New York City passes trans fat ban

[Ninot]

Maybe I'm trolling then
The government should protect people from harmful substances though.

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Verto
How 'bout a compromise then - the government places a tax on all transfat goods, like they do with cigarettes.

That's fine with me, if the tax is used to directly fight the effects of the substance in question (like, spending on the healthcare system or subsidising hospitals or something), and isn't simply seen as an additional source of revenue.

Originally posted by Verto
By your argument, lead in paint should still be allowed in whatever % a company sees fit, because cigs are still legal.

No. Lead paint can be "consumed" by people who had nothing to do with the decision to purchase it (e.g. having it used on public buildings, having it wash into rivers, etc.). The negative effects of transfats are entirely restricted to those making the decision to consume them.

[Verto]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
I'm trolling? I'm Trolling?!?

Not once have you heard me say it was healthy.
What I've said is that it's not the government's responsibility, and it's not.

The government bans stuff from food all the time. How is this any different? How is this NOT the government's responsibility? Trans fat is an ingredient that is predominately artificially made by companies to extend the lifespan of a shelf product, at the expense of the consumer's health. How is this any different from the government regulating any other product?

[SlowwHand]

You're still here?

[Verto]

Yes, I haven't keeled over yet, thanks to my minimal intake of trans fat. I fear Shiva didn't fare so well after his latest venture to McDonalds

[SlowwHand]

Po Shiva. He be's all culed up in da conuh.

[LordShiva]

Mmmm... McDonald's...

My government isn't banning transfats anytime soon

[SlowwHand]

I'm coming to India. Move over.

[Ninot]

I thought India's McDonalds had no real beef.

What is a Big Mac without it's 10% real meat?

[Jon Miller]

Obesity is a national health problem, which costs society and the government billions.

It would be irreponsible for the government not to legislate/ban it (which the FDA, other then the requirement that food at grocery stores notifiy people that it contains trans fats, doesn't do). That is actually a lot of the issue, you don't even know what places you eat out at have the trans fats, and which do not.

JM

[LordShiva]

The only problem is that McDonald's here doesn't serve beef

We'll have to make do with mid-range restaurants and higher

[Verto]

India
McDonald's Chicken Nuggets

[Lord Avalon]

Healthier deep-fried pizza

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by Verto
McDonald's Chicken Nuggets

Why one would go to McDonald's and eat anything other than a double quarter-pounder with cheese, is beyond me

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

quoted by Verto

Well for one, trans fat found naturally in animals, from a study in your own Wiki article, do not appear to exhibit the same negative effects - even if this is due to the trivial amount one would intake from these natural sources.

Companies artificially create trans fat as a means of cutting costs, despite the increased health risks.

People arguing how the government has no place regulating this..I guess I just don't understand where they are coming from. This is no different, IMO, than the government regulating paints containing lead, or regulating child labor. Companies are knowingly adding an ingredient to their products that is criticised by almost all health groups, because it is cheaper than using other, more healthy, alternatives.

But the fact that they are man made is rather immaterial to the nature of them either being beneficial or harmful. Many purely man made compounds are serving the health industry in ways natural compounds could never do.

All the man made monniker does is look to lay blame at the feet of industry for devloping a process to create fats that were at the time of their development revolutionary in that they were extremely resistant to oxidative processes that cause rancidity.