When did it become OK for our elected, and often appointed, officials legislate what we eat? The land of the not-quite-free and the home of BIG BROTHER. While I understand that if I treat my body badly it will breakdown quicker and that could translate to higher insurance, hospitalization, and medical costs for the larger society. Collectives are collectives, in part, for just that reason; to spread out certain costs and to support each other.

It is another tentacle on Medusa's crown of political correctness. Soon we will live in a country filled with people running around in hermetically sealed bubbles and speaking via computers that edit our speech so that our speech cannot offend anyone.

And don't get me started on Chicago and Fois Gras.

Yes, making pastry with shortening does make a difference, perhaps not so much in taste as in texture.

Shouldn't the city just let people know what foods have trans fats and let the free market decide? Of course when they find out their pie crusts are now being made with lard they might not like that either.

Maybe if you're not paying attention.

Soy and canola are nearly flavorless; corn has a slight floral aroma, and peanut oil is hugely detectable in lightly flavored foods like french fries and potato chips. That's not important, though.

It's just evidence of the general lackadaisical attitude Ms. Nestle has to the trans-fat issue. All her answers are so easy, as if the questions of how dangerous trans fats are, and how legitimate a goal it is to ban desirable products that only increase a risk of harm, and only to the person who consumes them, have long since been resolved.

And an explanation of what, exactly a trans fat is is "too much chemistry"- Here's the too much chemistry. Fats are made of fatty acids in long long chains. The fatty acids are stuck together with either one or two hydrogens at each bond. Saturated fats have two hydrogens at each bond. Unsaturated fats have one or more bonds with only one hydrogen. A "trans fat" is hydrogenated- one bond that was single gets doubled. The fat changes- it doesn't go rancid as easy. It stays solid at higher tempratures. It can be substituted for more expensive, often animal-derived, saturated fats.

And trans fats (Which may differ by only one bond from those super-healthy, purported cure-all, everybody loves 'em, super selling-point Omega-3 and Omega-6 fats) aren't poison, after all. Eating trans fats at table three won't give anyone cancer at table six, like smoking.

I love donuts and french fries and chips and cool whip and margarine. I also love whole grains, beans, lettuce and tomatoes and yogurt and the elliptical trainer. Must the price of my fries go up, and the quality go down because someone is concerned that I can't adequately assess the risks of fried food in the context of my general lifestyle?

I figured if I kept out of restaurants that are

chinese,italian,mexican (and central america),carribean,

and french (which I never go anyway), fast food,and eat noones

buns or muffins I would be safe w/o more laws that continue to take away my freedom.

Everywhere cameras spy on us. And if you have security clearance in the production

of military products: industry and the government avail themselves of some

very boring phone conversations.

I would forgive the phone taps and and cameras if I could unbuckle my seatbelt.

Basically, this ban was conceived because people are too stupid to watch what they shove in their pie holes. Guess what? People will still be stupid after the ban and will probably end up eating even more because they think it's "healthy". I've seen a family member eat an entire box of low fat cookies because, "Hey, they're diet"! No joke.

All of this is done ostensibly to 'keep healthcare costs down'. Ok let's say that's true. Why is it no matter how much my own lifestyle is micromanaged for my own good, I NEVER see a reduction in my premium. My costs NEVER go down. How long before PPO's start requiring all sorts of blood tests to qualify for coverage? Oh I'm sorry sir you had a Krispy Kreme inside our 6 month prior conditions window, you won't be covered for that procedure.....

Especially when it comes to baking.

In pastries, there are things a shortening can do that you can't do with an oil, so bakeries will be switching from trans-fat vegetable shortening to beef tallow or (more likely) lard. Of course, that will cause problems with people who are vegetarians, keep kosher, or observe halal. Not only that, but lard and beef tallow will cause differences in the flavor of baked goods. Some people actually prefer the flavor of animal fats mixed with butter vs. vegetable shortening, but it will make a difference in the recipies.

I don't know the exact regulations, but originally, there was talk of making an exception for bakeries -- especially those that cater to customers that would have problems with using baked goods that contained animal fats.

Personally, I don't believe the regulations will make that much difference. The problems with our diet is more than just trans-fats. It's too many calories, too much overly processed foods, and not enough exercise.

I also disagree with the comparisons between smoking, wearing seat belts, and banning trans-fats. Smoking affected not just the smoker, but all those around them. If someone isn't wearing a seatbelt and gets into a traffic accident, they go to a hospital and use public resources for treatment. Compared to that, eating trans-fat ladened foods is a private sin.

Me, I'm on a diet for the next 40 or so years, so this ban will not really affect me one way or another. I rarely eat dessert, eat out, or buy prepackaged goods. I eat lots of veggies, exercise every day, and watch my weight (which at my age is pretty easy because it likes to stand out in front at tummy level where it's easy to see when I look in the mirror.)

However, I use to be a commercial baker, so I know the difference between liquid oil and solid vegetable shortening affects the end products. For example, it was all that transfat shortening that made that "healthy" stone ground, whole wheat, organic bread so nice, soft and tasty.