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Thank you, Mayor Bloomberg
Mayor Bloomberg’s push to have trans-fats 86’d from the city’s menus has been met with the both usual pushback and healthy enthusiasm that such initiatives can expect. The smoking ban met with similar and more vocal responses, but in the end had little impact on the city’s brisk bar business, and in fact has made us all smell better. Maybe now we can all slim down a little.
Nice Ideas
The difference with trans-fat ban is that these synthetic oils are merely ingredients in a host of products used to create food.Granted, most of these foods are fried and none of us really need to eat them, but we do like them and we will consume them if they are handed over to us for a reasonable fee. But would we like to have a choice as to the quality and health of those fried items? YES, we would.
What the Mayor is asking, and what we all are asking, is that operators be stealthier about their purchases and let us know what we are eating. We want chefs and cooks to do research before buying pre-processed products, such as frozen French fries, breakfast sandwiches, and fruit pies. This means making a commitment of Time.New Yorkers do not like to commit to Time. They are already short of it. Perhaps we should ask distributors of such products to clearly label the contents so that proprietors don’t have to think too much.
It seems reasonable to this foodie that consumers should know what they are consuming. If a restaurant feels compelled to put the name of the farm or the cheese maker on the menu, why not name the fat used for frying? If the fat is synthetic, then we certainly have a right to know before we stick the final food product into our faces.
Next to each fried item, there should be a note: Deep Fried in …
As for the Mayor’s push to have caloric values indicated – this idea works only in chain restaurants where recipes are strictly observed and much of the food is pre-fabricated, like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Appleby’s and Outback. For most of the city’s restaurants, one would have to guess the calories in a particular dish, or hire a full-time food scientist to uncover caloric and other values.
Next to the Cobb Salad: Approximately 750 calories, if you eat all of the bacon….
More Ideas
The Mayor should not stop at trans-fats. The Mayor should press on for the elimination of High Fructose Corn Syrup, which has no place in nature nor in our bodies.Together with trans-fats and the sheer number of available calories, High Fructose Corn Syrup is responsible for the obesity epidemic we see among the nation’s children.
Since Americans consume the majority of their food away from home, and this includes children, these same Americans have a right to know what they are consuming so that they can make better choices. Despite what lobbyists say, there is a great deal of ingnorance, and that is due to a lack of information, not brainpower.
No Lawsuits, Please
Recent legislation to prevent Class action suits against purveyors of fast food has eliminated this legal avenue for Americans to get even with those companies who peddle bad food as “value” packed family nutrition. Thanks, you loyal lobbyists!
However, there is no reason to think that the producers of the raw materials (High Fructose Corn Syrup et alii) are exempt from legal action. Keep your eyes open!
Tags:
Americans are fat, ban on trans fats, Bloomberg, calories in menu items, class action suits against fast food, fat land, fat New York, Mayor Bloomberg, New York City and trans fats, smoking ban New York
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Posted on 10/31/2006
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