Brookline bans trans fats

6-02-2007 @4:53AM David said... When citizens' health is threatened I do believe it is proper for government to step in and disallow it. After all, the government should be "for the people", should it not?
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6-02-2007 @1:04PM Russ Hall said... I thought America was founded on freedom. No?
If I want to eat garbage, I should be allowed to. A competent adult should be allowed to eat what they'd like. If I'm allowed to prepare food how I want in my home, why am I not allowed those same freedoms when I opt to eat something out of my home?
Maybe we should also limit the number of items people can purchase at fast food restaurants at a time, too.
And, weren't readers recently reminiscing about their wonderful White Castle experiences?
I'm all about keeping costs down and making food taste better. I can make the decision to not eat it. Maybe we should offer incentives to businesses to discontinue the use of trans fats. If they see benefits outweighing costs, they'll do it without government interference.
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6-02-2007 @1:30PM affidavid said... sheesh, this isn't about freedom people. next i suppose you'll argue that if china wants to include toxins in our toothpaste, well, that's what a free market is all about.

look, for decades the government and politicians have been kowtowing to corporate agribiz greed to the detriment of citizen's health. for now the banning of trans fats in restaurants (where they currently don't have to tell you what is really in ANY of your food) and from schools (where we have an obesity issue in this country) is nowhere near as big brother as the current administration pissing on the constitution with reguard to out civil liberties.

i'm all for it. and i live in brookline.
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6-03-2007 @6:56AM Kostika said... This isn't about freedom, not in the way you mean. But this is invasive. The fight against trans fats is the current food fad. Yea they may not be the best thing for you, but then neither is lard. Chocolate and most sweets aren't particularly good for you either. Anything like this isn't good if you eat too much of it. Everything in moderation, including trans fats, and you're okay.

This banning of trans fats jsut helps the blame culture along.
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6-03-2007 @7:33AM Peter said... Let the consumer decide. Everyone now knows how bad they are for you. There are plenty of companies that make products without trans-fats. If people really want them, they will buy them and the free market will force the trans-fat using companies to change.
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6-04-2007 @12:36PM affidavid said... invasive? let the consumer decide?

first, if the consumer is to decide then they should have all information going in, all the facts. how many people know that a side dish of melted "butter" that accompanies a seafood dish is often a processed anhydrous butterfat that needs no refrigeration, is preserved with arsenic and has a shelf life of 18 months? i don't see that information on the menu.

as for invasive, well, you might just as well argue that the government has no right sending health inspectors around to make sure rat turds aren't plentiful in your fine restaurant meal (or, as i once encountered, the "chef's" cigarette butt didn't land on a pizza). you see, we already have an existing precedent for the government overseeing the health and safety of the foods we eat -- it's called a health inspector and they get to regulate and determine whether a restaurant meets basic standards. i suppose that's a bit invasive, isn't it. next you might as well say that companies can pollute the air at will, and dump sludge back into the waterways.

perhaps you'd like a little more "hands-off" approach like they have in amsterdam where it was reported last year that a large number of pissy bakers were urinating in the bread dough to help activate the yeast.

i bet not a one of you talking about freedom and consumer awareness has ever worked in food service.
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6-04-2007 @6:25PM Russ Hall said... Are you seriously trying to equate urination and rat feces to trans fats? If someone wants to know, the nutrition information for their food is (generally) available. If that's your qualm, why not pursue the government to require restaurants to have ingredient lists for their menu items available upon request.
Additionally, the argument is that rational adults should be able to make decisions about what food they ingest. This is not an argument about air/water pollution, so please keep your discussion relevant.
Lastly, I have worked in the food service industry. In high school and college, I worked at KFC, as a manager in two pizza places, and as a server in a restaurant. But, I don't really see how that has any relevance.
Again, it's an issue of telling people what they can eat. If you want to argue that people who eat food fried in trans fats aren't intelligent enough to seek out information and make their own decisions, then say so.
If not, are you trying to argue that we should just tell people how to live their lives if we think we know what's best for them?
All things in moderation. Learn it, Live it.
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6-05-2007 @5:28AM Rob said... When people defend companies using toxic garbage ingredients like trans fat, you have to wonder about their sanity. Anyone would think they enjoy being obese.

I agree though, people should have the *right* to be able to eat trans fat. Here's the good news - you still can purchase the hydrogenated vegetable fat ingredient and eat it as you wish. Knock yourselves out.
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