Taylor's Bits

I'm surprised and happy to read in today's paper that New York has passed a ban on trans fats at all their restaurants. The ban goes into effect in July 2007. In my quest for a healthier lifestyle, I've educated myself on how trans fat is horrible for your health. In a country where heart disease is the leading cause of death, it's no surprise to find out that trans fat has been linked to heart disease.

Other countries have taken the initiative to eliminate trans fat from all their foods. Denmark for example has a LAW that says that trans fat in foods has to be below 2%. Of course, McDonalds has committed to reducing the amount of trans fat to 2% & below in Europe, but not here in the states. Strange.

Wendy's has eliminated trans fat from it's cooking oil back in August, so it is not necessary in foods. The company that owns KFC & Taco Bell has committed to remove trans fat by next summer.

I've read that McDonald's argues that they can't eliminate the trans fats from their foods because they can't replicate the taste. But, the reality is, it costs more to not use partially hydrogenated oil. Reason being, you can use partially hydrogenated oil longer, you don't have to replace it out of the fryer as often. So, the bottom line is, McDonald's doesn't care about killing you, it cares more about profit. But, the flip side to that is...if you don't know McDonald's food is bad for you, then you deserve to be fat and dead.

I think this trend in Europe to eliminate trans fat from their foods is because of education. People over there seem to be more educated (Case in point, we elected George W. twice) and they seem to be more active when it comes to change.

Change in this country doesn't happen until profits by the big corporations are cut into (Case in point: Ford, GMC...hybrids). We stick our head in the sand and let others make decisions for us and aren't actively reading ingredients. We don't research what we are eating and trust the FDA knows everything. Hey, I'm guilty of this in the past...but I'm trying to get better. Education, education, education.

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