Guard that Lard: In NY, health officials have urged restaurants not to use transfats, which are thought to increase the risk of heart disease. Lots of people are getting upset, apparently, because of government interference. But the government isn't mandating anything, merely providing recommendations. It is so often libertarian economists who want no government interference, but an important service that government provides is information. If they provide information, along with a recommendation, that actually helps alleviate the economic problem of imperfect information, and should help consumers and the population at large (and the free market). But I'm sure there are at least some of you who disagree, so let's hear it!
Oh, and while we're on the subject of fat, I wanted to recommend Garrison Keillor's column from earlier this week!
Oh, and while we're on the subject of fat, I wanted to recommend Garrison Keillor's column from earlier this week!
posted by Zo at 10:22 AM
2 Comments:
Chocolate, I thought you had sympathized with libertarians before-- I was actually thinking you'd be the one to disagree with me on this one!
On the issue of imperfect information, I think there is no way to get around it, we will never have perfect information. So when I say perfect information, I mean as much information as is known. In the area of health this is very tricky, since there are so many studies and reports coming out all of the time. I was just having a debate with someone on the Thimerosal issue, because I feel that regardless of whether or not thimerosal causes autism, doctors and Institute of Medicine people were playing the "trust us" card to much. I think it is a hard question-- do you freak out the public with information that may be proven wrong later, or do you withhold it to prevent panic? I opt for openness, and educating people to be critical thinkers. Even though not everyone is a critical thinker, I don't trust anyone to make the decision on what I need to know and what I don't (there are some exceptional cases such as national security I see supercede my right to know). Too much room for abuse.
As for the Chinese diet, they aren't eating transfats that are chemically altered to become as detrimental to human arteries as possible. Also, you should know that the Chinese are facing their own obesity epidemic: "Now a government survey concludes that there are 60 million obese people in China. That's slightly more than there are in the United States.
China, of course, has more people, and its obesity rate is far lower than America's. But it's catching up. The survey indicates that the number of obese people in China doubled between 1992 and 2002. If the trend continued--the survey took some time to tabulate--China has overtaken America as the fat capital of the world.
The prevalence of diseases related to an unhealthy diet and lifestyle is also on the rise, the government said. " This is from an article in Forbes, but there are plenty of others you could look at, as well. (http://www.forbes.com/commerce/2004/10/13/cx_da_1013topnews.html).
I actually think the article is fair, in that it points out the discrepancy in numbers (I probably didn't paste the excerpt in a very user friendly manner, but it was in the part I posted.) The main point is the trend-- they are becoming fatter, just like us, because of the very different lifestyle we have today as compared to 3000 years ago, or even 30 years ago. At that time, people moved more, so they needed more fat. Less moving requires less fat. I justify my fat intake by moving a lot. (There are lots of other differences between now and previous time periods, but I think that one is most important, and I don't have time to get into more.)
Also, we do need to make sure not to conflate diet fads with medical literature. My dad (physician and nutritionist) has always showed me medical articles refuting the low fat/ low carb/ high protein/Atkins, etc, etc, etc crazes of the moment. Fat is essential for lots of reasons, including absorption of vitamins and minerals. But the type of fat and the amount are also very important factors in maintaining a healthy diet.
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