As with lead, the most vulnerable may be our children. According to the Food and Drug Administration, who mandated package labeling of trans fat on January 1, 2006, almost three-quarters of our trans fat consumption comes from packaged cookies and crackers, margarine and shortenings, and fried potatoes and chips; items that kids tend to eat a lot of. And although we can check to see if trans fats are in the products we buy, we really have no way of knowing what restaurants put in our food.
Even with the seemingly small changes in food production that would make us trans fat–free, there was resistance to the ban in Manhattan from the “I can do/eat/smoke whatever I want! I am an American!” contingent. But just as with lead, we are not talking about freedom, we are talking abut costs to society for which we all pay the price. Our economy and health care system are already burdened from the massive effects of heart disease. Shouldn’t we welcome measures to curb this burden, especially if we still get to eat our French fries, fried chicken, and cookies?
It may be in the not-too-distant future that California, home to progressive politics, will start to consider its own ban. Getting rid of lead in our paint didn’t happen overnight and neither will getting rid of trans fat. But following in the footsteps of New York will allow us to have our cake and eat it—sans trans fat—too.
