June 8, 2023

New York Bans Trans Fats

New York has become the first city to ban restaurants from using Trans Fats in the food they serve. Research shows that these fats have little nutritional value, and can lead to health problems. But should they be banned?

If you ask me, people should be free to eat whatever they want to eat. Smoking is way more dangerous, and it’s not banned. Eating the mushrooms growing in my lawn isn’t good for me either, but nobody’s passing a law saying I can’t do it. (disclosure: I’ve never eaten the mushrooms that grow in my front lawn)

I hate when politicians enact these “protect the people from themselves” laws. We can’t call ourselves free if we try to legislate common sense. Are we going to pass a mandatory “eat 3 meals /day” or “breathe” law too?

I’m all for requiring restaurants to disclose what dishes contain trans fats – then the consumer can make an educated choice. But telling the consumer what to eat… that’s just going too far.

About Ryan Jones

Ryan Jones is an SEO from Detroit. By day he works as a manager of SEO & Analytics at SapientNitro where his team performs SEO for Fortune500 clients. By night he's either playing hockey or attempting to take over the world with his own websites - which he would have already succeeded in doing had it not been for those meddling kids and their dog. The views expressed here have not been paid for and belong only to Ryan, not any of his employers or clients. Follow Ryan on Twitter at: @RyanJones, add him on Google+ or visit his personal website: www.RyanMJones.com