What will they Ban Next?

Townhall ^ | 12/20/06 | John Stossel

[lndrvr1972]

Grandpa is that you? lol

[dr huer]

Hydrogenation of vegetable oils, which reduces the degree of unsaturation, started a hundred years ago. The process makes cis fats, and trans fats. Seventy years ago I read about hydrogenation as being a valuable advance in food processing in "Creative Chemistry", by E. E. Slossen. We used them abundantly during WW 2 to substitute for unavailable butter. I am yet to see the "abundance" of scientific evidence that they are bad for you. If they really really very bad it would have been obvious 50 years ago.

[MadLibDisease]

"The food industry has turned us into a bunch of fat asses. Ooorah to NYC."

Yes, it's the fault of the food industry that many Americans are fat. Unless you posted sarcastically it's one of the most stupid, non-conservative posts I have seen. I expect such idiocy from liberals. Disgusting that some conservatives want to blame an industry instead of having people take responsibility for their own choices. See tagline.

[Liberty Valance]

"Grandpa is that you?"



Dad blame whippersnapper! I've had just about enough out of
the likes of you. You just wait right there while I look for my teeth.

[Valin]

A New York Times headline about the ban reads: "A Model for Other Cities."

Florida City May Be Next To Ban Trans Fat
12/21/06
http://cbs4boston.com/health/health_story_355125321.html
(CBS) BOCA RATON, Fla. New York City has done it. Disney World and Universal Studios are doing it and now Boca Raton is considering doing it too. City leaders are considering a ban on trans fat at local restaurants.
(snip)

Trans Fat Spiral Widens
12/20/06
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/news_detail.cfm/headline/3203
The bandwagon's getting more crowded every day. We told you last week that the New York City trans fat ban has been spreading like a grease wildfire, and the flames keep rising. The Palm Springs Desert Sun reports that California Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia has introduced a bill that would forbid the state's more than 80,000 restaurants from cooking with trans fat. While ultimately advocating the rather dubious alternative of a fat tax, The Sacramento Bee editorialized in favor of caution on banning trans fats outright:
(snip)

Bill would ban trans fat in Mass.

By Associated Press
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/12202006/massnews-ph-ma-transfat.html

BOSTON -- A state lawmaker wants to follow the lead of New York City and make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to require restaurants to banish artificial trans fats from their menus.

State Rep. Peter Koutoujian, D-Waltham, filed legislation Tuesday to ban all restaurants' use of the fats that health officials blame for increasing the risk of heart disease.

Koutoujian, house chairman of the Legislature's Joint Committee on Public Health, thinks it has a good chance of passing.

Trans fat is produced when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil through hydrogenation.

Will Cleveland ban trans fat?


Monica Robins
Created: 12/13/2006 6:23:27 PM
Updated:12/14/2006 1:29:02 AM

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=60600

CLEVELAND -- Cleveland City Council has passed a resolution to investigate trans fat.
Cleveland City Councilman Kevin Conwell says he researched trans fat and realized, "they're killing us."

In two months, Conwell says Council will have a hearing to discuss the issue and possibly institute a ban similar to the one recently passed by the New York City Board of Health.
(snip)

Proposal to Ban Trans Fat in Philly Restaurants

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=4849895
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - December 14, 2006 - A city councilman introduced legislation Thursday that would prohibit restaurants from using artery-clogging artificial trans fat.

The legislation proposed by Councilman Juan F. Ramos is similar to a ban enacted by the New York City Board of Health earlier this month.

Ramos' bill would amend the city health code to allow only trace amounts of trans fat in foods served in restaurants and vending carts. The proposal does not outline penalties, but they would be settled before it is implemented, said Ramos' aide Joshua M. Cohen.

Artificial trans fat, which is found in vegetable shortening, margarine and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, contributes to heart disease, according to health groups. Studies have shown it raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol.
(snip

and so it goes on and on and on.......

[Valin]

But they are bad for you. and what's more the cause global warming!

[Rockingham]

Science advances and often revises earlier judgments, and not all ills have obvious causes. The case against trans fats is now persuasive if not conclusive. As for trans fats being safe because they have been used for a long time, consider the results of the US Army autopsy studies on KIA's.

For healthy young men who died in combat, in WW I, the arteries were clean -- in an era of diets rich in butter, egg, red meat saturated fats. In WW II, the arteries were beginning to show deposits. By Viet Nam, the arteries of young KIAs were, by comparison, starting to be significantly thickened and riddled with deposits. Was this the results of cigarettes or trans fats? Or something else? Since cigarette usage was similar between WW II and Viet Nam, trans fats are the more likely cause -- all those oreos, snack cakes, margarine, and so on.

There is an abundance of medical evidence to the same effect. Take a look at Pub Med and Medline for specifics.

[Rockingham]

Margarine and other trans fats were introduced on a mass basis in the 1920's. The dairy lobby was opposed, but early food and safety measures pushed by manufacturers overrode their objections. By the late 1970's, lunkhead leftists were targeting saturated fats as the great evil cause of heart disease, with margarine and trans fats the supposedly safe alternative. By the late 1990's, they reversed course and began campaigning against trans fats. The only people who look good in this are the dairymen who, in the 1920's said that margarine should not be consumed but might be used as axle grease in a pinch.

[Husker24]

I wouldnt worry about your alcohol, too many congressmen drink.

[mugs99]

Margarine is also good for waterproofing your boots but I sure wouldn't eat the stuff!

[dcwusmc]

Too many of them also use other drugs... but somehow they seem exempt from the laws that govern the rest of us. So just because they drink doesn't mean they wouldn't ban booze for the little people. And then exempt themselves and their families from prosecution for what would get you or I thrown UNDER the jailhouse.

[TASMANIANRED]

Just start frying them in bacon fat and call it 100% natural.

[beltfed308]

Since citizens are clearly the main source of government income, anything that impedes the efficient use of the human resource is a bad thing.

We are nothing more than walking soylent green.