California Bans Trans Fats

Needed Reform or More Intrusion by the Nanny State?

California has become the first state of the union to ban trans fats in food. In 2010 it will be unlawful to serve food with trans fats in California restaurants. In 2011, all baked goods with trans fats will be banned in California.

New York, Philadelphia and Seattle have already banned trans fats. The California ban on trans fats will likely have an effect beyond that state as it would be economically infeasible to use different types of cooking oil in different regions of the country.

Trans fats are generally created by a process in which plant based cooking oil undergoes partial hydrogenation, making the fat in the oil more saturated. Food baked with such saturated cooking oil is more attractive and has a longer shelf life. Unfortunately such food also tends to add to bad cholesterol and detract from good cholesterol that in turn leads to coronary heart disease.

The ban by California on trans fat could be considered just the latest move by what some critics call "the nanny state" to limit choices by consumers for their own good. Bans on smoking in public places, regulations mandating the use of flurorescent light bulbs, and even a proposed outright moratorium on the creation of new fast food restaurants are other examples of what some see as the encroaching power of the "Nanny State."

Ironically public concern about the health effect of food with trans fats is already causing a change in the way food is processed. Many fast food chains, such as KRC and Taco Bell, are moving away from cooking their products with trans fat laden oil in preference to healthier soy or canola based oils. Many conventional restaurants and food manufacturers are following suit, even without government bans.

It all boils down to a philosophical question. Is it really government's business to tell people what they should and should not eat? And if it is, how far should government be allowed to go. If today government bans trans fats, could not government tomorrow ban fried foods, surgery soft drinks and desserts, and other food deemed bad for the health of the consumer?