New York Politician Opposes Greater Access to Fresh Fruits and Veggies--Why?

Note from Connie: Kudos to my blogging researcher/writer for writing about this astounding development. Your jaw may drop as you read this. What do you think of this?

New York's City Council took a step toward fighting obesity by voting to issue 1,000 permits to street vendors to sell fresh fruits and vegetables in low-income neighborhoods, Reuters reports.

Sounds like a great idea. Who would be against making more delicious, nutritious fresh produce available to more people?

Well, unfortunately, City Councilman John Liu, who represents a district in the borough of Queens, for one.

"If people wanted this produce, the stores would be selling them and there would be vending carts on the street," he told Reuters.

So, is Councilman Liu saying that if stores in modest neighborhoods don't sell much fresh produce, the people living there are just out of luck?

According to the New York Times, Liu wasn't the only one that wasn't wild about this initiative, also known as the Green Cart bill. Surprise, surprise, the retail food industry lobbied against it because they're afraid they'll lose customers to the fruit and vegetable vendors, the Times reports.

In fact, the final bill was scaled back from the legislation Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn initially proposed in December, which would have issued 1,500 Green Cart permits.

Apparently those concessions weren't enough for some council people. Nine of them actually voted against the bill (the council has 51 members altogether, but only 46 voted on this plan).

I don't know what on earth the bill's opponents were thinking when they voted no, but luckily they were in the minority!

Jennifer Moore for SUGAR SHOCK! Blog