Gavin Newsom receives much heat from the right and sane left for how he governs California, with many pointing to onerous regulations and soft-on-crime policies for the state, not to mention immensely burdensome taxes, when criticizing how he runs California. Joining those who are torching Greasy Gavin was ’90s sitcom star Mario Lopez, who blasted what he sees as Newsom’s misplaced focus.
Particularly, Lopez, who starred in “Saved by the Bell,” attacked Gavin Newsom’s state’s decision to ban certain chemicals and food additives, which he saw as being a less useful problem to focus on than the crime problem ravaging California.
Lopez took to X (formerly Twitter) to do so, writing, “Crime is through the roof, worst drug epidemic ever & homelessness at an all time high in CA… Let’s focus on Skittles.” Included in the post was a headline noting that thousands of products were banned under the new law, which targets potentially toxic additives. It will not, however, actually ban Skittles; though a previous version of the bill banned titanium dioxide, found in the popular candy, the law no longer contains language about titanium dioxide.
Crime is through the roof, worst drug epidemic ever & homelessness at an all time high in CA… Let’s focus on Skittles pic.twitter.com/ohWQcUcQjf
— Mario Lopez (@mariolopezviva) October 10, 2023
Lopez’s post started a debate in the comments section, with some arguing that Newsom’s new law is an important one because banning toxic food products is a necessary function of government, while others argued that people should be able to eat what they want.
For example, one commenter said, “Getting rid of the poison in the foods we eat is pretty important lol.” Another replied, “It’s pretty easy to choose not to eat foods that you feel are bad for you. And it isn’t the government’s business anyway.”
Numerous others disagreed with that second comment, saying things like “Go ahead, eat food that was packaged improperly, handled under unsanitary conditions, not refrigerated, and doesn’t list ingredients because you don’t think it’s the government’s business to regulate. Hope you don’t have allergies. The purpose of government IS to keep us safe” and “It is absolutely the governments business to keep our food safe. That has to be one of the most ridiculous things I’ve seen someone post on here.”
For reference, the law, known as The California Food Safety Act, gives companies three years to remove substances such as brominated vegetable oil, propylparaben, red dye 3, and potassium bromate from their products, as those products have been linked to cancer, mood disorders, and other problems.
The text of the bill provides that, starting in 2027, “a person or entity shall not manufacture, sell, deliver, distribute, hold, or offer for sale, in commerce a food product for human consumption” that contains those aforementioned additives.
The bill also provides that “The bill would make a violation of these provisions punishable by a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for a first violation and not to exceed $10,000 for each subsequent violation, upon an action brought by the Attorney General, a city attorney, a county counsel, or a district attorney.”
Though Lopez was incorrect about the Skittles situation, the general outlook expressed, which is that California should focus on solving its crime problem instead of placing ever more onerous regulations on industry, is one with which many agree.
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