Well, I live in the People's Republic of New York, and Albany County recently passed a law banning all trans fats in the county, following suit with NYC. I thought this would be an interesting discussion, so what are your thoughts on this?
I think it's stupid that with everything going on in the world, THIS is what NY lawmakers were concerned about.
Sure trans fats are unhealthy, but common sense should tell you to eat them in moderation. If you eat them with no self-control, and thus become unhealthy, it's no one's fault but your own and no law need be made to stop trans fats from appearing.
Hmmm...it's an interesting thought. See, logically, people should know to avoid eating trans fats in large quantities - but what about school lunches? Or, if they exist, company cafeterias? Should people who want to stay healthy be inconvenienced by having to bring their own food? Or are trans fats an acceptable cost of convenience?
I do think that, while trans fats shouldn't be banned from foods, the nutrition facts should be made available in some way. You'd think a list of ingredients must already be available for people with nasty allergies, so how hard would it be to update a list like that to include trans/saturated fats? That way, people who want to stay as healthy as possible would have the means to.
my feeling on the issue is that people should be able to eat trans fats if they want to be unhealthy. I'm more concerned about the way trans fats are listed on nutriton facts. I've never seen anything with more than "1 gram" per serving of transfats. Makes me wounder about how many products it's just rounded down to 0 for. They're using the wrong units, it should be millagrams, not grams.
Yet another way that a state in New England is stripping away personal freedoms from it's citizens. You would think that because America started here it'd be way more conscious about doing such a thing, but the opposite is true.
The funny part is people here don't even realize it's happening.... Government regulated insurance, toll roads, this trans fat business, on and on.
STUPID FAT PEOPLE! its not society's fault your overweight, its yours!
Government shouldn't be allowed to ban certain foods anyway, some people will miss their delicious freinds
It's not always the consumer's fault. Some foods contain trans fat but don't include it on the lable and leave it to you to spot the (partially-)hydrogenated __________ oil
While I'd love to say, "It is the individuals right to maintain their well-being." It is a government's duty to protect its citizens, even if it means from themselves. There are laws restricting alcohol, smoking and drugs, it is proven that eating unhealthy damages your liver and your overall health.
I think New York will survive without their trans fats.
I think it is rather silly. The government's duty is to protect the citizens from others, not from themselves. If you want to eat fatty foods, you should be able to. Just like if you want to drink or smoke, you should be able to.
Duke Wrote:While I'd love to say, "It is the individuals right to maintain their well-being." It is a government's duty to protect its citizens, even if it means from themselves. There are laws restricting alcohol, smoking and drugs, it is proven that eating unhealthy damages your liver and your overall health.
I kinda agree with that, but only kinda. See, honestly, I think people shouldn't be allowed to smoke/drink/do drugs because when they do, there's a chance that innocent bystanders are going to be hurt as a result. Not because they shouldn't be allowed to mess up their own bodies.
However, you could argue that parents who choose to eat unhealthily will likely harm their children by feeding them the same food, and children really don't have a choice but to eat what their parents feed them. So, banning trans fats protects people who are unable to control what they're fed. I don't know.
Duke Wrote:I think New York will survive without their trans fats.
Okay, I definitely agree with that
Quote:I do think that, while trans fats shouldn't be banned from foods, the nutrition facts should be made available in some way. You'd think a list of ingredients must already be available for people with nasty allergies, so how hard would it be to update a list like that to include trans/saturated fats? That way, people who want to stay as healthy as possible would have the means to.
It is mandatory to put information about saturated/trans fats on labels, at least in NY
Quote:See, honestly, I think people shouldn't be allowed to smoke/drink/do drugs because when they do, there's a chance that innocent bystanders are going to be hurt as a result. Not because they shouldn't be allowed to mess up their own bodies.
My thoughts exactly. I have the RIGHT to eat my trans fats. IMO, the government is really only supposed to be here to protect my rights, and anything it does beyond that end deserves a long, critical look.