California Goes Lean

There are foods that are not-so-healthy that I eat occasionally and let my family eat now and then. As I learn more about hydrogenated oil, however, I become more and more afraid to let it enter our bodies at all, especially the foods that are “chuck full” of it.

If you read the health news this week, you will learn that the state of California is banning the use of hydrogenated oils in restaurants beginning January 1, 2010. What does this mean for Californians? Not a whole lot of change, since apparently most of the large restaurant chains have already phased out the use of trans fats. Actually, the restaurants that use trans fats most are bakeries, and they won’t have the new law enforced until 2011.

One of the arguments the California Restaurant Association has against the ban is the fact that most trans fat consumption happens not at restaurants, but in the home. One thing is clear—our watchful eye for trans fats should definitely stay wide open. While Californians may be able to eat out without the worry, hydrogenated oils still clutter the food shelves of the grocery store.

Is a law against trans fat use in restaurants a good thing? There are conflicting opinions when freedom to conduct business and freedom to eat as one chooses are weighed against the danger of using the oils. Is it fair that restaurants have this burden and not the grocery stores? Couldn’t the government make a more logical impact by mandating that people given government-assisted food programs must buy foods without trans fats? They would give business to the companies who make the food trans fat-free while keeping the assisted people healthier, and thus reduce medical bills that will later fall on all of our shoulders….

If I were in charge, I’d have the foods in grocery stores regulated before the food in restaurants. Fortunately, companies are becoming aware of the growing consumer resistance to these oils. You can buy peanut butter that is trans fat-free without paying an arm and a leg for it. Food companies are now bragging that their products are trans fat-free. It takes an effort, but it is possible to avoid the oils and I believe it’s absolutely worth it.