Calfornia Terminates Trans Fat

The #1 killer in the nation?

Ok. Without looking anything up, can you tell me what the #1 killer in the nation is?

If you had to guess you would probably start with: cancer, drugs, car accidents, plastic surgery gone wrong, aids, diabetes, or a number of other sources that all lead to an untimely death.

The answer however, apparently is heart disease.

Which is why the Terminator is here. To stop heart disease.

He is starting with Trans Fat.

Today Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a law banning trans fat in restaurants throughout the entire state of California. Full article from the L.A. Times, here.

What does this mean? Simply another attempt at the government to control the restaurant dining experience.

"California is a leader in promoting health and nutrition, and I am pleased to continue that tradition by being the first state in the nation to phase out trans fats," Schwarzenegger said. "Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease, and today we are taking a strong step toward creating a healthier future for California."

Don't get me wrong - trans fats aren't necessarily a good thing. However, why does the Governor of California have a say in what I eat? Shouldn't his time be spent on things that are a little more important than putting an end to all trans fats? If I want to eat trans fat, than I will.

You may be wondering.....what do I eat that has trans fat? Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil--a process called hydrogenation. Hydrogenation increases the shelf life and flavor stability of foods containing these fats. Here are a few examples: cakes, cookies, crackers, bread, pies, potato chips, popcorn, margarine, salad dressing.

Not only is it ridiculous that the government is now controlling restaurants, there is also about 4,673,193 other things that are "killers" aside from trans fat and heart disease. Do they plan on banning those as well?

Cars kill people - no more driving. Smoking kills people - no more cigarettes. Drinking kills people - no more alcohol.

Luckily, I don't live in California. However, with the recent calorie exposure in NYC and now this in California it is likely that in a couple of years we will all be drinking smoothies and living in a bubble.