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Bill To Ban All Salt In Restaurant Cooking
lord_rotorooter writes "Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, introduced a bill that would ruin restaurant food and baked goods as we know them. The measure (if passed) would ban the use of all forms of salt in the preparation and cooking of food for all restaurants or bakeries. While the use of too much salt can contribute to health problems, the complete banning of salt would have negative impacts on food chemistry. Not only does salt enhance flavor, it controls bacteria, slows yeast activity and strengthens dough by tightening gluten. Salt also inhibits the growth of microbes that spoil cheese."
Some politicians are idiots! More at 11.
Do you really want the government telling you what you cannot eat?
Stay out of my bedroom, welcome to my kitchen?
Norris/Palin 2012
Fact: We deserve leaders who can kick your ass and field dress your carcass.
Salt is a dietary requirement. If you don't get enough salt in your diet, you get sick and die. Limiting salt levels in foods, rather than an outright ban, might make sense. However, I expect the only result would an increase in the number of people carrying personal salt shakers when they eat out.
I am going to have fun setting up my black market salt dispenseries.
YAY!!!
Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
but if there's no salt for your hash, doesn't that make your clients and servers less secure?
Ortiz admits that prior to introducing the bill he did not research salt's role in food chemistry, its effect on flavor or his bill's ramifications for the restaurant industry. He tells me he was prompted to introduce the bill because his father used salt excessively for many years, developed high blood pressure and had a heart attack.
Reacting emotionally is how bad laws get written and passed.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
I stepped on a nail once when I was a kid... It hurt.
They should pass a law that makes it illegal for carpenters to use nails so this never happens to another innocent child.
“I think salt should be banned in restaurants. I ask if a dish has salt in it, and if I does, I get something else that doesn’t have salt,”
Correct me if I'm wrong but a large number of the chemicals that make up food are salts of one type or another. What exactly does he eat?
The above comments are the ravings of a lunatic and should be ignored completely.
Salt is white, clearly this is legislation in support of hate crimes.
~Mekkah
The problem isn't this bill, which won't pass. The problem is that bad ideas like this, once introduced, have a life of their own. They keep getting reintroduced until they do pass. (good ideas, on the other hand, get shelved and are never heard from again).
They've already assaulted baked goods by banning trans-fats (certain baked goods need shortening for texture). Ruining everything else, even with a watered-down anti-salt bill, is now inevitable.
Good. Lard just plain tastes better.
a bill to make our food taste awful. Let us just take a look at how this can help. Just think of all the money people will save by not going out to eat because the food tastes like shite. Of course if people stop going out to eat then restaurants will have to lay off workers or even go out of business. Those people that are now out of jobs can save what little money they get on unemployment by not going out to eat - at least for a few months until their unemployment runs out and they lose their homes. More lost jobs because some shite for brains politician knows nothing and wants to get his name in the paper.
Instead of cutting salt out of their diets people could get healthier by getting more exercise - like kicking politicians in the ass when they have stupid ideas.
http://nwbagpipes.com/
...probably eats paste.
Trans fats are an artificial substance that occur primarily due to anti-fat hysteria. In mindlessly fleeing from animal fats, we managed to create something 10 or 100 times worse.
In this respect, it's a little less absurd to try to ban it.
There should just be accurate labeling across the board.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
Because what was bad for his father is obviously bad for everyone. Though I'm sure some people won't mind this bill, particularly the ones who require extremely low sodium diets to cope with various medical conditions.
* Q
P.S. If you don't get this note, let me know and I'll write you another.
This is a great example of the knee-jerk reaction process that the government employs.
Creating overreaching laws and rules for everyone is very rarely the solution to a problem.
FTA: "Ortiz admits that prior to introducing the bill he did not research salt’s role in food chemistry, its effect on flavor or his bill’s ramifications for the restaurant industry. He tells me he was prompted to introduce the bill because his father used salt excessively for many years, developed high blood pressure and had a heart attack."
So he's proposing the bill because his own bad personal experience, not because it would benefit his constituents, who probably don't want the bill either. So much for representative government.
Freedom is drinking a beer in the park when you're supposed to be at work.
LOL...No. His father killed his father. (Just in case you weren't being sarcastic)
Sent from your iPad.
Those problems are related to the fact that no one uses REAL salt anymore. That stuff that Mortons sells is an awful chemical that destroys your arteries. REAL sea salt is GOOD for you.
Exactly. The obviously ridiculous bills (e.g. DMCA, PATRIOT Act, NY State Budget) never get passed.
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
"My name is Felix Oritz. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Canada: The US's more awesome sibling.
No, nothing needs to be done.
The government has no business whatsoever dictating what restaurants can and cannot have (never mind must have) on their menus. If you can't eat something, don't eat it ... if that means not going out to eat, well that's your issue. Restaurant owners are not responsible for your health, you are.
Christ, what the hell happened to personal responsibility?
Who pays this idiot's salary? (And does he know where the word comes from?)
Liberty in your lifetime
"Too much salt" is one of those dietary memes that just won't seem to die. However, the reality is that (a) only a fraction of individuals (even individuals with high blood pressure) seem to be salt sensitive and (b) there are much more effective ways of reducing high blood pressure than reducing salt consumption. I was on blood pressure medication, a low salt diet, etc. prior to reducing my carbohydrate intake dramatically last summer, and all it got me was drug side effects and blood pressure that was just barely normal (average 136/88). Since I've stopped eating most concentrated carbohydrates, my blood pressure has reduced dramatically (I don't bother to monitor any more, but at my last doctor's appointment it was 122/72). On top of that, my blood sugars have improved dramatically (from average BG of 138 to average BG of 91) and my lipid profile has improved dramatically (total cholestorol 233 then vs. 135 at last doctor's appt., triglycerides 700+ vs. 85 at last doctor's appointment.) All this even as I lost almost 100 lbs.
What was the change? I *stopped* eating sugar and other refined carbohydrates, and I *started* eating salt again. Oh yeah, and I *love* fat and protein, because they make me feel full.
The bottom line is that I have no confidence in the ability of the "main stream" medical community to define a single nutritional standard that will work for everyone. And I have even less confidence in the ability of bureaucrats and legislators to correctly parse through the research to find the truth. So leave my food alone. If you really feel like you've got to do something, please start requiring restaurants to label their foods (on the menu) so that it's easier for diabetics like me to find menu items that aren't loaded with sugars that will make our blood sugars spike. Or if you really want to interfere, require restaurants to offer low-fat, low-carb, and low-salt entrees. But don't impose your notion of good nutrition on me, because I tried to do it your way and it damn near killed me.
"He who would learn astronomy, and other recondite arts, let him go elsewhere. " -- John Calvin, commenting on Genesis 1
Thank god for this bill.
When I was a yound boy I started doing salt. I figured yea its just salt right? Afterwards I moved on to cracked pepper and eventually later in life started experimenting with parsley, basil and oregeno. Before I knew it I was hooked on Thyme and garlic and I lost everything. My wife, my job, my kids, all gone. Even the dog ran away. No you will find me lurking on the school grounds giving away free herbs, knowing that once hooked they will never be the same. So please think of the children and avoid my culinary fate.
Fuck you, you fuckin' fuck.
To err is human. To arr is pirate.
Salt killed his father.
So his father was a slug?
_ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
Because - wait for it - the next thing you know, they are going to try and ban a salt weapon too.
I was having a similar discussion with my husband the other day when he was discussing how he wants some government regulation on those types of products that claim to provide male enhancement or are diet supplement pills that supposedly burn fat just because someone took the pill. He feels that people should be able to trust what companies advertise.
I pointed out to him, that right now our leaders feel any regulation should always go to the extreme. This is a prime example of going to the extreme. This is what this representative is proposing, the extreme.
Without some salt in foods, food will not stay preserved as long, and many other bad things will take place. This has the potential for increasing the cost of meals at restaurants because food will not last as long, which then means more deliveries or purchases will need to be made for a restaurant to keep up with the shortened lifetime of the food supply used to prepare the meals. This increases our carbon footprint for all of these service industries to meet the new regulation. And if this is only done in one area of the country or one state, now fast food places have to make separate batches of food for the consumers and if one batch is mistakenly sent to a No-Salt location, what are the ramifications then? Would people sue the restaurant because, OMG, I just ate salt...? Possibly, maybe even likely.
I completely agree, less salt is better, but an outright ban? Ridiculous! Regulations are in place by the FDA, correct? If companies are not following the regulations in place already go after them. Enforce existing rules and regulations first, and staff up to meet the needs of enforcement. If after regulation it is found that changes need to be made, tweak the regulations.
We need less govt. intervention. Govt. leave my food alone.
Life takes interesting turns, but the most interest is when you're off the beaten path.
Isn't it a requirement of Kosher meats that they be Salted as a part of the preparation? No Salt, no Kosher.
So, this idiot is saying that Jewish people can't have their religious and culturally required diet? Yeah, like THAT's gonna fly in NYC.
(Not Jewish myself, but I love gefilte fish, and lox is my favorite bagel topping. I would be seriously pissed if I couldn't get them anymore.)
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
This is inevitable. Not only will we see more of this, but it's going to get a lot more invasive. Politicians have decided it's their responsibility to look out for our well-being.
What does everyone think the president and congress is talking about when they say we need to change how we live, that we need to practice preventative healthcare? They're going to cram this sort of thing down our throats.
Every so often someone mentions us sacrificing our freedoms for the sake of security. But inevitably it's always mentioned in relation to the war on terrorism. The real threat to our freedom isn't anything so overt. Wars are temporary and there are plenty of people fighting these overt threats. The real threats to freedom is legislation like this. They're far more subtle, more far-reaching and long-lasting and it's the sort of thing that is harder to defend against because it's pretty easy to argue it's for our own good.
Twenty years from now people might be able to repeal invasive surveillance policies because the terrorist threat has subsided if not outright disappeared. But how do you repeal these kinds of bans? You're repealing a ban on something unhealthy! You're going to raise the cost of healthcare! We can't have that!
The real tool here should be education. People need to understand what they're consuming and the effects it may have on their bodies. Then they make the decision. But they should also be held responsible for their actions. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be realistic in this day and age either. Now, I'm not so naive as to believe that we can have a complete libertarian free-for-all where anything goes. But I'm talking about basic personal freedoms here. Pig out on unhealthy food all your want, but be prepared to deal with the health issues you're likely to encounter later in life.
People want the freedom, but they don't want to deal with the responsibilities and consequences of those freedoms. It creates the perfect atmosphere for the government to step in and make these decisions for us. That's really what it comes down to. Either we live safe, secure lives free of major responsibilities but have to give up many of our freedoms, or we have our freedom but we have to deal directly with the consequences of our actions. Unfortunately too many people nowadays seem to have the delusion that we can enjoy the best of both worlds.
Maybe if everyone stopped crying about elitism when people suggest that we elect smart people to run the country, we wouldn't be having this problem.
Sadly, stupidity seems to be bi-partisan.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
Thank god his father didn't pass away while having sex!
While this is a good point, most restaurants use kosher salt (which is not iodized) in their cooking, as it's a lot easier to control the amount with a pinch, and some people like the taste better.
Everyone should dress up like Gandhi and march down to the bay to make salt.
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Why don't we just make it a Federal crime to elect a fucking moron?
Ed R.Zahurak
You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.
To protest the British Empire's control and taxation of salt, Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi led a 200+ mile march to the sea, where he made an illegal batch of salt. This sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the salt laws by millions of Indians, and was a major step on the long road to the independence of India.
If the British Raj had try to ban the use of salt outright, however, I suspect Gandhi - being a devout vegetarian - would have handed out cricket bats to every available man, woman, and child and led a march straight to New Delhi.
Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
The banning of the use of dihydrogen monoxide (also known as hydric acid) in the preparation of food would be an excellent admentment to this bill. Yes, I know what dihydrogen monoxide is. In our lab at my previous place of employment we even had a material safety data sheet for it. Check it out here Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division.
They're already working hard to push tax on "sugary" sodas and drinks in NY.
I love the loaded language. Sugary, like we're talking about a bottle full of sugar.
Um, really, it’s not far off... a 12-oz. Coke has 39 grams of sugar. A 12-oz. (355 ml) bottle of plain water would weigh 355 grams. That’s almost 10% sugar by weight.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
I have Meniere's syndrome and think this is bogus! I have to carefully limit my salt so I don't build up pressure in my inner ear, so I take care to do so.
If anyone else is concerned about limiting their salt intake, then they should limit their salt intake.
Our elected officials think we are too stupid and too lazy to take responsibility for ourselves. Make sure you let every one of them know how you feel about their opinion of us come election time!
No, no, no. Salt was only a symptom of the underlying problem. Don't you see? This person had a *heart attack*, a HEART ATTACK. Clearly we must ban hearts so as to prevent more attacks of this nature. Anyone with a heart must be kicked out of New York State!
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
Why is banning the solution to everything? I don't get it. People love to ban anything with legislation, it's completely illogical.
I think it would be better for all of us if his father had passed away before ejaculation during the sexual intercourse that generated Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn.
Smart people don't want to run for office. Do you? I know I don't.
Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
I don't, for several reasons, but one being that I know I wouldn't be elected as I'm not exactly the most gregarious and outgoing person out there (which is why I'm a software engineer and prefer to sit in front of a computer all day).
Additionally, the fact that I'm an engineer means I have a personality type where I view things in black-and-white, and worse I have a bad habit of speaking my mind about things and not saying different things to different people to try to please them all. People hate that in politicians. (Of course, they also say they hate that politicians "speak out of both sides of their mouths", but then they go on to elect these politicians anyway.)
Finally, if I did have a chance to be President for one term without having to go through all the ridiculousness of the election campaign, I'd be happy to do it just to have a chance to try to fix things for the better. But I have no illusions at all that I could be elected for anything besides maybe a school board member (and probably not even that since I don't have kids).