My Body, My Choice
07 30 2008With the new LA ban on fast food restaurants with heat lamps or drive-up windows(http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/29/fast.food.ban.ap/index.html) and the California-wide ban on trans fats (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/15/MN0111OTUA.DTL) , the goverment around here has decided that it needs to force us to eat healthy. Within a few years, I expect the goverment will require cholesterol tests before being allowed to order steak.
What ever happened to, “My body, my choice”?
While I think that the ban on new fast food places is ridiculous, I am pleased about the trans-fat ban. It all boils down to consumers being able to make their own decisions.
I don’t think there is anyone left in America who is unaware that fast food is unhealthy. In fact, I think that most folks would be able to look at something fried or greasy and be able to conclude that it would be high in fat and calories.
However, it is impossible to determine if something contains trans-fats just by looking at it. Now that they have invented trans-fat free shortening, it is not always possible to tell by the list of ingredients. There are alternatives with similar properties that are almost as cheap – why not force all producers to use them? Most of the large manufacturers who must list the ‘nutrition facts’ on the label already have replaced trans-fats with alternatives. By enforcing a ban, the producers who only need to provide an ingredients list (or nothing at all) would need to follow suit.