Council Member Feliz explains vote on sodium and sugar warning bills
Oswald Feliz explains his vote, praising the passage of two health bills on sodium and sugar warnings, citing examples like a Little Caesars pizza with nearly 11,000 milligrams of sodium, and emphasizing New Yorkers' right to know what is in their food.
Feliz.
Permission to explain my vote.
Permission granted.
Thank you.
Proud that we're finally passing these two health bills.
Two health bills aimed at ensuring that New Yorkers have basic information to be able to make good decisions related to their health.
Overconsumption of sodium and sugar continues to be a major cause of health complications in our city, including diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure, heart complications, and so much more.
Fast food restaurants are playing a major role.
The CDC recommends that we consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day.
Some fast food restaurants have meals that have sodium levels totaling nearly five times the amount they should have in an entire day.
Little Caesars, for example, nearly 11,000 milligrams of sodium in one pizza pie.
If you consume that pizza pie, you'll basically be consuming in one meal five times the amount of sodium that you should have in an entire day.
This is how you create health problems and crisis.
And we also got to be crystal clear.
If your pizza pie has 11,000 milligrams of sodium, that is not a pizza pie.
That is a sodium pie.
That is a pie of sodium.
We just have to be crystal clear on that.
New Yorkers should know what's in the food they eat, and that is exactly what this bill will do.
The federal...
Rules require that high sodium meals have a salt shaker icon, but of course not everybody knows what the salt shaker icon means.
This rule will strengthen that rule by requiring not only the salt shaker icon, but also a high sodium text next to the meal.
People are obviously free to consume what they want.
But our goal is to make sure that at least they have basic information so they can be able to make good decisions related to their health.
So thank you so much.
Stay healthy, everybody.
I don't know.
Thank you.
Gennaro.
Aye.
Thank you, Council Member Gennaro.
Gutierrez.
She's online.
Let's just give her a moment.
Council Member Gutierrez?
Okay, we'll come back.
Hanif.
Aye.
Hankerson.
Aye.
Hanks.
Aye.
Hudson.
I vote aye on all with the exception of intros 804 and 906, for which I'm a no.
Joseph.
I vote I don't know.
Krishna.
Aye.
Lee.
I and all except M89 and Resol 640, of which I abstain.
Lewis.
Hi, Anol.
Maloney.
I vote aye on all.
Marte.
I vote aye on all and I abstain on M89 and Reso 640.
Mealy.
Morano.