They Protect Me From Me, But Who Protects Me From Them?

[Guest guest]

They Protect Me From Me, But Who Protects Me From Them?

by Wilton D. Alston

by Wilton D. Alston

http://www.lewrockwell.com/alston/alston15.html

" The day may come when the courage of men fails; when we forsake our friends

and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day! This day we fight! "

~ Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

I've already lamented the use and abuse of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in

pretty much all processed foods. It seems clear that the state, in an effort to

" help " corn farmers, has hurt everyone else. But at least in that case, albeit

difficult, we can still choose to avoid that poison. Several respondents to my

essay made that point in their messages to me. It's tough, but the choice is

still there. I agree, although without the state's involvement, our choices

would certainly be larger. Then again, that's always the case, is it not? As

Manual Lora and I tried to convey in our most recent joint essay, choice for

each of us is best for all of us.

Enter the Trans Fat Police

In a twist of irony only available from gubmint involvement, New York State

recently imposed a ban on trans fats. For those who haven't heard, trans fats

are the result of trying to make vegetable fats, typically not suitable for

cooking and baking due to molecular structure, into a substance suitable for

both. For instance, to get that " moistness " that we all crave in our baked

goods, one generally must use oil that is solid at room temperature. (And this

is verified by my memory of my Grandma's biscuits!) This is relatively easy if

one uses animal fats (lard, butter) or some tropical oils (coconut, palm). But

somewhere back a decade or two or three ago, it became unpopular to use

saturated fats.

It also became unpopular to use imported tropical oils, particularly coconut

oil, although even with their high saturation level, they are still some of the

healthiest oils one can consume. Not that surprisingly, the soy lobby (or the

edible oil industry, if you prefer) authored most of the information used to

vilify tropical oils. (I know - shocking.) Luckily, plentiful (cheap) oils were

available from the fertile farmlands of the North American Continent. Unluckily,

these oils were naturally polyunsaturated - lacking in hydrogen atoms along the

chain of carbons - and therefore less than optimal for baking.

Worse yet, these fats were unstable and spoiled rather quickly, particularly

when heated. Science came to the rescue and found a way to add hydrogen atoms

along the molecular chain of these oils - via a process know as hydrogenation -

creating what were called partially hydrogenated oils. The resulting substance

could be used for baking and was still vegetable-based. Healthy, cheap, and

produced on this continent - a veritable " trifecta " - Yahtzee!

Not quite. It was more recently discovered that these fake fats were actually

much worse for you than the stuff they replaced. (That there are still people

using margarine at this late date is testimony that this information hasn't

quite reached the hoi polloi.) Health-conscious people began to raise a stink

about these " trans fats, " while study after study illustrated their awesome

power for clogging arteries better than even the lardiest lard ever supposedly

could.

[As an aside, studies seem to show that the prevalence of clogged arteries in

the U.S., where a " war " on saturated fats has been waged for decades, is much

higher than that among cultures whose diets are just chock-full of fat from

blubber. When people from these cultures - e.g., Inuits - switch to more

" mainstream " diets, they experience an increased rate of heart disease. (Maybe

consumption of dietary fat per se isn't what makes you unhealthy?) But, I

digress.]

Here we are with trans fats being banned. This occurred long after they had been

placed in just about every baked item sold in the overwhelmingly large - nearing

gargantuan - processed food market in the U.S.

The problems here are almost too many to name. First of all, people are (or

should be) free to choose. If they really don't want to consume trans fats, they

are free to not do so. If a restaurant wants to use them, I am free to not dine

there while you are free to enjoy them if you like. Everyone is happy. Secondly,

the prevalence of trans fats is largely the result of government interference

anyway, so why would even more government involvement make things better?

Let's review this little scenario.

a.. Initially people are free to use whatever they want, including lard,

butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and/or palm oil, etc. (Some people are fat, but

hey, that was less about the fats and more about their lifestyle choices, among

other things.)

b.. Aggressive lobbying by the edible oil industry causes adoption, at the

federal government level, of dietary goals and guidelines that incorporate the

mistaken idea that consumption of saturated fat causes heart disease. (State

intervention makes finding a domestic substitute for these fats financially

critical.)

c.. Because of inherent limitations, polyunsaturated vegetable oils are

unsuitable for baking; partially hydrogenated oils are developed to mitigate

these effects. (Manufacturers, seeking to maximize profits while meeting the

federal guidelines eagerly incorporate this crap into, well, everything.)

d.. After years of clogged arteries, heart attacks, bypass surgeries and the

like, somebody discovers that making a cheap vegetable oil into a baking fat via

the magic of chemistry also changes the properties of that oil for the worse.

(Who knew?)

e.. State intervention seeks to preclude that which was originally facilitated

largely by state intervention - trans fats are banned. (Complete symmetry is

achieved.)

Conclusion

Isn't it always the same thing? Second verse same as the first. By the way, any

similarity in the conclusions I draw here and the message from my HFCS essay is

entirely intentional. But let's be clear. It's not my place to make choices of

this type for anyone else and neither is it the government's place. (I've

already got a mother, but thanks anyway.) Let the right and the responsibility

rest where they should.

As a matter of fact, if you want to sit by the dock of the bay stuffing your

face with beef-tallow-soaked fast-food French fries, washing them down with a

carbonated beverage just chock-full of HFCS while taking the edge off with an

unfiltered cigarette delivered by an illegal alien after it was manufactured in

a Cuban factory and subsequently soaked in crystal methamphetamine, I could not

care less. I celebrate your decision to " do it your way. " I might, in the words

of Tony Soprano, suggest that you " consider salad " and I'd likely advise you of

the dangers of " tweaking " but hey, it would still be your choice.

And, if you and your friends want to open a restaurant where second-hand smoke

is actually on the menu, right next to endangered fish delicately pan seared

with a delightful, but trans fat-laden chipotle sauce, I'm cool with that too.

(Let's just say I'm easy and leave it at that.)

My message here is simple: I don't want your choices to become my choices

because the lobbying group you hired can convince some slacker with a

congressional budget that it's a good idea. Furthermore I don't want my personal

choices - be they good or bad - reduced because of similar chicanery. Is that

too much to ask?

But let us not forget Aragorn's words. Change has to begin with us.

Maybe, just maybe, if each of us realizes and acts upon the fact that the

ultimate choice - and responsibility - should always be ours, we'll get to start

choosing for ourselves sooner or later.

Hey, I can hope.

January 31, 2007

Wilt Alston [send him mail] lives in Rochester, NY, with his wife and three

children. When he's not training for a marathon or furthering his part-time

study of libertarian philosophy, he works as a principal research scientist in

transportation safety, focusing primarily on the safety of subway and freight

train control systems.

Copyright © 2007 LewRockwell.com

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