Activists demand gluten free zones!

The Betoota Advocate reports:

Inner-city residents of Sydney have today put forward a proposal to local council that enforce an official gluten-free zone in the main street of Surry Hills.

After months of petitions and meetings with barristers, local blogger Lynne Seede has officially met with Lord Mayor Clover Moore to discuss the plan, which has been gathering momentum for months.

“We aren’t asking for this. We are demanding it,” she said

“There are thousands of Surry Hills residents that recognise gluten can be harmful, and quite frankly, we don’t want it here,”

“Working with a local mothers group, I came to the idea after the Mosman city council banned cigarette smoking in the streets. Shortly after Barry O’Farrell imposed the lock-out on pubs in Kings Cross,”

“We thought ‘what is the biggest concern for our children and neighbours?’ – It became pretty clear that it was the excessive amount of gluten being served at our local restaurants and diners,”

This is nuts. Comparing gluten to tobacco. How long until academics here demand a gluten tax?

Some people are gluten intolerant and/or have coeliac disease. Gluten is very harmful to them. That is why food labels carry details of gluten on them, and almost every restaurant now marks out gluten-free dishes. A family member is gluten intolerant, so I’m very aware on how harmful gluten can be to them.

But there is a world of difference between saying gluten is harmful to those who can’t tolerate it, and gluten is harmful to everyone – it isn’t. The idea of a gluten-free zone is activism at its worse.

Hat Tip: Tim Blair

UPDATE: Silly me. I missed the satire tag on Tim Blair’s page. My only excuse is the satire was believable!