Fans of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution are looking forward to season 2 to start mid-season. Although ABC.com offers very little information, it has been reported that they have ordered another six episodes for season 2 of Food Revolution, which recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Show.

This season, Jamie will take on America’s second largest city, Los Angeles, California. The focus will include people of all ages in schools, offices, homes, and restaurants in L.A. Will the residents of Los Angeles respond differently to Jamie’s education about processed food and cooking lessons than the citizens of Huntington, West Virginia, who were offended by his ‘help’? L.A. certainly has a different reputation, but an obesity problem does exist in Los Angeles.

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution from Fresh One and Ryan Seacrest Productions is loosely based on Jamie’s UK series, Jamie’s Ministry of Food and Jamie’s School Dinners, which helped reshape school food in Great Britain. Jamie is the author of several best-selling cookbooks, and his newest cookbook Jamie’s America: Easy Twists on Great American Classics and More! will be released by Hyperion in October.
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Los Angeles is a booming sprawling metropolis with about 17 million residents. No wonder traffic is horrible morning, day, and night.

The fitness business is going strong there, with thousands of personal trainers who are able to take advantage of the beaches, mountains, and amazing year-round weather to train outside of the gym setting. Although the majority of personal trainers freelance, others choose the gym setting to make a living.
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Former Biggest Loser contestants Bill Germanakos, Coleen Skeabeck and Dan Evans run Runyon Canyon with our senior editor Brandi Koskie. (photo by Bill Germanakos)

Over the next few weeks, I am going to cover the best places to run or walk in the nation. By best, I am talking about the safest and most scenic places that take your breath away while you enjoy your exercise. I am going to start with L.A. simply because I live there and I am familiar with the best trails and such.

First off, Griffith Park, is the nations largest inner-city park (surrounded by cities). Griffith Park consists of three golf courses, several trails, horseback riding, and plenty of room to play sports or picnic. Simply amazing!!
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The debate over the fast food ban in South Los Angeles rages on. And there are good points on both sides.

As is often the case with well-intentioned do-good legislation, there are negative side effects. If fast food is simply defined as establishments that have “a limited menu, items prepared in advance, or prepared or heated quickly, no table orders, and food served in disposable wrapping or containers,” there could be unintended casualties.

“Our policy makers abhor nuance and the subtle but distinct qualities that differentiate fast food from food that can be served fast,” says Larry Bain, a businessman who could be adversely effected by the anti-fast food measures in South Los Angeles. He runs two hot dog carts that include high-quality dogs from cattle raised on pastures, served with fresh grilled onions. Not a grilled chicken salad, to be sure. But does it deserve to be banned, especially when you consider it’s a small two-person operation trying to make ends meet?

On the other side of the argument, you have to face the simple economic facts of the matter: personal freedom of choice is all well and good, but when cash-strapped lower income people have the choice between the quick drive-thru fast food “value meal” that costs $5 and the healthier sit-down meal that goes for $10+, which do you think will win?

More news on the effort to put a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in a section of Los Angeles that already has 400 in a 32-square-mile radius. (See my original post explaining this story.)

A Los Angeles city council planning committee unanimously approved a one-year ban, which could be extended for a another year, on new fast food outlets. The measure will go to the full council for a vote next month. It will be interesting to see if there is any long-term good that will come of this. One key is to replace prospective fast food establishments with healthier options. The plan is to encourage that. How, I’m not sure.

I’ve always been amazed that healthy fast food businesses haven’t spread like wildfire in recent years. It seems that given a fast healthy option, people would go for it. Here in Roseville, California there’s a UFood Grill, which has locations in several states across the country.

If you have healthy fast food businesses in your hometown, share them with us- because it just seems like a huge niche waiting to be filled. I don’t know if it just hasn’t been handled by the right business minds, or if the costs of fresh and healthy foods don’t match the dynamics of fast drive-thru service. It seems there has to be a good reason why they haven’t started to flourish.