Should a state department of health be able to prohibit restaurants from serving food to people who are obese? This is quoted from an actual bill being introduced to the Mississippi legislature:
Any food establishment to which this section applies shall not be allowed to serve food to any person who is obese, based on criteria prescribed by the State Department of Health after consultation with the Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management established under Section 41-101-1 or its successor. The State Department of Health shall prepare written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese, and shall provide those materials to all food establishments to which this section applies.
This is very disturbing to me. New York City has already outlawed trans fats. Has NYC paved the way for states to create similar, more restrictive laws? I hope not. It doesn’t seem probable that this kind of legislation could pass, and even if it did, it would probably be knocked down immediately by a lawsuit. However, it’s pretty frightening that there are politicians out there that are even daring to propose this.
(via the Accidental Hedonist)
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