Jay Evensen
  • Front Page
  • Opinions
  • Second Thoughts
  • Portfolio
  • Awards
  • About

Banning trans fats won't be in the end of freedom

11/11/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Ever wonder what people eat at the FDA? I mean, what sort of stuff do they look for at lunchtime? What can the average FDA employee find in the vending machines in down the hall?

I ask this because some people are reacting to the FDA’s decision to ban trans fats as the first step toward outlawing sugar, salt, cigarettes, pizza or anything else that would ruin Super Bowl Sunday for Americans.

Frankly, the inclusion of cigarettes in that list ought to tell you something. There are few products in America that are more genuinely considered culturally inappropriate in public. If the government hasn’t found a way yet to outlaw them completely, I think the other stuff is fairly safe for a while.

But my point about the FDA lunchroom is that, hard as it may be to believe, the folks who work there are human beings. They must be motivated by the same things that motivate the rest of us, even if they might

be a little more wonkish and data-based than the rest of us. They must be motivated by the same things that motivate the rest of us, even if they might be a little more wonkish and data-based than the rest of us. They must like a good pigout now and then, right? Or at least some Grandma’s Cookies in the late afternoon?

This story from the L.A. Times three years ago is interesting. It tells how Bruce Silverglade, legal affairs director for the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, visited the FDA cafeteria and found foods for sale that were mislabeled. He found Purity Organic Functional Drinks’ Pomegranate Blueberry with a label claiming the ingredient gingko biloba “will enhance your memory and keep you thinking straight."

This, he noted, is demonstrably false and constitutes mislabeling. But it was right there, not only under the FDA’s nose but being offered for sale to its employees.

That’s got to be some sort of testament to government’s limitations when it comes to controlling things.

More importantly, as this Associated Press story notes, trans fats don’t have a lot of defenders. Plenty of people are anxious to warn us about the government taking over every inch of our lives, but it seems that nobody is stockpiling vats of partially hydrogenated oils in their secret basement storage vaults.

The fact is, there are substitutes that are healthier and taste the same. The proposed ban (it’s still subject to hearings and likely will be phased in) is about an ingredient, and not the kind of thing that is tangible to most consumers, such as salt or sugar.

Recent evidence shows Americans are moving away from, not toward, a consumption nanny state. Look at the states that are legalizing marijuana, for instance. Look at how a court in New York struck down the ill-considered ban on sodas larger than 16 ounces.

I’m not wild about the marijuana thing. But at least I won’t be the conservative who complains about the nanny state on one end while embracing it on the other. I’m much too pragmatic for that. Some things should be banned.

And as long as FDA employees remain human and are required to eat, I’m not too worried trans fats will be the first step down a slippery slope to tofu and rabbit food.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Search this site


    Like what you read here?

      Please subscribe below, and we'll let you know when there is a new opinion.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture

    The author

    Jay Evensen is the Senior Editorial Columnist of the Deseret News. He has nearly 40 years experience as a reporter, editor and editorial writer in Oklahoma, New York City, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. He also has been an adjunct journalism professor at Brigham Young and Weber State universities.

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All
    Campaign 2012
    Congress
    Crime
    Culture
    Iran
    Oil And Gas
    Poverty
    Steroids
    Taxes
    Utah
    Washington
    World Events
    World Events

    Links

    Deseret News
    Newslink
    Marianne Evensen's blog

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.