My column Friday imagined a Wichita where trans fat is banned. As you might expect, it’s set far in the future, and it’s not pretty.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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48 Comments
I said a long time ago when all this smoking bans started, that it wouldn’t be long before the government issued us fat debit cards too. Looks like they’re going with the public fat banning instead, but not too far off from my original point huh?
Pretty soon we’ll have boxes in our living room making us do exercises, and big brother will be watching you.
The Food Nazis have arrived. Next thing, they’ll want to tell me what I can and can’t do in my bedroom.Er, ah….never mind…
The first thing we do, we ban all the Rent A Center apologists.
Big Nanny government..it is all around us more than you care to imagine. Seat belt laws, for example, use the power of the state to ‘protect us’ from ourselves. In California, there are laws requiring bicycle helmets, skateboard helmets, prohibiting riding in the back of pickups, etc., etc., etc.
The scariest phrase a politician can utter is, “if it saves one life, it is worth it.”
So, how long before we have mandatory blood pressure screenings? Mandatory weight limits? Government enforced exercise programs?
Don’t shake your head and claim it can never happen…unless YOU get involved, it can. The insurance companies have billions to spend to influence/buy laws to limit their exposure.
A government that spends its time protecting us from ourselves is wayyyy too intrusive into our lives. What is next? Telling you that ice cream is bad for you and therefore illegal? Don’t laugh it off…trans fat is just one more step closer to George Orwell’s novel.
The old saying is that if you put a frog into boiling water, it will immediately jump out because it recognizes the danger. But, if you put a frog into a pan of cool water and gradually turn up the heat, the frog will sit there, unknowing until it dies.
The government is gradually turning up the heat on us, the citizens, by intruding into our personal lives more and more all the time. Anyone care to stop it before we lose all freedoms completely?
Humorous article Randy, I see why you work for a newspaper now with your writing talent. Perhaps you will “do” some books some day, your writing style encourages those future tasks.
As much as I enjoyed the article I hope it doesn’t turn out to be an actual vision of the future!
Yeah Raptor like all the hospitals going to no smoking on the premises at all..including sidewalks and cars. Coincidence that all of them are releasing the same statements on ‘promoting health blah blah blah’. BS, it’s about dictating what others do. Smoking outside hurts noone but the smoker.
Face it, smoking is pathetic.
No, trolling people on a message board is pathetic.
My point, pmom, is, do we REALLY want or need the government to regulate every aspect of our lives? Yes, we know for a fact that smoking is dangerous and deadly. People that smoke do so at their own risk. Do we want the government to make it illegal because “if it saves one life, it is worth it?”
Do we really want the government to order us to exercise? We all know we should exercise regularly, floss, eat right, avoid stress and get enough sleep. But, since most people do not do those things, is this something we want the government to step in and regulate?
Skiing can be dangerous…will we put up with a legal ban on skiing? Sky diving, horseback riding, bathing, climbing ladders all cause injuries/deaths. Are we willing to roll over and let the government regulate all those?
This is not a ridiculous line of thought. When we abdicate our freedoms to a nanny government, then there is no stopping it. It becomes a matter of degree of freedom lost. How can we stop an out of control government that starts taking away our freedoms in the name of “saving lives”?
Got this as an email..it would be a lot funnier if it weren’t so sadly true..
1956 vs. 2006
Scenario: Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack.
1956 – Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack’s rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.
2006 – School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school.
1956 – Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled.
2006 – Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Jeffrey won’t be still in class, disrupts other students.
1956 – Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class.
2006 – Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his father’s car and his Dad gives him a whipping.
1956 – Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2006 – Billy’s Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy’s sister is told by state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy’s mom has affair with psychologist.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school.
1956 – Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2006 – Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Mary turns up pregnant.
1956 – 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a special school for expectant mothers.
2006 – Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the ACLU. Mary is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent’s consent or knowledge. Mary given condoms and told to be more careful next time.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1956: Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2006: Pedro’s cause is taken up by state democratic party. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro’s English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can’t speak English.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1956 – Ants die.
2006 – BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny’s Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary, hugs him to comfort him.
1956 – In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2006 – Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison
Raptor, next thing you know, they’ll be forcing you to wear a helmet when you ride a motorcycle.Oh, the ignobility of it all…
The earlier post by “me” is not mine.
I agree mostly with keeping government out of intrusion.
But the trans fat issue is different. Trans fats are not necessary. They are used merely as convenience. Banning them is good for health and has no serious affects to consumers.
I say go ahead and ban production of the stuff. Take it right back to the source and it stops being up in the air.
Help save us from ourselves!
From another messaage board:Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.
Hey JM, what, you are Randy’s father and do not know that he is already a published and celebrated author!
Why, he wrote the book on the joys of perpetual leasing! Just run his name with Rent A Center.
Good for bringing that ad money into the Beagle, too.
But seriously, JM, nice work builing Randy up. Anyone who reads this blog knows his ego needs the encouragement.
(The positive word of the day underwritten, like the Beagle and Randy, by the Wichita Auto Dealers Association.)
Ibedevlinya,
Sounds like a personal problem.
raptor,
Why do you WANT to ingest trans-fat, when the non-trans versions taste just as good, or even better? Suicidal tendencies?
http://www.bantransfat.org/abouttransfat.html
Randy,
Very funny ‘dark’ column, and appropriate use of Oreos, since they elimanated trans fat first, and started a domino effect.
BTW: Warning — there’s a loophole that allows labeling food a “zero” trans fat, if it has less than 0.5 grams per SERVING.
Check the ingredients for words “partially hydrogenated” or “shortening”… that’s trans-fat.
The thing with trans fat is that it constitutes ADULTERATION of food. Would we allow anti-freeze to sweeten wine? Motor oil as cooking oil?
Trans fat does not come from cows or pigs or anything else that would be considered a food source. It comes from a chemical lab.
Who decided that transfats were all that bad for us, and that their replacements were any better?My grandfather lived to be 74 and ate bacon and eggs for breakfast most every day. Grandmother died at 73. My father ate a healthier diet, but died at 69.The Japanese are known to smoke like chimneys. The Europeans are known to prefer rich, high fat foods and drink more alcohol than people in the US. Which live the longest, on average? Of course, the US has the shortest average life expectancy of the group.I am thinking we need to make sure are doing the right thing before we require it for all our citizens.
rusty – bacon and eggs are not sources of synthetic trans fat.
I had a grandmother who was married to my pack plus a day smoker grandfather for over 40 years. She lived till 88 without any effects of that second hand smoke either.The Euro’s from the health standpoint seem to do everything in moderation. A study of the french high fat diet but low heart disease led to the discovery of the sufflites in red wine being good for you.
The other aspect of the French high fat diet is that it had a lot of natural fats rather than synthetic fats. Also, as noted, the wine and a lot of dairy (calcium). And vegetable fats, not just animal.
Rustyford,
“Who decided that transfats were all that bad for us, and that their replacements were any better?”
Harvard Medical School, New England Journal of Medicine, studies in Australia and Seattle, the USDA, the USHHS, the American Heart Association…Links to studies and reports at,http://www.bantransfat.org/abouttransfat.html
The “replacements” are natural, and unadultered.
Our government needs to get involved and ban trans-fats. Denmark has a national ban on trans-fats.
OK -
So trans-fats are bad. But not all good ideas should be legislated. I’m with raptor. I’ll decide my diet, thanks; I don’t need big brother to do it for me. Nanny state, butt out.
GMC
Thing is? Folks have no idea what they are eating or how bad it is. They just know it tastes good.
Hey anti-freeze tastes good too.
If not an outright ban on this stuff, then certainly education and better labelling is called for.
For instance a label on a box of fries might read:
Contains a synthetically produced oil which will clog your arteries and kill you.
Take either an evolution or creation theory. We either evolved or were created with a number of foodstuffs as our inputs. These include both saturated and unsaturated fats. The unsaturated fats are all cis. None are trans.
So, I would say that all of the natural fats have a place in our diets. Less then they would if I were active (as created/evolved) but still there nonetheless.
Trans fats, however, are not a part of what I am designed to process.
The same people who said that real butter was bad for you 30 years ago, and suggested trans fats instead.
Trans fats, however, are not a part of what I am designed to process.Posted by: Ben Huie | December 09, 2006 at 04:16 PM
How long until we evolve into being able to? ;-)
Not really p-mom. Butter can be a problem (sat fat) in excess; trans in any amount. The reason the corporations like trans fat is that they are resistent to going rancid. That, in my opinion, should be a red flag. If the bugs won’t eat it …
Several million years … at least.
JR -
You may well be right – they are bad for me. But just when does the nanny state stop legislating what is bad for me?
You know the old adage – it’s the principle of the thing. Just because it’s a good thing does not mean it should be legislated. Next are fatty burgers. Then limits on red meat; heck, ban it entirely. How ’bout statutory limits on sugars; they’re bad, too. And by all means, lets ban sky diving, scuba diving, and private flying – they’re high risk after all. And we need limits on how deep your bathtub water is permitted to be; heck, just get rid of those deep tubs. And don’t even think about a hot tub.
Do you see any logical distinction here? I don’t.
Individuals do have a right to be individuals, after all.
I would not ban them. I would, however, require that adulterated foods be labeled as being adulterated.
The problem with trans fats is that we often do not know which foods have been adulterated. Therefore they should be required to be labeled.
I don’t think Spangles needs to warn me that my usual breakfast is full of saturated fats and salt. That is obvious from what I buy. However, if they are lacing it with chemicals they should be required to tell me.
I don’t have a problem with product labeling. I’d like to see the milk and beef that was produced by cows injected with stuff too.
For better or worse I just assume they are anymore (shot up with stuff) unless it is organic or free range or something.
Cosmos..I don’t believe I ever said I wanted to ingest trans fat.. would you mind pointing out to me where I said I did?
My point is how appalling I find the ever increasing intrusive nature of government that is going to protect us from ourselves. I do not smoke, but don’t think it should be made illegal. People that smoke know it is bad for them, yet it is their choice.
As GMC said..where does it stop? Banning all meat? Or as I said earlier, can mandatory exercise programs be out of the realm of “saving one life”?
Our government should not attempt to protect all citizens from all possible ills at all times. That is not the purpose of government.
raptor,
You *ARE* ingesting trans-fat, probably large amounts, UNLESS you avoid the many packaged foods, and the many restaurants that use it.
Check the labels of food you eat, and look up the info if you eat at McD’s, KFC, etc. How many trans fat grams daily?Add it up, and then post it here.
More than 1 or 2 grams? That’s the FDA and AHA’s limit.
A package of tortillas can boast “Zero trans fat!”, even if each tortilla has almost 0.5 grams of T-F. Eat 2, you’re halfway to the “limit”.
How much trans fat is in your meal at restaurants that don’t give nutrition info? Do you ask mngment if they use trans fat oil — and trust them if they say “no”?
Ponder this: “…a 2 percent increase in energy intake from trans fatty acids was associated with a 23 percent increase in the incidence of coronary heart disease…”(at link I gave above)
Trans fat is very different from smoking — you need scientific equipment to detect it in your food.
Should government allow lead and other toxins in your tap water? Trans fat is toxic.
raptor – how about just requiring notification about adulterated food?
Ben,
Restaurants have been strongly fighting labels. See # 11 in “responses to the criticisms” at http://www.bantransfat.org/
Note IHOP’s response to a customer asking if they they used T-F.
And packaging got their < 0.5 gram /serving loophole.
IHOP – ” With that natural variance in food across the country, it is nearly impossible to calculate and publish accurate nutritional information or ingredient content on all of our menu items.”
Chemical adulterant trans fat cannot be related to “natural variance”
I can see not being able to tell me exactly how much fat and cholesterol is in my bacon/egg/cheese on sourdough I start the day with; but they can give ballpark figures. However, if they are chemically adulterating my food I have a right to know.
On a somewhat unrelated item – I also think we should be labeling peanut products in foods. The reason: allergies that can be very serious. Me, I consider peanut butter to be one of the most important food itmes in the universe; however for some it can be toxic.
Ben,
IHOP seems to pretend the trans fat issue doesn’t exist.
I’ve seen warnings on non-peanut products about being “made on equipment that also processes a peanut product”, i.e. trace amounts possible.
Same for wheat, for people who react to gluten.
It is very important to have products labeled carefully for food allergies. Yes, even if they’re on the same line as a product containing that allergen.
I have a friend who used to work for a big name candy factory- the stories she has told me about that place, I will NEVER eat another candy made by them again. Apparently the FDA does NOT inspect candy factories! Mold, rodent droppings in the boxes, no cleaning the lines.Disgusting. THAT is a story that needs an investigation!
Pretty soon we’ll have boxes in our living room making us do exercises, and big brother will be watching you.
I disagree. The government wants you to die before you hit 65 so you won’t collect on Social Security.
raptor’s comments ring true.
I got into a fight as a freshman with a sophomore. He and some friends acted sophomorically, stealing our Frisbee, which we were throwing at lunch hour. I stuck up for my friends and me, and somehow got into a mano a mano after-school fight promise. Dozens of grapevine-hearing kids showed up. He pounded at my head, I just went defensive. After 2 minutes, I signaled my surrender.
Upshot: Despite the loss, a lot of people respected me for the first time, for taking on an older, bigger, more physically powerful student. Especially because despite formally losing, I had a few lumps on my forehead that were gone in two weeks, but he sustained two fractured metacarpals. The very next day, people kept coming up to me, “Did you hear, Elliot broke his hand?” My wounds healed five weeks before his did.
Upshot 2: two years later we got assigned to the same lettuce-cutting crew. We became friends.
Today, it’s conceivable that both of us could have been “therapeutically treated”. But back then, things worked themselves out without any “adult intervention”.
Even later, Ray Guiterrez (I was in college) said, “I would have flattened you.” He said this before we played two-on-two roundball with my teammate a one-armed polio-”cripple”, Brian Barsotti. I closed Ray down. I knew how to use my left hand to block his right-hand. But he didn’t know how to guard a left-handed guy.
Story two: my brother in law was often punished for talking with friends in class. Now he’s a multimillionaire dentist-businessman. Turns out, talking is really good in business.
heartlander,
Are the studies re trans fat done by Harvard Medical School, in Australia, etc. all wrong?
How many grams of trans fat do you ingest daily?
Do an experiment, and add up the #’s on the packages… and from restaurants, IF they provide the info.
Your heart wants you to avoid trans fat.
hee hee hee hee hee hee hee
I think in Western Kansas this is the last straw.
You can take our water, you can take our schools, our children, our jobs, our tax dollars and our land.
But god dammit, if you start messin’ with our food, we are gonna fight back.
Yer gonna hafta pry our transfats from our cold dead arteries.
heheheheheheheh
Just for the record, we dont use transfats in my restaurant. Just pure butter, heavy cream and lots of salt. Oh, and some lard in the pie crusts.
Just the way we like it out here!!
hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee
Most of the folks out here also only recognize two vegetables. Corn and green beans, and they arent real damn sure about those green beans….
KFG
I am going to have to get out to your restaurant. Where, oh where is this paradise of fried and baked goods??
No matter how much we may disagree about politics, good food transends all!!!
GMC
(In case she misses it)
Collyer Cafe Collyer Ks.
An update to raptor’s ‘1956 vs. 2006′
Scenario: Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack.
1956 – Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack’s rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack.
2006 – ‘Officials say student brings shotgun to high school and kills himself’http://www.koin.com/Global/story.asp?S=5803538
Not to mention http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre– the Amish school girls, etc.