CCF To NYC: Drop The Trans Fat Hysteria

Tuesday’s announcement that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene would consider forcibly expunging trans fats from restaurants all over the Big Apple isn’t sitting well with a lot of folks. While man-of-the-people/billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the proposal by saying that restaurants like those owned by Robert DeNiro already don’t use trans fats, we’re not so sure that non-billionaire New Yorkers are as sanguine about the idea of Big Government in their kitchens. The activists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest are falling over themselves with joy, but (non-Oscar-winning) restaurant owners can’t be too happy. The Center for Consumer Freedom rolled out our new Trans-FatFacts.com website yesterday to counter the hysteria, but we didn’t stop there. As we pointed out in a New York Daily News op-ed this morning:

Restaurants aren’t very good at anticipating the unpredictable demands of activists or political appointees – most of whom would never set foot in any establishment as déclassé as the kind that might serve fried foods – but they’re very good at satisfying the demands of paying customers.

But hey, once you’ve made one unwarranted intrusion, why stop there?

And with this new regulatory push, the iron fist in the latex glove is grasping for more than just control over the fat content of foods. The Health Department is also preparing to require that restaurants put nutrition information front and center on menus and menu boards, whether customers want it there or not. The cruel irony is that the proposal only applies to restaurants that already offer nutrition information on their own.

Make sure to visit the Daily News website and read the whole thing. Your taste buds will thank you!