Junk Science
- Thread starter Gato_Solo
- Start date
chcr
Too cute for words
They occur in nature in small amounts. Partially hydrogenated oils contain more.
In case some of you have forgotten, the reason manufacturers use partially hydrogenated oils is that the food police made them. They used to use beef fat and palm oil.
Gato_Solo
Out-freaking-standing OTC member
The same food police now telling them not to. MrBishop said:
I smoke. I pay more for my outside life insurance. Once I 'retire' from active duty, I'll wind up paying more for my health insurance. How does that cost you a dime? (aside from being in Canada) I also exercise 3 times a week. 30 minutes aerobic activity and 30 minutes weight resistance. I'm healthier than most, but I take responsibility for my actions, thus I don't complain about my higher rates. How does that affect the bottom line of the average whiner, who complains about my nicotine habit?
2minkey
bootlicker
um, yeah, but they know trans fats are pretty fucking bad for people. food companies know they're quite bad for people, too. trust me on that one, mmmkay?
chcr
Too cute for words
Yeah, and as mentioned before, they made the food manufacturers switch from what they used before.
"Soylent Green is people!" And probably good for you too.
spike
New Member
Yeah, and as mentioned before, they made the food manufacturers switch from what they used before.
Does that make them better for you somehow? Who made the food manufactures switch?
From what I heard manufactures switched because of lower costs and because they don't spoil. They're like plastic.
The moderation arguement is silly. Smoking in moderation is better than chain smoking but it's not as good as not smoking is for you.
chcr
Too cute for words
They switched because the media was talking about how palm oil and fatty acids were responsible for high cholesterol and heart disease as far as I remember.
Of course they're like plastics, plastics are oil based too.
My point is that someone thinks they've made a discovery like this and it's immediately doomsday. Here's an idea, let's find out what the facts all are first. Note that I avoid trans fat when possible. I just think legislating against it's use is criminal (I think the same thing about legislating against marijuana use BTW)(remember when this used to be America?) and that the screaming, wailing "the end is neer" and "the food companies are trying to kill us all" reaction is premature and overstated. Simply an opinion but I've seen this kind of thing happen dozens of times and almost without exception a more reasoned response would have been better for everyone involved. Experience shows me that the first reaction is almost always wrong.
chcr
Too cute for words
Nor do I. I"m diabetic. I read all the labels. I'll bet you the vast majority of people couldn't give a rat's furry hiney though.
I do notice that my favorite tater chips aren't using trans fat anymore. OTOH they haven't done shit about the carbs yet.
SouthernN'Proud
Southern Discomfort
Somebody check my pulse. Spike just said something I agree with.
That can only mean one of us is not well...
[South Park teacher dude]Trans fats are bad, m'kay?[/South Park teacher dude] I know it, you know it, we all know it. Most all things in moderation and the human body can adapt. I moderate, just not as well as I could/should. Hence the tool shed. I object to a beauracracy stepping into another facet of my life. I don't need government to save me from myself.
highwayman
New Member
With all your medical expenses I don't think a cat scan would be noticed, while your at it a MRE could also be in order...
chcr
Too cute for words
MRE?
Meal, Ready to Eat?
2minkey
bootlicker
Yeah, and as mentioned before, they made the food manufacturers switch from what they used before.
"Soylent Green is people!" And probably good for you too.
oops, sorry, i was just reacting to gonz's general attitude on that one.
but since you brought it up... is it that they made the manufacturers switch from using particular ingredients or that the manufacturers caved in to public opinion when folks started realizing they were making products that were/are not so healthy? (discounting the NY restaurant trans fat ban.)
and public opinion sparked something in washington.
and then maybe the food companies used some political swing to massage a "o grams per serving" statement on to products that seem to have partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredient lists....?
but we should worry about the "food police?" hmmmm....
So you'd prefer the government get involved & babysit you & make sure you make the right choice & if you don't, they should regulate it?
KFC, et al, switched, not because of public opinion but because of the stink in the wind. Government has already taken BIG TOBACCO for a ride. It looks like BIG FOOD is next. Pepsico decided to switch before the lawsuits begin & the bans took place. NYC is actually dragging their heels on this one. Get you fingers out of my pie.
Chicago just enacted some new POS law that says chain restaurants must place health content labels alongside their food items, in the same size text, on their menus.
Keep you fingers off my food.
KFC, et al, switched, not because of public opinion but because of the stink in the wind. Government has already taken BIG TOBACCO for a ride. It looks like BIG FOOD is next. Pepsico decided to switch before the lawsuits begin & the bans took place. NYC is actually dragging their heels on this one. Get you fingers out of my pie.
Chicago just enacted some new POS law that says chain restaurants must place health content labels alongside their food items, in the same size text, on their menus.
Lunacy
Keep you fingers off my food.
chcr
Too cute for words
The "food police" was just an expression. The FDA guidlines were the driving force behind the change. It's a "chiken or the egg" argument though. Do things change as a result of public opinion or is public opinion swayed as a result of published reports which are sometimes unsubstantiated educated guesses? A little of both, I'd say.
Let's take the DDT example. DDT grossly overused as an insecticide in the 1970s, resulting in a non-dangerous but detectable level showing up in drinking water in various places. A couple of unverified reports get "leaked" to the media and bang, DDT is banned everywhere. Now, there was certainly a public hue and cry for stopping this stuff from "poisoning our children" (the classic whines never die, do they?) but the original reports came from the government. A sad, but quite cogent aside: if we had continued to use DDT for the last 30 years (in a responsible manner, of course) malaria, which kills far more people worldwide than AIDS ever will, would by now be all but eradicated. It's the main reason the World Health Organization has lifted the ban.
Now, is trans fat bad for you? Probably. Not, however, certainly, more studies have to be made to be certain. Here's an idea though, instead of telling people what they can or cannot eat (Didn't this used to be America? I swear I lived in America once.) lets educate them on why eating 5000 calories a meal when you only need 2500 or so a day is killing them and let them make their own decicions (I just know this was America once). Like smoking, if it kills them then they'll die. The anti-smoking folks have shown that their approach works far better than any other and yet no one ever tries to use it.
2minkey
bootlicker
that's all fine and good. education is great.
there's no law AGAINST trans fats (with the NYC restaurant exception) but merely a requirement that they label truthfully, or rather semi-truthfully as is the case here.
i'm not for a law banning ANY food ingredient. but when there is a clear knowledge gap - and there is as applies to healthy eating in this country - people should be informed where there may be a potential danger. and people do need help making informed food decisions. no one can be an expert on everything. it's not a government as nanny situation. it's no different than labeling cans of paint as to what they are best applied to -- not everyone has the time to become a paint expert and know the relevant differences.
i eat everything under the sun - bone marrow, foie gras (in all its fabulous immorality), veal, raw meats, and i load shit up with butter and everything else that would make an imaginary government food mommy run screaming.
hey none of that shit is illegal!