Showing both their lean and mean sides, the New York City Health Department unanimously barred the city's nearly 25,000 restaurants last December from preparing any meals that contain artificial trans fats among their ingredients, becoming the first city in the country to do so. Fast-fooders like McDonald's and Wendy's are included in the ban, so don't expect a pimply faced teenager to generously suggest "Can I supersize your trans fats for you?" any more.
For those of you who don't get out much, trans fat is not an airline for obese people. It's an insidious artery-clogging fat found in partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils that makes the food last longer, taste better, and kill faster. They not only increase “bad cholesterol,” but also decrease “good cholesterol.” Good cholesterol has been shown to decrease bad cholesterol, while bad cholesterol has been known to loiter in train stations and hold up liquor stores.
Trans fats lurk in cookies, crackers, pizza dough, fried foods, donuts…hell, let's just say if it tastes great and you feel guilty eating it, it's likely got trans fat written all over it. Rule of thumb: If you instinctively know that the phrase "cheeseburger deluxe" means it comes with fries and condiments in any city diner, then you're going to be affected. According to the American Heart Association, trans fat contributes to heart disease, which is New York City's leading cause of death among people who have hearts. So that guy who stole your taxi might in fact be immune
The FDA forced packaged food makers to "out" the trans fat content of their goods on labels early in 2006. In response, some companies, including Kraft and Frito-Lay, cut the fats from many of their goods altogether. It's unclear if they were being altruistic, media savvy, or are just putting all that trans fat into one humongous Mallomar.
Food companies weren't even the first public institutions to face this kind of forced disclosure. Cigarette manufacturers employ a generous "we'd rather warn you than save you" approach that works so well for them. Hollywood's movie rating system lets us know how much gratuitous sex and violence to expect so we can be sure to get our money's worth. I'd like to see stores like IKEA follow suit by either making their furniture easier to construct or applying a disclaimer that says, "building this armoire with your spouse may destroy your marriage."
But what does this mean for the defenseless trans fats -- now the outcast, the leper, the K-Fed of the fat community? The health department is giving them some time to pack their slimy bags. The first stage of the ban won't go into effect until this summer at the earliest, and a full elimination of trans fats in restaurants won't be enforced until July 2008.
Trans fat fans should take heart, damaged as it may be. Food persecution doesn't always last forever. Remember how eggs, pork, milk, and Mariah Carey made comebacks after being maligned? What celebrity wouldn't jump at the chance to be in the pages of People magazine sporting a dashing trans fat moustache?
In my home, we like our own children to make informed food choices. For example, I often inform my kids that if they don't eat the foods they've asked for, I'll send them to a hungry third world country. I don't clarify whether I'm talking about sending the food or the kids; I just let them draw their own conclusions. We spend a fair amount of time checking grocery store labels for calories, fat content, and cholesterol. It'd be nice to have nutritional information labeled on restaurant menus as well, though kids' menus would suffer under the burden of explaining why "Charlie Cheeseburger" apparently wants to stop your heart from beating.
My sympathy for trans fats aside, I think outing them, and even banning them, is a good idea. It empowers us to make good food decisions, increases the inventory of healthy options, and makes me feel just a little smarter. Now I understand why "bad" peanut butter is bad, and why "good" peanut butter requires a professional wrestler with a crowbar to stir. I guess it's a good thing the FDA and the New York City Health department are looking out for us.
Now pass me some of that yummy extra-high fructose corn syrup, will ya?
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