LA’s Taco Truck War: How Law Cooks Food Culture Contests
36 Pages Posted: 22 Oct 2010 Last revised: 2 May 2012
Date Written: October 19, 2010
Abstract
This paper examines the Los Angeles “Taco Truck War” (2008-9), when the city of Los Angeles and LA county used parking regulations to restrict “loncheros,” i.e. “taco trucks.” It describes the legal doctrine used by courts to invalidate these local restrictions. The California Vehicle code makes local food truck regulations illegal. Decades of court decisions affirm this. The paper sheds light, legal and cultural, on food truck debates, which will surely expand nationwide. It examines: the cultural and business arguments for food truck regulations; food’s role in migrant, community, and national identities; Mexican food’s influence in California culture; and recent trends in food trucks such as Koggi BBQ.
Keywords: food trucks, local government, food and law, taco trucks
JEL Classification: A13, H10, J15, K20, L66, Z10, R52
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation