Tara community beats KFC in fast-food fight
Otara is classified as an extreme food swamp with more than 12 unhealthy food outlets for every healthy food outlet. KFC thought they would add to the swamp by building a new outlet in Bairds Rd, even though their Papatoetoe outlet is only three minutes down the road.
Residents were outraged — they did not want another obesogenic food outlet in their community, which already has massive obesity and diabetes problems. Councillor Efeso Collins gave strong vocal support on behalf of his community.
In the end, KFC backed down, handing local democracy a rare victory.
It could have been a different outcome: it usually is in these battles between communities and fast-food chains.
As this news of the KFC backdown was breaking on Friday, I was giving a Zoom lecture to post-graduate health students. I was confidently predicting KFC would just barge on regardless, knowing the community and Auckland Council have virtually no legal grounds to block them nor would they have the money or appetite to fight them in court. I was very them to block a commercial activity if it happy to learn, as soon as I finished the is in an appropriate commercial zone. lecture, that my predictions were wrong. The current legal grounds for
Our¯researchtoOattheUniversityofpreventingKFCadding tara’s food Auckland has found in richer suburbs swamp are weak and multinational there are 3.7 takeaway outlets per 10,000 corporations have deep pockets, so the people. In poorer suburbs, it is 13.7 per legal playing field is heavily stacked. 10,000. Companies know people on low There are also fundamentally different incomes are easy targets for takeaways. philosophies underpinning this tension
Residents in rich neighbourhoods between commercial priorities and enjoy more protection — land is more community priorities. The previous expensive, the protests are louder, and the National-led Government was so against patronage lower. Poorer neighbourhoods councils building liveable communities cop more of the foods that will make their they amended the Local Government Act already substantial physical and mental to remove the four wellbeings (social, health problems worse. economic, environmental and cultural)
Why are junk food outlets legally from the purposes of local government. allowed to set up shop next to schools or The Labour-led Government has since in communities heavily burdened with inserted them back into the Act — but with diseases the junk food is creating when flip-flopping directions from Wellington, it there is heavy community opposition? is easy to understand why protection and Why can’t council regulations support the promotion of community wellbeing has community’s health? not yet been actioned in council by-laws.
In theory, councils can make by-laws Our research group and a panel of more “to protect, promote and maintain public than 50 independent and government health and safety” but, in reality, there is experts completed a review of the current very little on their by-law books to allow Government’s progress on implementing food policies for healthier food environments. The bottom line is that there has been no progress in the past three years.
One important recommendation from the panel was that Government enacts legislation to allow and encourage councils to create healthy community food environments. Internationally, several countries are establishing Healthy School Food Zones which means the food inside the school is healthy and the zone of 250-500 metres around the school has junk foods minimised. This should be an obvious policy for a Government and communities interested in improving child health and wellbeing.
Disadvantaged communities are trying to lift the liveability of their neighbourhoods; the Thriving Otara collective is a good example of this.
Government and councils can greatly support community efforts by strengthening the legislation and by-laws so the health and wishes of its citizens carry significant legal weight on applications for outlets selling products which are harmful to health.