Trans Banning

Welcome to 2007 and goodbye to trans fat. At least that’s what the people in New York City are saying this year. In July, New York City will become the first U.S. city to prohibit the use of trans fats in restaurants. Essentially New York restaurants will no longer be able to use partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and will have the next six months to find a suitable substitute.

It’s wonderful that New York is looking out for the health of its residents and for the life of me I can’t come up with a compelling reason why anyone would actually want to consume trans fats given a suitable alternative. Nevertheless, the trans fat ban is a bad idea. Don’t get the wrong idea; I don’t think anyone should consume trans fats. I am not in favor of them, and everyone should limit them as much as possible. I believe in good food labeling and I think nutritional information should be available in restaurants to anyone who would like to see it. However, banning food ingredients just stinks of excessive regulation. We need less regulation in this country, not more.

In essence, we now have a local government dictating how its citizens will be allowed to live or at least what they can and cannot eat. Sure, it seems innocent enough right now, but it sets a precedent for future regulations. Today they ban processed vegetable oils, can a complete ban on tobacco or alcohol be far behind? What about veal and fur coats? Someday soon you may not even be able to eat red meat. It’s not as far-fetched as it seems. Taking away or regulating even a small liberty like this makes the next one that much easier. Once people get used to their choices being eliminated they stop objecting as strongly.

Of course people will argue that the current ban only applies to restaurants and people are still free to create their own heart-stopping trans-fat oil concoctions in the privacy of their own home. That’s true right now, but that’s the obvious next step in the regulation of personal freedom. Trans fats will be banned from grocery stores next and a whole generation of people will have to learn how to cook without partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Ultimately you’ll be healthier and you will live longer, but you’ll have to do it just the way they want you to.