"Give me doughnuts, or give me death"

This is a good rant against the trans fat industry.

There is a restaurant lobbying group "Center for Consumer Freedom" supplying the propaganda -- "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"

The industries have done quite a job to convince people that for the government to regulate anything - like terribly unhealthy things - is some kind of transgression against us. Instead of people having the right expect that what is sold to us - is not poisonous (deadly even) - under the guise of being "food".

It's become part of the "Liberals are bad" meme. So the people who think that everyone should be protected from poisonous profits - become the bad guys ?. It's the same sort of argument (logic?) and lack of action that is responsible for power plants not using existing technologies that reduce pollution by 90%. It's the environmentalists who care about people's health that are bad. That's just crazy.

If consumers are duped into buying unhealthy things - that's supposed to be their own fault, apparently. Even if that is all that is available (like if all the restaurants use it) - even when the unhealthy things do not have to be labeled as such. And if the government allows pollution and poisonous things in the environment - and people don't get the health care they need to address the resulting illnesses - that's the people's fault too. At least - that's how it works in the anti-liberal (pro-corporate) world.

Let's transcend an unhealthy habit

....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. Its use spiked sharply from the 1960s through the 1990s because of processed convenience foods and fast food and concerns about saturated fat. 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 types of cancer and neurological problems including memory loss.

"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 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, Ruby Tuesday, Panera 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. Or blow smoke in somebody's face in a restaurant, for that matter, to bring up a hot-button issue of "consumer choice" in Ohio.

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

Guess what? You can have both.