Alcohol-free champagne substitute flows freely through the streets of New York, Chicago, Seattle and other cities considering trans fat bans, as the food police toast their impending victory over personal liberty. Unfortunately, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports, before the party ends these activists will begin locking their sights on the next target: "Executives for the restaurant industry, increasingly under scrutiny as Americans eat out more, expect sodium to be the next nutritional battleground."We agree. Consumers can anticipate the attack on salt to commence with the same tired, tag line, "According to the latest study…" Thousands of studies implicate sodium, sugar, fat and many other commonplace ingredients in every conceivable malady. Even though activists depend on these fringe statistics to support their rants, they selectively ignore the mountains of evidence refuting their claims.With scientific research turning into a game of "he said, she said," consumers may soon be unable to distinguish between a red flag and a red herring. But don’t worry. Legislators and activists are selflessly willing to pick and choose which advice to heed, and syndicated columnist Walter Willaims worries their impositions won’t end with the local eatery.
Food zealots, who share the mindset of Mayor Bloomberg and are "… just trying to make food safer," will not be satisfied controlling restaurant menus. After all, most eating is done at home. So why wouldn’t the food zealots enact bans on what can and cannot be sold in supermarkets? Nine chances out of ten, most of a person’s saturated fat intake occurs during the family dinner.
Control over your dinner picks and grocery lists may still not be enough to satiate the food patrol. With researchers generating new statistics by the minute, nothing is safe. If health officials catch wind of the latest study blaming obesity on intestinal bacteria, the American public ought to prepare for more intrusive legislation. Get ready for the U.S. Department of Enemas.
