I remember the day NYC’s smoking ban went into effect and bar owners from the Bronx to Brooklyn feared for their businesses. My concern wasn’t so much for them, ‘cause, let’s face it, people still need to congregate around food and drink, right? My concern was more for the owners of all the city’s drycleaners. They were the ones who were going to be hit hardest.
But most stayed in business, and if you ask anyone these days, the smoking ban was good for the city in more ways than it wasn’t. So what about this new ban the board of health just voted on?
Oh, you haven’t heard? According to this article in The New York Times, most artificial trans fatty acids will be prohibited from crossing in from New Jersey real soon. And there’s a precedent: Denmark has already banned them, as well as a the hamlet of Tiburon, CA.
So look out New Yorkers: this might go underground, with modern-day mobsters smuggling KFC and Krispy Kreme in from Connecticut real soon. Though I suppose replacing arterial clogging with freeway congestion isn’t such a bad trade off, some people are gonna be hoppin’ ass mad if this ban actually goes into effect. You can bet your last fry on that.
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Having been born in NJ I have to ask, of all the crap that comes out of NJ Trans-fats are the ones that get banned?
posted by Sheldon Siegel on 12-6-2006 at 9:38 am
This is WONDERFUL! Trans fats are poisonous and have no advantages other tahn a long shelf life. They don’t even taste that great. The federal government should wake up for this one.
KFC has actually chosen to phase out trans fats in their foods, as has Taco Bell. Woohoo! Of course, McDonalds and Wendy’s have both made similar claims in the past, and they have not lived up to them.
posted by Nicole Jordan on 12-6-2006 at 9:56 am
What next? No fatty beef? No Beer? No fast cars? No pre-marital sex?
Isn’t a free country a wonderful thing? They just take care of us SO well.
posted by Marika on 12-6-2006 at 12:17 pm
And the people who are hoppin’ ass mad are the same people who wouldn’t know a trans-fat free french fry from a regular french fry if the regular one came up and hit ‘em in the face with a bag o’ lard.
From what I understand (and what all the articles say), partially hydrogenated oils prolong shelf-life and let you re-use grease more than they add to flavor. Food establishments are mad because it infringes on costs, but why should consumers freak out, other than the “Hey, that’s mine! You can’t tell me what to do!!” mentality.
Has anyone ever had their partially hydrogenated oils replaced with trans-fat free and noticed a difference in taste? A REAL difference in taste, enough to make you stop buying the product? Anyone? Anyone?
If there is a difference, I stand corrected. But I think the best thing all the trans-fat objectors could do would be to have blind taste tests set up like they used to do for Coke and Pepsi. Show people it’s no big deal….
posted by Lyssa on 12-6-2006 at 4:57 pm
Two words:
Nanny State
posted by MN on 11-21-2007 at 12:29 pm