punishment of the law itself.
When modern laws are measured according to this principle, it is remarkable just how many fail this simple test. Then again maybe its unremarkable as this country has had 200+ years of unrestricted legislating with only 3 or 4 revolutionary acts interspersed. When in high school I wondered why the founding fathers made new legislation so hard to pass, now I fear they didn’t make it hard enough.
Random, my first comment didn’t go through. Basically, I wrote that the State = Death and posted a link to anarchist Mike Gogulski’s blogpost “The Penalty is Always Death,” at his blog NoState. Check it out if you haven’t already. Logical perfection.
Escape from LA here we come.
Stacy Keach’s character: Cmdr. Malloy:
“The United States is a non-smoking nation! No smoking, no drugs, no alcohol, no women – unless you’re married – no foul language, no red meat!”
To which Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken answers:
“Land of the free.”
We should be able to make up our own minds or The land of the free is just a cruel joke. After all we are talking about table salt. This would be the final nail for the restaurants in NYC and I can see the rest of the the countries major cities saying, yea that’s what you do and laugh themselves silly all the way to the bank!
[...] legislative proposals ranges far beyond matters culinary. Anti-nanny state American hero, Radley Balko, reports in exhaustive detail about Ortiz’s aim to control every aspect of American [...]
Goiters anyone?