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California - First State to Ban Trans-Fats - the Right Move?
July 29, 2008
Following the lead that started in Tiburon, California which was then followed by New York City, Philadelphia, Stamford, Ct. and Montgomery County, Maryland; California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that will phase out the use of trans fats in the state's 88,000 restaurants. The bill requires that trans fats be eliminated from "restaurant products beginning in 2010, and from all retail baked goods by 2011. Packaged foods will be exempt."
Many nutritionists and legislators have pushed for these bans saying that it is one part of the tool chest we need to reverse our nation's obesity crisis, especially in children.
Gov. Schwarzenegger's comments include this one: "California is a leader in promoting health and nutrition and I am pleased to continue that tradition by being the first state in the nation to phase out trans-fats. Consuming trans-fat is linked to coronary heart disease, and today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California."
In all respect to the people that have worked so hard on this legislation, I feel that it shifts the focus. Trans-fat was created to replace Palm Oils that were being used in many prepared and processed foods. After millions of dollars of research and lobbying, the producers of palm oil have said that palm oils aren't as bad as originally thought – and now we have many companies switching back to their oil (one major exception is Frito-Lay, one of the country's largest cooking oil users as they state that palm oils are still more artery clogging than others). Shouldn't we truly be working with these companies to REDUCE the amount of fat – regardless of the type?
New York City put in their ban on trans-fats in December of 2006 which just took affect this month. Probably the most important part of this legislation was NOT the ban, but rather the mandatory nutritional labeling requirement for fast food and chain restaurants. It's not about a single ingredient – it's about looking at the foods we eat holistically: the ingredients, the nutritional information and the source of our foods. Putting the pressure and focus on trans-fat to reverse obesity is the wrong move. The right move is to reduce fat content, reduce sodium content, reduce sugar content and reduce our portion sizes.
Posted on Monday 8/4 by Susan
I welcome the new law (and I hope they dont switch to fatty oils.) But my husband said this could me more use of butter in recipies, as it is just "fat"...and margarines are hydrogenated...
Posted on Monday 8/4 by George
The New York City ban took effect (not affect) this month. “Affect” is a verb, meaning “to influence” (misspelling affects credibility) or “to pretend” (don’t affect such a look of disdain). I don’t know of any mnemonic to sort this out. You just have to know. Look it up.
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