No, Of Course NYC Hasn't Banned Hot Dogs

Is reading comprehension taught in schools any more? Is the internet sometimes a giant game of telephone, in which news starts out as one thing and morphs into a story that only sort-of rhymes with the truth? Maybe not, and yes. Case in point: I read headlines earlier this week announcing that New York City had "banned" hot dogs. Any city, let alone New York, outright banning a popular food had to be bologna. And of course, it was.

What those hot-dog ban headlines got wrong was that NYC hadn't declared hot dogs illegal; it's just moving to exclude them from the menus at city-run institutions like hospitals, schools, and prisons. Thank you, fine people of Snopes, for setting the record straight. Here's the truth: New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio announced earlier this week that as part of its Green New Deal plan, the city would take several steps to curb greenhouse emissions, including cutting processed meat from food services in government institutions. It will also reduce its beef orders by 50 percent by 2040, WNYC reports. Previously, the mayor had announced a "Meatless Mondays" initiative for NYC public schools.

Grocery stores, street-cart vendors, stadiums, and restaurants will all still be allowed to sell tube steaks to the hungry masses. Rest assured, New Yorkers, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will not personally slap the hot dog right out of your hands.