Tag: nanny state

NJ State Legislature Passes Ban On Paper Bags, Foam Food-Containers, And Plastic Straws

In addition to joining New York in some type of weird social experiment to see how high taxes can get before you drive all of your state’s citizens elsewhere, New Jersey has also decided to now ban both paper and plastic bags in the state.

We guess the crippling effect of Covid 19 on local businesses wasn’t enough – but now also seems like a great time to weigh them down with further regulations and higher costs. 

The state’s assembly and Senate passed a bill Thursday that bans LDPE plastic film bags, like the kind you get at the grocery store. It also bans the alternative – paper bags – at markets that are over 2,500 sq. feet in an attempt to get shoppers to bring their own bags. The same bill also bans polystyrene clamshell food containers and makes plastic straws only available “upon request” at restaurants, according to NorthJersey.com.

We’re guessing there’s going to be a lot of “requests”. 

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Berkeley, California, bans candy, junk food at grocery checkouts

The city of Berkeley, California is back on the attack against unhealthy habits.

The progressive university town this time has passed an ordinance requiring stores over 2,500 square feet in size to sell more nutritious food and beverage options in their checkout areas.

That means no more candy, soda and salty snacks available for impulsive shoppers waiting in line to pay at the register. The ban is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation.

“This ordinance is another effort to create a healthy food environment that would support families by providing them the ability to avoid high-calorie, low-nutrient food and beverages when they do their grocery and other shopping,” said a city report on the ordinance passed this week by the city council. “Individuals and families who want to purchase sugary drinks, candy, chips, and other sweet and salty snacks will be able to find them in their respective aisles in the center of stores. By changing checkout norms, shoppers and their children face less temptation to consume sugary foods and there is less reinforcement of these unhealthy choices.”

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L.A. County walks back Halloween ban, says trick-or-treating ‘not recommended’

Less than a day after issuing new health guidelines that banned trick-or-treating and other Halloween activities, Los Angeles County public health officials walked back the decision Wednesday.

Citing an inability to maintain safe social distancing and the potential for gatherings beyond household members, county officials initially nixed trick-or-treating along with other Halloween traditions, including haunted houses and parades.

But Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Wednesday that the guidelines have been “slightly revised.”

Ferrer said the change distinguishes between activities originally prohibited under the health officer order from activities that are “not recommended.”

“This year, it’s just not safe to celebrate in the ways we usually do,” Ferrer said. “We are recommending that trick-or-treating not happen this year.”

The Department of Public Health previously said that because some of the traditional ways in which Halloween is celebrated do not allow contact with nonhousehold members to be minimized, it is important to identify safer alternatives.

“Trunk-or-treat” events involving car-to-car candy dispersal, which are sometimes held by churches or schools, also are not recommended under the revised order.

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