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September 26, 2006
The Nanny State Grows
NEW YORK (AP) -- Three years after the city banned smoking in restaurants, health officials are talking about prohibiting something they say is almost as bad: artificial trans fatty acids.I know Mayor Bloomberg is a Republican, but let's face it - the guy is also a major control freak. Yes, trans fats are bad for you but they give a lot of foods their taste and texture. You know why that pie crust or that croissant is so flaky? You know why those fries have so much flavor?The city health department unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would bar cooks at any of the city's 24,600 food service establishments from using ingredients that contain the artery-clogging substance, commonly listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil.
Yeah, trans fats. There's no argument that these things are bad for you, but most of us don't eat them on a regular enough basis to really hurt us. And even if we did, why should the government be sticking their nose into what I choose to eat? I know there are public policy questions here regarding the cost of health care and the contribution of fatty foods to the increasing costs of that care, but there are ways to provide incentives for good behavior without arbitrarily banning a food group.
First smoking, then fois gras, now trans fats. The banning of these things may seem harmless, but it's a disgusting intrusion into our lives and a limitation on our freedom. Let's fight this.
UPDATE - Okay, yes. Trans fats are not the ideal. Lard and butter are much better. But we were stuck with trans fats when the frickin' health nannies told us years ago that lard and butter were bad. Until these idiots...er..."experts" make up their mind on what's bad for us and what's good, we might want to put a hold on making broad public policy based on their advice.
Posted by slublog at September 26, 2006 09:22 PM
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Comments
Not that it's reliable, but the cnn homepage interactive poll asks "Should Gov't regulate whether restaurants cook with artificial trans fatty acids?" The results are unbelieveably 60% no and 40% yes (4 out of 10 people agree). I can't even fathom the idea, despite living in Maine all my life, that government should legislate behavior. Send all the meddling, busybodies to France and let the government be scared of the people again.
Posted by: Anonymous at September 27, 2006 08:43 AM