Trans Fats Crackdown in Philadelphia

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia City Council joined New York City in approving a bill that limits the amount of trans fats allowed in food served by restaurants, bakeries, and other food service businesses. The ban starts on September 1, 2007 for restaurants and September 1, 2008 for bakeries.

Jonathan Last of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if it’s all a big waste of resources.

Even if the ban were a boon to public health, is it a wise allocation of the city’s resources? I’m not one to argue that government should walk and not chew gum: I’m happy to have Congress waste an hour trying to pass a flag-burning amendment every year. Competent governments should be able to act symbolically while carrying out their more terrestrial duties. So I won’t say, “City Hall shouldn’t turn its attention to the trans fat menace until there are no more homicides in Philly.” But would it be crazy to ask that they wait to tackle trans fats until they’ve pushed the number of yearly murders back into, say, the low 200s? (There were 380 murders in 2005 and more than 400 in 2006.)

Or maybe the 30 inspectors employed by the city’s Health Department could better use their time checking for cockroaches and sanitation violations, instead of politically correct cooking practices.

USA Today also has a feature on trans fats that brings up the important point that once trans fats are eliminated, other bad fats are just as likely to replace them, e.g., saturated fat. It’s like the no-fat craze of a decade ago. Everything fat-free was deemed to be healthier but people forgot that they remained high in sugar and often tasted godawful.

What it all comes to, I believe, is moderation. A healthy lifestyle incorporates as little artificial substances as possible and that includes fake boobs. Hear that, Pamela Anderson?

Tags: trans fats, philadelphia, trans fatty acids, diet, heart, heart disease, diseases, illness, health, fats