Tom Feran: The trans fat is in the fire

Trans Fat sounds like an airline for big people. Where all the seats are double-wide, and all the meals are supersized.

Or maybe a car. The wide-track Trans Fat, with junk in the trunk and plenty of room in the rear.

But trans fat is actually one of those “better living through chemistry” food additives that seemed like a good idea at the time. And guess what. Time’s up.

Artificial trans fat, which is short for trans-fatty acids, is a type of fat made when liquid vegetable oils are transformed into solids such as shortening or margarine. It’s listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil, and it’s used for frying and baking.

It was invented about 100 years ago but didn’t really catch on until the 1940s. Manufacturers liked it because it extended the shelf life of products and cost less than the oils and fats it had replaced.

Unlike other fats, however, it has no nutritional benefit. Worse, it causes problems.

It’s linked to obesity because it can lead to more rapid weight gain than other fats. Numerous studies have found it raises levels of LDL, or “bad cholesterol,” and lowers HDL, “good cholesterol,” linking it to heart disease. Other studies show links to diabetes, poor liver function, some cancers and neurological problems.

The Harvard School of Public Health estimates that eating trans fat causes 30,000 to 100,000 premature deaths each year. Five grams of trans fats a day are associated with a 25 percent greater risk of heart attack.

New U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules required trans fat to be listed on labels of packaged food starting last January. That led some food companies to find replacements.

But the stuff can be hard to avoid, especially when eating out. So New York City has proposed banishing trans fat from restaurants in the city, a measure on which public hearings begin this month. Similar moves are being considered in Chicago, New Jersey and elsewhere.

“New Yorkers are consuming a hazardous artificial substance without their knowledge or consent,” the city’s health commissioner said. “Like lead in paint, artificial trans fat in food is invisible and dangerous. While it may take some effort, restaurants can replace trans fat without changing the taste or cost of food. No one will miss it when it’s gone.”

But some think they will. Or they resent what they call the “nanny state” intruding into their lives, treating people like children and even stripping away “one more constitutionally guaranteed liberty.” The New Jersey legislator who proposed a trans fat ban last week received death threats.

The loudest opposition came from the hilariously named Center for Consumer Freedom – funded by the restaurant and food industries to “promote personal responsibility and protect consumer choices” from a “cabal of ‘food cops,’ health care enforcers, militant activists, meddling bureaucrats and violent radicals.”

What a pantload this is.

The choice and freedom here belong to producers, not consumers – and producers can choose healthier alternatives. Wendy’s announced in August that it was the first national fast-food chain to switch to cooking oils without trans fats. Dunkin’ Donuts and other smaller chains have done the same. Kraft took trans fat out of Oreos. Frito-Lay removed it from Doritos and Cheetos. Crisco has shortening free of it.

For some reason, however, people who don’t mind government meat inspections or who gladly accept the monitoring of phone calls, Internet use and financial transactions can be convinced their liberty is at stake if they can’t blindly eat slop.

It’s a strange way to look at freedom: Give me doughnuts, or give me death.

Guess what? You can have both.