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Consumer advocacy group urges judges to uphold smoking ban MND Staff MND Staff March 10, 2023
Consumer advocacy group urges judges to uphold smoking ban
Some businesses have been granted suspension orders against the stringent new law since it went into effect in January.
Consumer advocacy group urges judges to uphold smoking ban
The Mexican consumer advocacy non-profit Consumer Power (El Poder del Consumidor) has issued a statement expressing concern about the recent “wave” of lawsuits from businesses fighting the anti-smoking regulation that went into effect in January, which banned smoking in public and open places. The BBC described it as “one of the most stringent anti-smoking laws in the world.”
“From civil society, we call upon the judiciary to not give way before the … interests of businesses and corporations,” said the organization’s legal coordinator, Javier Zúñiga in a press conference.
Zúñiga emphasized that tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death globally, and said that each year, 63,200 people die in Mexico from smoking-related illnesses.
According to the new regulation, smoking is no longer allowed in outdoor spaces, though if considered a 100% smoke-free space, there should be visible signs placed in the area and in all access to public spaces.
People found smoking in forbidden areas may be subject to fines or even arrest for 36 hours. The economic sanctions for smoking or lighting up any nicotine product in smoke-free spaces can be as high as $10,374 pesos (US $551.89).
Restaurants, bars and hotels are allowed to designate certain areas for the exclusive use of smokers, however, no drinks or food can be served in those areas. In addition, these areas must be at least 10 meters away from where nonsmokers are congregated. Commercial establishments in violation can be subject to partial or complete closure — temporarily or permanently, depending on the seriousness of the offense.
The law also prohibits display of cigarette advertising in stores, though on Feb. 21, FEMSA, which owns the ubiquitous Oxxo convenience store chain, won a definitive suspension order against the law, allowing stores to once again display cigarettes for sale.
“The [new regulation] exceeded what the law says. Regulations cannot exceed what the law says. Surely there will be amparos (a lawsuit to seek protection from government rights violations) and they will for sure win,” Vicente Yáñez, president of the National Association of Supermarket and Department Stores, told Aristegui Noticias after the ban came into effect.
“From our point of view, this regulation goes against free trade: it restricts a restaurant from providing its services with a measure that contravenes the development of the economy,” said Víctor Arellano, who represents El Gran León de Oro cantina in Mexico City, in El País newspaper.
The cantina was the first to file an amparo after the new rules were published, and was granted a definitive suspension order by a judge on Feb. 8, allowing the restaurant to operate as it did before the smoking ban (with a designated smoking section).
Many other restaurants, bars and other businesses across the country have also taken legal action. According to the National Alliance of Small Businesses (ANPEC), which represents more than 225,000 micro-businesses in Mexico, over 700 suits have been filed against the new law in 25 states.
An ANPEC press release published on Feb. 21 characterized the regulation as “prohibitionist” and said it “threatens the 2 million self-employed in small businesses.”
Some businesses have already failed in their lawsuits, including the national VIPS restaurant chain, whose provisional suspension order was denied by a judge last month.
Habano 2000 smoke shop in Mexico City filed an amparo asking to continue advertisement of products made with tobacco, but according to a report in Sin Embargo, the judge denied the suspension as it would “contravene provisions of public order and social interest due to the damage that consumption of products made with tobacco can cause to the public.”
With reports from El País, El Universal, La Jornada, EFE
2023, MARCH 2023 CHEFS CONQUER – COOKS NOURISH FEBRUARY 26, 2023 THE EYE
https://www.blogger.com/u/1/blog/post/edit/7257015010100602242/7487627283967445817
CHEFS CONQUER – COOKS NOURISH
By Kary Vannice
March is traditionally “The Women’s Issue” here at The Eye. And this year, the staff decided to focus the majority of our articles on Mexican women in the culinary industry. However, one unarguable fact comes up in every “Top Mexican Chef” Google search – the majority of chefs listed are men. How can this be in a country where women so clearly dominate the household kitchen? Why don’t more women rise up to the ranks of Top Chef in Mexico or even on the global stage?
María Canabal, a food journalist and founder of Parabere Forum, dedicated to promoting the work of women in restaurant kitchens around the world, put the numbers in perspective. Canabel points out that “93% of the people who cook at home are women. 48% of the graduates of culinary schools are women. 39% of the cooks in restaurants are women, but only 18% of the women in the industry are head chefs.”
In 2018, Kantar Worldpanel Mexico, a consumer behavior research center, reported that men do the majority of the cooking in only 8% of Mexican households, and yet 15 of the “Top 20 Chefs of Mexico” are men. Consistently, ranking after ranking, 80% of the most recognized and acclaimed Mexican chefs are male.
As María Canabal puts it, “Talent has no gender. Either you have it, or you don’t.” So why the gender gap in handing out accolades? Surely, with nearly 50% of culinary school graduates being female, there has to be more than 20% of female chefs with talent equal to that of male chefs. If culinary distinction is based on talent alone, the numbers just don’t add up.
Are there differences between the dishes prepared by a man and those by a woman? Is it even about the food? Perhaps it’s more about the industry of culinary arts and its history?
Research shows it’s actually a bit of all of the above.
Decades ago, many culinary schools admitted disproportionately fewer women than men, some admitting only 10% female students. Many of today’s Top Chefs are older males, so it could be said that this is a contributing factor. However, not all of the top recognized chefs are classically trained. Another major factor in becoming an acclaimed chef is one must have a place to showcase their talent, in other words, a restaurant. However, when female chefs approach investors for a startup restaurant, they are often turned away, whereas male chefs often get the backing they seek based on the belief that men are better in business than women.
Not only does one need a well-backed restaurant, chefs who want to be recognized also need to be active in mainstream and online social media. Rising culinary stars must become comfortable in the limelight, spending time in front of a camera and giving interviews for print and television, all of which take time. Female chefs with families often have less time to dedicate to PR than single male chefs do. And the industry takes note of chefs the media is “buzzing” about. When asked about the role media plays in “making it” in the industry, one chef put it this way, “It’s hard to know which comes first – great food that attracts media attention, or great PR that attracts media attention pushing you to be a better chef.”
In today’s world, to be considered for high-profile awards or high-profile media coverage in the culinary world, you have to be a chef capable of presenting a certain kind of narrative. So, it could be said that both history and the industry have stacked the decks against female chefs, but what about the question of whether there are differences between the dishes that a man prepares and those of a woman?
From a purely culinary perspective, the answer is “no.” However, look deeper into the motivation, inspiration, and intent behind the dishes prepared and the answer may be “yes.” Men, it could be said, picked up the ladle for a very different reason than did women. They aspired not to nourish, but to create and conquer.
French chef Hèlène Darroze said of the difference between men and women chefs, “They want to teach their techniques, show something new, be the first. We cook to generate an experience, to care, and this is a very different approach.”
Traditionally, in the world of haute cuisine, more daring and avant garde cooking is more rewarded and awarded than traditional methods of cooking. “Women don’t usually do extreme cooking because they don’t seek to assert themselves through the act of cooking. For them food is nutrition long before stupor, supremacy, jealousy or envy,” Italian chef Licia Granello says of female chefs.
Could this be the ultimate differentiating factor? Men simply approach the job differently, with a different aim in mind and, thus, seek recognition more than women because they are driven by a different ambition?
French chef Olivier Roellinger certainly agrees. He is famously quoted as saying, “All kitchens in the world are feminine, they were created by grandmothers and mothers. But Spanish cuisine only began to be talked about when men began to cook.” Regardless of the reason, the fact remains that women are disproportionately under represented in the upper echelons of culinary culture. Whether it’s industry, history, or ego, women have a long way to go before they gain equality in the world’s top kitchens.
The online news outlet Chefs 4 Estaciones published a beautifully written article on this topic in Spanish noting that forty years ago, our books were the cookbooks of our grandmothers, mothers, great-aunts, and aunts. Without women in gastronomy, there would be no roots, no inheritance, no tradition in the kitchen. Definitely, much of what culinary cooks know today is thanks to women. They deserve our thanks and our tribute. And an equal place in the world of the professional restaurant.
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