Once again, Mike has something to say about the news
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/09/26/trans.fat.ban.ap/index.html
The premise: New York is considering a ban on artificial trans fat use in restaraunts. This would affect things like french fries, KFC, or any place that uses cooking oils with trans fat. I quote the following from this article:
"Doctors agree that trans fats are unhealthy in nearly any amount"
"It (trans fat) is a dangerous and unnecessary ingredient"
"A similar ban on trans fats in restaurant food has been proposed in Chicago and is still under consideration"
"Artificial trans fats are very toxic, and they almost surely causes tens of thousands of premature deaths each year."
Now... here is my favorite part. Review these statements and read the article and let's replace "trans fats" with "cigarettes". Intriguing, no? It fascinates me that one of the first steps any government takes in actually forcing healthiness on the people is targeted not at tobacco, but trans fat. Don't get me wrong, I do agree that America in general has a severe weight problem. But I am certain I can say with confidence that tobacco has claimed magnitudes more victims than trans fats. But will we ever see something like this attempting to ban cigarette sales in convenient places? no. You know why? There's no huge government income from taxes on trans fat cooking oils. And the smoking bans in restaurants do not qualify as the same thing, because those were put in place to protect non-smokers from the inconvenience of second hand smoke. They weren't made with the intention of protecting the smokers' health. This is actually targeting protecting peoples' health from themselves.
Ok, well I think I've said my piece for the day. Back to work for me. Ciao.
The premise: New York is considering a ban on artificial trans fat use in restaraunts. This would affect things like french fries, KFC, or any place that uses cooking oils with trans fat. I quote the following from this article:
"Doctors agree that trans fats are unhealthy in nearly any amount"
"It (trans fat) is a dangerous and unnecessary ingredient"
"A similar ban on trans fats in restaurant food has been proposed in Chicago and is still under consideration"
"Artificial trans fats are very toxic, and they almost surely causes tens of thousands of premature deaths each year."
Now... here is my favorite part. Review these statements and read the article and let's replace "trans fats" with "cigarettes". Intriguing, no? It fascinates me that one of the first steps any government takes in actually forcing healthiness on the people is targeted not at tobacco, but trans fat. Don't get me wrong, I do agree that America in general has a severe weight problem. But I am certain I can say with confidence that tobacco has claimed magnitudes more victims than trans fats. But will we ever see something like this attempting to ban cigarette sales in convenient places? no. You know why? There's no huge government income from taxes on trans fat cooking oils. And the smoking bans in restaurants do not qualify as the same thing, because those were put in place to protect non-smokers from the inconvenience of second hand smoke. They weren't made with the intention of protecting the smokers' health. This is actually targeting protecting peoples' health from themselves.
Ok, well I think I've said my piece for the day. Back to work for me. Ciao.