| Well publicized is the fact that the Calgary Health Region (CHR) is considering banning trans fats at city restaurants. But that could be just the beginning of the organization’s plans with the possibility of regulations also being developed to reduce or even eliminate sodium and saturated fats from the meals Calgarians enjoy at local eateries.
"We want to have a broader discussion about those areas," says Dr. Brent Friesen, the chief medical officer for the CHR. "Sodium content contributes to increased hypertension and saturated fat to cardiac disease. Is there a role for regulation as well?" he adds, "We’ll want to talk about those areas."
Friesen, the medical doctor in charge of overseeing the health of the more than one million people who live in Calgary, is unrepentant about considering regulations that would ban or restrict not only trans fats but also sodium (salt) and saturated fats. "Should there be labels or some restrictions?" he ponders aloud. "In the end, what we’re talking about is we have a problem with obesity and diabetes. We need to be taking action."
A not-for-profit lobby group based in Washington D.C. says health authorities across North America that are considering such regulations are overstepping their boundaries and will end up infringing on the individual rights of consumers to choose what they want to eat.
"The idea that what’s 100 per cent healthy is a diet most people don’t want," says Justin Wilson, a senior research analyst with The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) based in Washington D.C. "Do we want our hands slapped every time we reach for an Oreo?" CCF (funded in part by restaurants and food companies) has been at the forefront of a growing movement in the U.S. that believes health boards have no business determining what consumers eat. Wilson says the idea to ban trans fats or other substances such as sodium or saturated fats from the diets of consumers is driven by a form of hysteria. "For some reason westerners need to be obsessed by some element of our food," he says. "We always want something to be afraid of." He adds, "Banning them is big brother in action. Trans fats have been with us since 1911 when the process was invented. Margarine and shortening is all these are."
He says any decision by health boards to ban specific ingredients at restaurants oversteps the traditional role of such organizations as information providers and transforms them into policing agencies that strip away independent decision making of customers who frequent such restaurants. "Give consumers some credit for what they put into their mouths," says Wilson.
Meanwhile at Chinook Mall’s food court customers gather to enjoy everything from fried potatoes to sushi. One is Tony Kovak who says, "I think it’s just more nonsense. It should be up to you if you want trans fats or not. It’s more intrusion by government into our lives. It’s up to people to make informed decisions."
Dana Martin, another customer at the food court says, "It’s a good idea but a bad focus for the health region. People are going to make their choices whether it’s at home or at a restaurant." Looking down at the remains of her french fries, Martin says, "Am I more concerned about trans fats or getting a hospital bed if I need one? This is a treat for me. I don’t eat this every day. It’s the people who eat this every day that’s the concern."
Already the prospect of possible regulations to reduce or eliminate trans fats is being felt in Calgary. New York Fries – a food company founded by two Canadian brothers in New York City that currently operates six locations in Calgary – now cooks its french fries using trans-fat-free sunflower oil.
At all of Joey’s Only 100 locations across Canada (including five in Calgary) trans fats were removed from the cooking oils used to prepare popular menu items such as fish and chips beginning in 2005.
The Calgary Health Region plans to host forums where representatives from local restaurants and the general public will have the opportunity to provide input about plans to reduce or eliminate trans fats, sodium and saturated fats at Calgary’s eateries. Dates for the meetings have yet to be announced. |
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