There is a saying that goes, "Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege."
A recent piece by New York Times' columnist John Tierney would suggest he has found the privilege abuser in none other than Thomas Frieden, New York's health commissioner.
Mr. Frieden, for those not familiar, has proposed enacting a mandate that would require restaurants in the five boroughs to remove trans-fat from the foods prepared and served to customers. The proposal, if approved, would require restaurants in New York to remove trans-fats from the food they serve by July 2008.
Mr. Tierney said the ban is a bad idea on a number of levels, both culinary and scientific.
For those who consume French fries, he wrote, there is not a great deal of concern about trans-fats. Besides, as anyone who has tasted a McDonald's fry (trans-fat laden) with a Wendy's fry (trans-fat reduced) knows the Mickey D's version wins on taste hands down.
From a scientific standpoint, it is generally acknowledged that trans-fat is no worse for humans than saturated fats (no ban suggested there).
David Kritchevsky of the Wistar Institute, an independent nonprofit research center, told Mr. Tierney trans-fat is the "panic du jour."
"The New York policy is an overreaction," said Mr. Kritchevsky. "I wouldn't go out of my way to eat trans-fat, but it's nothing I'd go out of my way to avoid. It's essentially another saturated fat."
If New York is truly serious about improving the diets of its citizens and the millions who visit the city every year, then it should be developing a policy on saturated fats, according to Mr. Tierney, "because we consume a lot more of them."
Mr. Tierney suggested there is a middle way to dealing with the trans-fat political "grandstanding" and that would be requiring restaurants to tell people what is in the food they are being served.
"If New Yorkers consume trans-fat at McDonald's or Chinese restaurants, it's because they ordered it themselves. Telling them what kind of fat they're buying might be useful. But they're perfectly capable of figuring out what to eat. Chef Frieden can leave the ordering to them."
Discussion Questions: What do you think about the proposed ban on trans-fat in New York restaurants? Does John Tierney have a point that the focus on the trans-fat issue (nationally and not just in New York) is somehow misguided?