Trans Fats -- Is NYC violating people's civil rights?

[harveyc]

What about people who might go to McDonald's, etc., 3, 4, 5 times a year for some "good" fries?

Are we going to screw people because some can't control their eating habits?

This isn't a "poor" people problem, McDonald's, etc., is relatively expensive food.

Where is the line to be drawn?

[Drum]

1. The line will be next door at the other place

in the case of McD's...but I think the law covers all of the restaurants in NYC.

[harveyc]

4. Yes, the etc. ... n/t

[Ninja Jordan]

2. 1) McDonald's fries are still good 2) the government is exercising a valid police power (health reg)

[harveyc]

6. I think they stink, and eating them a couple of times a year ...

is a health problem? Interesting that no one bans the use of tobacco, alcohol, etc.?

[Ninja Jordan]

7. Alcohol has been banned in the past for sure. Heart disease is the number 1 killer in the US

I'm not sure why any of this matters.

[aquart]

10. This is NYC, sweetie. Don't try lighting up.

At the very least, I'll insult you down to the inadequacies of your mother in removing the pacifier too soon.

[Hippo_Tron]

3. Trans fats I don't have a problem with, the slippery slope I do

Trans fats can be easily replaced with other fats without sacrificing taste. But where does it lead?

Some people want to ban aspartame despite the fact that there's no good studies saying that moderate amounts are actually dangerous. Sorry but I love Diet Coke and Diet Coke with Splenda is not Diet Coke.

[Raster]

27. The only reason the slope is slippery is because of all the trans fats.

Just over ten years ago I had a very forward-thinking cardiologist in Beverly Hills. He told me then that if I only made one change in my eating habits, I should cut out the trans fats. He explained that partially hydrogenates were a "fake" fat and not usable by the body as a normal fat would be. He said very simply "eat trans fats, and wear it in your arteries." I became an ardent package reader. I researched trans fats from every angle. I went on a one-man crusade to tell friends and family about trans fats.

The reason I was seeing this cardiologist was because I had a suspicious stress test and required a nuclear stress test complete with radioactive dye and many pictures of my heart. At that time I was told I had approximately 20% blockages in several of the blood vessels feeding my heart. Seven years later I had the same test done after living seven years without trans fats. The latest nuclear stress test could find no significant blockages. It found a small amount of damage from previous blockages, but no significant blockages this time.

Trans fats are used because they are an inexpensive alternative to more expensive fats, and trans fatted items tend to stay fresher on grocery shelves longer. Trans fats don't get rancid as a natural fat does. Some researchers have drawn a parallel to the introduction of trans fats in the American diet and the rise in heart disease several years later.

[blondeatlast]

37. Cyclamates--remember them? As a lifelong insulin dependent diabetic, I do.

I would gladly take the miniscule risk they presented when weighed against my enjoyment of food.

[azurnoir]

5. It is kind of silly

The info is out there so it is up to people to follow that, on the same token it is like you go to Mac and Don's for lunch do you really need a 1/4lb w/cheez? A regular small burger would do it is about self control there are already quite enough government regs to protect us from ourselves

[TomInTib]

8. Our town has a trans fats ban...

And I will guarantee you that you can get the best 'fries you have ever had at The Lodge or at Sam's.

[roguevalley]

9. trans fats are totally toxic, they are killers. they are the oxycotin of

fats. i don't mind them being banned.

[harveyc]

12. but are they as toxic as cigarettes, etc.? ... n/t

[Luminous Animal]

14. But nobody is banning the use of trans fat.

You can go to the store and buy all the trans fat you want. You can buy food products that contain trans fat. If it's trans fat that you crave, it is easy to find. Why it's right on the label!

[Hippo_Tron]

16. No, but you can choose not to smoke

You can't walk into a McDonalds and ask them to make you a batch of fries without trans fats. It's extremely hard for consumers to demand that restaurants not use trans fats.

[harveyc]

17. So if they use trans fats ... don't buy them ... n/t

[Hippo_Tron]

18. It's not that simple

Trans fats are used in almost all restaurants if they can get away with it. There's no real alternatives.

[harveyc]

19. Not true, there are plenty of ...

restaurants offering all sorts of "healthy" foods today.

[Hippo_Tron]

21. True, but what if I want a greasy burger but without the trans fats

It would be very difficult to find one if restaurants are allowed to use trans fats.

[DerBeppo]

32. avoid restaraunts

cook yourself or find healthy ones. This is a law for lazy people. It's the legislative equivalent to those AbShocker belts. I'm surprised the bills aren't labeled the "Sit On Your Ass and We'll Think For You Act of 2007."

[1932]

26. and there are reasonalbe, non-deadly alternatives to trans fats.

There's not really an alternative to smoking, so the choice is to smoke or not smoke.

With trans fats, you can use a much healthier substitute. So the government isn't even using the restrictive "don't smoke" approach it applies to cigarettes. It's just telling manufacturers to use a less deadly alternative.

[roguevalley]

22. its the fat equivalent of cigarettes.

[TheMadMonk]

11. Animal renderings?

Chips not done in dripping just aren't chips.

[harveyc]

20. That is so true! ... n/t

[Kokonoe]

13. I love tans fats, The problem is by adding hydrogen

to the chemical makeup, it turns into terrific tasting artery clogging plastic grease. That lasts forever.(thats a good thing for profits at the store)

[Unvanguard]

15. In a word, no.

Not unless we make more of "voluntary" action than we should.

[fujiyama]

23. The only thing that annoyed me

was the difficulty some restaurants faced in finding alternative cooking oils - I heard in some cases, especially for donuts and other foods, the texture just wasn't the same. There was an NYT article on it a while back.

I would prefer restaurants making it clear what they use (labels, fat content, etc) and maybe even allowing alternative fats when requested, but outright bans are stupid IMO.

[PBass]

24. I don't mind the ban... trans fats are garbage, unfit for consumption.

IMO one of the roles of the government is to protect people from harm. Trans fats are one of the worst things you can eat. Eating butter and lard is not all that healthy, but those fats are actually more healthy than trans fats.

New Yorkers are able to make french fries at home using trans fats, if they insist on using trans fats.

The bottom line is that most consumers in NYC will not notice or care, so why not take the healthier route?

[The Gunslinger]

41. Fire is harmful, All matches and personal acess to fire shall be banned.

The government does not need to babysit me. Education about the crappy foods is the way to go.

[1932]

25. If trans fats are really dangerous to your health, the government should regulate

their consumption.

You can't let private corporations use cheap and deadly methods to sell their products regardless of the cost to society.

If you did, there'd be a free-for-all that would cost society much more in the long term than the companies gained in lower costs and bigger profits in the short term. McDonalds would get their profits now on fry sales, but we'd all pay long term with poor health and early deaths.

I think it's good that the government looks at the long-term effect on the market of destroying people's hearts and arteries and steps in to impose a cost-benefit analaysis that takes account of it. I think it's much better for capitalism and the market place over the long run when that happens.

[meldroc]

35. Trans-fats are very nasty.

The human body doesn't really have much in the way of metabolic mechanisms to break them down, so if you eat them, they'll collect in your body and clog your arteries.

They don't even taste that good. McDonalds is perfectly capable of frying their french fries in other oils, but they use trans-fats because they're cheap and they keep longer (biologists claim that's because even microbes won't eat that shit.)

So all that noise you hear in the news from McDonalds about how their labs are conducting all sorts of research on how to replace trans-fats with oils that taste the same. That's all bullshit. It's not that hard to replace trans-fats with other stuff, and McDonalds has shown little regards for the flavor of their foods when they decide to change ingredients to save money. They like trans-fats because they're cheap, and they're willing to save a buck at the expense of people's health.

[babydollhead]

28. there is no safe minimal amount of trans fat

even rat feces have a safe minimum. I tell my kids, "all the doughnuts you ate in your life are screaming and crying for company, that's why you crave them."

[babydollhead]

29. there is no safe minimal amount of trans fat

even rat feces have a safe minimum. I tell my kids, "all the doughnuts you ate in your life are screaming and crying for company, that's why you crave them."

[noonwitch]

30. I don't like the idea of the government making the decision

If McDonald's believes that their customers don't want the food fried in trans-fat, they will change.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Marnieworld]

33. Wow I'm convinced

Convinced that on any topic you have no idea what you are talking about.

Ignore!

[Zodiak]

34. Trans fats are the equivalent to....

saturated fats.

Saturated fats are perfectly straight (well, more like a straight zig-zag)

Cis-fats (the good ones) are found in great abundance in lot of foods (because they are manufactured by desaturases in your cells), and they cause a "kink" in the fatty acid. They are unsaturated.

/=\ <---- Cis-double-bond

/=/ <----- trans double-bond

Trans fats are unsaturated, but they are straight just like a saturated fatty acid. For this reason, the two are roughly equivalents. Trans fatty acids, since they are not natural in large amounts, are hard for the body to metabolize (not many enzymes recognize it). If you read the back of a package and it says "33% unsaturated fats!", look for an indication of trans-fatty acids. If you see it, you are eating the equivalent of pure saturated fatty acids, 33% of which your body will only utilize/remove very slowly.

Bad stuff.

Use olive oil....high oleic acid!! (a good cis-unsaturated fatty acid). Expensive, but sooo worth it!

[Bjorn Against]

36. I would like you to show me where in the Constitution it gives corporations the right to sell...

trans-fat. Maybe while you are at it you can show me where it gives corporations the right to put plutonium in their food. Or you can acknowledge that their is no Constitutional right for corporations to put people's health at risk, so nobody is having their civil rights violated.

Remember somebody has to pay the medical costs of people who eat trans-fat.

[blondeatlast]

38. Apparently Harvey was a 6 foot white rabbit. He can no longer be seen... nt

[pschoeb]

39. French Fries made with duck fat are the best, no trans fat

Give up the crappy McDonald Fries

[The Gunslinger]

40. Ok Lets just ban everything thats bad for you

Every ban is another step toward fascism. I thought we fought for "Freedom" What are we going to have the freedom to choose 1 of 3 different per selected dinners for our evening consumption. Please. The crap is awful for your health, and I'm glad Im paying more atteintion to what Im putting in my body (I quit tobacco too), but I dont need the government telling me what to eat now.

[Hosnon]

42. First you've got to pinpoint which civil right is being violated. nt.

[proud patriot]

43. Locking this thread

the op is no longer with us