Health is the main reason politicians and public officials cite for banning oils known as trans fats. But whose health?
Apparently supporters of the bans, including every member of the Baltimore City Council, advocate slimming locally and starving and killing globally.
Trans fats are not healthy. That is not in question. They clog arteries and can lead to heart disease and obesity when people consume too many of them in doughnuts and french fries and other tasty but bad-for-you foods.
But banning them, as Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Montgomery County have done, will drive the price of palm and other alternative oils higher by increasing demand for them. Palm oil prices already doubled in the last year.
For Americans, forking over another $1 or $2 for cooking oil is no big deal. But for families in developing nations, it means going without and is causing major civil unrest as people riot over food shortages. Three people died and 31 were injured in November when an oil promotion at grocery store Carrefour in Chongqing, China, started a stampede. Pakistan, India and Indonesia are some of the other countries where food shortages and rising commodity prices are sparking civil unrest.
Do City Council members really want blood on their hands for an issue that could be solved by people simply choosing to eat fewer slices of cake?
Increased demand for biofuel is the prime reason for higher prices as crops once used for food are converted to energy in an attempt to find environmentally friendly alternatives to petroleum. Despite recent scientific reports showing biofuels harm the environment more than they help it, demand for them is expected to climb in the double digits each year in the near future. That means less crops for food and higher prices for everyone.
Baltimore City does not need to add to the problem by forcing restaurants to switch to alternative fats. What should be a personal choice issue for local residents and their patrons is a matter of life and death for those in other countries. Council members should reject the proposed ban when they debate it today ? for the sake of everyone?s health.
