The Food and Drug Administration announced Nov. 7 that it is considering a ban on certain types of added trans fats in food. This will increase the quality of fast food and hopefully decrease the rate of obesity in this country.
Artificial trans fats, or partially hydrogenated oils, may be banned from all foods, which would help prevent “20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year.”
This is meant to help make food healthier. However, trans fats are normally used to preserve the food and extend its shelf life.
I’m happy about the prospect of trans fats being eliminated, but I’m just a college student — I don’t really want higher costs for higher quality food.
What would happen if fast food companies started making quality food like that? For one, it might take longer to prepare, but ingredients would be fresher than usual. But it might also be more expensive.
What about the many fast food restaurants surrounding, and even on ASU campuses?
It’s not like we can start growing vegetables in our own gardens to feed us year-round — not in Arizona, at least.
According to the FDA, the companies have decreased their use of trans fat: “Trans fat intake among American consumers has declined from 4.6 grams per day in 2003 to about 1 gram per day in 2012.”
The FDA's decision to target trans fats is a good thing to do, but perhaps its real target should be other food additives, accidental or otherwise, that really shouldn’t be there, such as pesticide runoff, growth hormones and all kinds of artificial flavoring.
We haven’t really seen a difference in Americans’ diets. We keep eating fast food though we know it’s bad for us, often because of scheduling constraints. “I have class in an hour. … I’ll find time for the gym later,” we say.
People shouldn't have to choose between fast or healthy, affordable or unhealthy. Being healthy shouldn’t be costing you time or money. You shouldn’t have to buy a new skinny pill or spend hours and hours at the gym.
You should be able to control what you put in your own body, and it should always work for you. Just because something is fast doesn’t mean it will help you get to class on time.
Go grab an apple or some celery, then go home and make a nice sandwich.
The FDA’s job is to ensure that we are eating safely. If it isn’t achieving that, then the fast food companies can give you anything they want and call it “meat.”
We should have better access to cheap, natural food, not food that’s grown in a lab.
Reach the columnist at lmrich@asu.edu.
