The state government has positive intentions in banning trans fats from restaurants and bakeries, but good intentions don't equate to a need for all-encompassing regulation, especially when consumers have other choices that aren't so unhealthy.
Such is the case with the trans fat ban, set to start for restaurants in 2010 and bakeries in 2011. Trans fats are known to prolong the shelf life of food.
We certainly don't refute that these fats are unhealthy, as they are proven by many studies to be a leading cause of heart problems. So are cigarettes and other products, however, which remain legal and left on the onus of consumers to make their personal choices. There's a clear path of hypocrisy through which state officials appear ready to walk, once again.
Why not require menu disclosure?
These types of decisions should be left up to consumers, who, meanwhile, have become increasingly health conscious as more information has been made available. So what's wrong with merely giving the information to consumers and letting them decide?
And although we're against a ban, which infringes on businesses with no choice but to buy other oils, we encourage laws that would require full disclosure of potential health effects and other nutritional information on menus at all restaurants and bakeries. Let the businesses run their operations as they please, and let the informed consumers decide whether they deem the food a health risk.
Like other products, better in moderation
A matter of personal choice no doubt, this is also a case where moderation plays a big role. Unhealthy fats, like alcohol and other potentially dangerous products, cause much fewer problems when consumed in moderation. Consumers, when informed, are competent to make these decisions themselves, and businesses should be left to make their own as well.
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