Last week, New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) implemented new rules to save the planet. The new regulations require restaurants using coal or wood fired ovens to reduce emissions by 75%. This week, the DEP determined that the rules do not go far enough. According to a CNN news article, fewer than 100 restaurants would be affected. Upon realizing the insignificance of the new rules, the DEP is adding pizzeria meat restrictions as an additional measure. According to officials, plant based (and lab grown) meat products not only reduce greenhouse gasses, they are healthier food alternatives.
Aside from one patriotic resident, the oven rules went largely unnoticed. As did the new pizzeria meat restrictions. While some restaurants plan to comply with all of the new regulations, the cost for implementing them will be passed on to consumers. Restaurants that can’t afford to comply will simply fold. Profit margins in the NYC restaurant industry are already too slim and customers haven’t got high enough credit card limits to buy pizza at even more inflated rates. The plebeians of New York know that resistance is futile. Besides, they refuse to recognize that as their options erode away, elites continue to enjoy pleasures that were once affordable to everyone.