Put down the margarine and step away from the doughnut.

It's not just that they're bad for you. In Chicago and New York, there's a movement afoot to outlaw them, or at least the trans fats inside them.

Health officials say sharply reducing the fat, which has been linked to heart disease, could save hundreds of lives. But critics argue they don't want the government poking its nose in their french fries.

Robert Bookman, a lawyer for the New York State Restaurant Association, warns of a slippery slope greased with trans fats.

"If the board of health has the authority to do this, then they have the authority to say no beef will be sold in the city because beef is unhealthy. No potato chips, no soda. There's tons of stuff that's unhealthy."

___

But before we discuss the rumblings of Big Brother, a question: What exactly are trans fats?

The answer: Trans fats are formed when liquid oils are turned into solid fats through hydrogenation. (Hydrogenation converts vegetable oils into solid fats by adding hydrogen atoms.) The process makes food last longer and is used in lots of fast food, food from higher-end restaurants, and half the boxes found on the grocery store shelf: cereals, crackers, margarine, salad dressing, chips, granola bars and much more.

Why they're unhealthy: Trans fats clog arteries, have been linked to heart disease and may raise the risk of diabetes.

___

There's a long list of precedents of government regulating bad-for-you products — and an equally long list of complaints about the "Nanny State" intruding into people's personal lives.

Most recently in New York, the 2003 law forbidding smoking inside bars and restaurants — a law similar to others passed or under consideration around the country — outraged those who thought the mayor should leave their ash trays alone. Three years later, the furor has died down and most agree it was a good decision.

In Chicago last month, the City Council passed a law banning foie gras because of concerns of animal cruelty. (It's made by force-feeding geese and ducks until their livers expand like a Thanksgiving float.) Critics hollered Big Brother, and Chicago's mayor has signaled that he'll repeal the ban.

So are health officials in New York and Chicago looking out for the french-fry eaters, or making their decisions for them?

"It's troubling," said Bookman. "Give the consumer all the information they need for them to make a choice, but they shouldn't go ahead and make a choice for them."

New York officials say they have to resort to hardball tactics because no one listened when they played nice — the city tried last year to impose a voluntary ban on trans fats, but found overall use in city restaurants didn't change.

In announcing the proposal to set a limit of a half-gram of artificial trans fat per serving, New York's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, compared trans fats to lead-based paint, which have been banned from housing since 1978.

"New Yorkers are consuming a hazardous, artificial substance without their knowledge or consent," Frieden said. "Artificial trans fat in food is invisible and dangerous."

The federal government's solution has been to bring trans fats out from hiding. In January, the FDA began requiring package labels to list trans fat content, and some fast food chains, like KFC and McDonald's, list trans fat amounts on their Web sites and in stores.

The latest version of the Chicago plan would only apply to giants with annual revenues of more than $20 million.

In New York, the government will stay out of the doughnut batter for at least another month. But on Oct. 30, the city's Board of Health will vote on whether to enact the proposal.

___

asap night supervisor Sam Dolnick doesn't think he had any trans fats for lunch today.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.