Should Fat Be Illegal?
April 13, 2010
Healthcare, Politics, Taxes
By Avvo Admin
There’s a growing effort in America to ban fatty foods, and it’s not just a fringe movement. Mainstream groups like the American Medical Association have come out in support of banning certain kinds of fats, and some cities have already outlawed them. But how far will this crusade against fat go?
Trans fat
By far the most controversial type of fat is trans fat. Trans fat is created by injecting hydrogen into fat, which turns it from a liquid into a solid, increasing its shelf life and preserving its taste.
Trans fat created this way is not something found in nature — it’s the result of a scientific process that was patented in the early 1900′s, and thus has only been a part of the human diet for around 100 years.
In a nutshell, trans fat is very bad for you because it increases the risk of heart disease by raising your “bad” cholesterol and lowering your “good” cholesterol. It also has links to cancer, obesity, diabetes and other afflictions.
The fight against trans fat
In the United States it became mandatory for food makers to list trans fat quantities on nutrition labels in 2003 (although if the amount of trans fat is .5 grams or less, disclosure is not required). However at the local level, regulation has been harsher. For example, in New York City, Philadelphia, Albany County (NY), King County (WA), and the entire state of California, trans fats have been banned in restaurants. Abroad, Denmark and Switzerland have heavily regulated trans fats at the national level.
School cafeterias
School cafeterias are shaping up to be a major battleground in the war against fat, and may be the one first places subject to federal trans fat bans. In fact, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has been campaigning to ban trans fat from every school cafeteria in America.
But the fight over controlling school lunches doesn’t end with trans fat. In a brilliant PR coup for School Lunchistas, ABC recently premiered “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” a show in which a celebrity chef invades a school and tells the cafeteria staff exactly how bad their food is.
Perhaps chef Jamie Oliver was a little too harsh, because the School Nutrition Association publicly came to the defense of the battered lunch ladies.
Michelle Obama has also gotten in on the school lunch action, securing commitments from school lunch suppliers to reduce fat, sugar, and salt. Of course, the real teeth of federal fat regulation comes from the fact that many school lunch programs are federally funded and are subject to federal nutrition regulations.
Beyond school cafeterias
School cafeterias make an easy target for fat prohibitionists because, well, who wants to argue in favor of clogging little kids’ arteries? Plus, kids don’t really have rights and freedoms anyway. But there are others who want to ban fats, and “bad” foods in general, for everyone.
For example, in 2003 two teenagers tried to sue McDonald’s for making them fat, although the suit was thrown out. And in 2008, the Los Angeles City Counsel banned construction of new fast food restaurants in low-income areas. And even more recently, talk of a “fat tax” has cropped up, which would discourage buying “bad” foods by making them more expensive.
The real battle: public opinion
Regardless of particular battles over school lunches, fast food or fat taxes, the real war here is over public opinion.
Lawsuits against food sellers probably won’t go anywhere, so if fat is going to be outlawed, it’s going to be through regulation, which requires winning public opinion. The fate of trans fat, which will probably be banned in all schools soon enough, and then for everyone else eventually, is a lesson in what happens once a particular food has been vilified in the public’s mind, rightly or wrongly.
Those wanting to ban other types of foods, like fast foods, have a long way to go before the American public is prepared to give up Big Macs, but opinions can change over time, especially with the help of media like Supersize Me and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.
So get ready to be bombarded with more propaganda from both sides, because there’s a war being waged over the fate of fat, in your mind.
Why cant people make their own decisions this used to be a free country but I guess not any more. If someone wants to eat McD’s then they should be able to. I don’t because I know it is bad for me and so does everyone that goes there. No more laws!
When someone says that they are “pro-choice” immediately people think of pregnancy; however, that is not my position in any (most) subject matter.
Yes. This is a free country. And yes. We are entitled to make our own free choices.
The concern comes in when people of (often) low-income or lack of education or relevant health knowledge put themselves at risk. School cafeteria’s are often a young person’s only availability to an entire meal. Why should it be the one meal that could end up killing that person becasue over the course of many years – 12 or 13 – the fat content, calories are going to add up. I absolutely do not want ‘big brother’ or the government dictating that which I do behind closed doors; however, if it is a matter of taking jurisdiction over that which will ultimately benefit those in need then I believe that to be ok.
Someone has to look out for our children – as they are going to be caring for ‘us’ in the days to come.
[...] parts, to poisoned food, to dangerous childrens’ toys. So far, other posts include “Should Fat Be Illegal?” “10 STD Law FAQ’s,” and “18 Reasons Not to Let Grandma on a Boat [...]
[...] Possession of Fatty Foods: Ironically, if a law like this would pass, you can buy your chronic and your KFC at the same time from the same shady guy in the projects! C’mon, getting the munchies and eating a kiwi just wouldn’t be the same. [...]
Hey, big government stay out of my wallet, bedroom, gun case, and my refrigerator. Do gooders will be the death of this once great nation.
I agree with Jet. . .it is a free country (HA). Fat does not make people fat–check out Atkins. Excessive food makes people fat. We have not banned vehicles. . .they kill people. /We have not banned smokes. . .they create too much money. I like fast food and I’m not even overweight. Leave us alone.
Big brother is taking over our personal lives. Pretty soon they will tell us when we can use the bathroom to do our business, when to take a shower, when to drive our cars, when we can use our phone, when we can eat and on and on, its going a little too far. I am glad I live in the USA, but sometimes it feels like we are becoming like russia where you are restricted from many things.
I say ban salt in prepard food thats what the salt shaker is for,we all know not to eat fat in any form except the good fats our body needs but it’s almost impossible to avoid salt as the food companys put it in almost every thing.
Nobody cares that people are fat… that is not why they want to pass these bills. They don’t care if individually you are sick for an overweight reason. they don’t care about you. They do care that is costs more money to be fat. If more people are fat then more people have health problems which raises the cost of healthcare. If I am young and healthy and watch what I eat. I don’t want to have to pay more for my hospital bills or health insurance because some person that is just loafing and has mistreated their body for 10 years is sucking off the system. Follow the money. If instead of paying that money in health insurance costs they can collect it in taxes. Laws will be enacted
Of course fat shouldbe illegal. So many obese people are dying and they are young. They have their kids and they eat too much food. they need to stop eating so damn much. They need to drink more water and exercise more. Hello people there are exercise tapes dvd you can buy duh!!! Go on line and get them. They don’t cost that much. I exercise everyday for about 1- 2 hours daily. Exercise at nigth and you will feel better duh!! Go out jogging around the block or at a park! duh !!!
If enough people believe something does that make it true? No.
Scientific American May 2010 Medicine & Health: More data that refined carbohydrates, not fats, threaten the heart. “Eat less saturated fat: that has been the take-home message from the U.S. government for the past 30 years. But while Americans have dutifully reduced the percentage of daily calories from saturated fat since 1970, the obesity rate during that time has more than doubled, diabetes has tripled, and heart disease is still the country’s biggest killer. Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease more than fat does — a finding that has implications for new dietary guidelines expected this year” ….’If you reduced saturated fat and replace it with high glycemic-index carbohydrates, you may not only not get benefits — your might actually produce harm. The next time you eat a piece of buttered toast, consider that butter is actually the more healthful component.’
Consider our evolutionary history. Native peoples living in cold winter environments lived off dried & smoked fish & game. Carbohydrates were available only seasonally.
Why do we think we need more laws? More enforcement? That costs big bucks! What are these fat police folks thinking? The answer is that they’re not.
Not illegal as such, but a disqualifying factor for public health benefits such as Medicaid if the health problem (such as diabetes) is connected to the obesity. No one has a right to demand that anyone else pay for their medical care or provide it.
I think your blog is excellent I found it on Bing. Definetely will return again! Best Regards, Glen