As of January 1, 2010, restaurants in California won’t be able to use oils, shortenings, and margarine’s with more than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. In 2011, the law will apply to baked goods. New York City passed similar laws before.

First I want to make a point clear. The law bans products with more than 0.5 grams per serving. Well, what is a serving? I looked up the Nutrition Facts Panel on all oils I have at home (olive, canola, and peanut), and the serving is 1 tablespoon. My next question is, how many servings do you think there are in your fries? Yep, you know it; more than that. So technically, it’s easy for you to get 1 gram or more of trans fat in your food.

One article on FoodConsumer.com sarcastically reported that the

I guess the author is against this law!

And there many who are. Some are against the concept of the government enforcing too many laws. While this is a valid opinion and I won’t argue much, laws are not necessarily bad. Would people have stopped smoking in public places without a law? No. ???

Laws are a blessing. Anyone who have traveled to a country where no laws exist–or exist but never applied–can relate to that!

And there are those who argue that they don’t want the government to take away their freedom of choice. Now that’s what I’m going to argue about.

We have a choice. Regardless of the type of fat used, we have full ability to choose any meal from any restaurant we want. Just because products high in trans fats are banned, it doesn’t mean our diets are super healthy now. We still have to make conscious decisions to eat nutritious foods. So if someone is determined to eat a bad diet, they still can!

Have you ever looked at the nutrition information in fast-food restaurants or any other? Nutrition labels are there, but I wonder how many people read them. Maybe people don’t care. So why the strong objection?

When the government knows there is a bad component in your food, wouldn’t you want that food removed? Don’t people complain about the FDA not doing a good job getting poisonous products out of our food system? Why are they against this law? Doesn’t that sound like a double standard?

If anyone should be opposing these rules, it’s the chefs who have to be creative and come up with slightly healthy recipes. Us as consumers, why are we upset? We are still getting our French fries and fried chicken.

I think we should celebrate a step towards a healthier food supply!

I welcome your comments if you have a different opinion.