December 8, 2006
I tried to warn you. It was just a matter of time before the Nicotine Nazis in New York , headed by born-again non-smoker Mayor Michael Bloomberg, set their sights on anything else they deem unhealthy. Now it's not just lighting up in restaurants, it's lightening up, too. As I warned you, they weren't happy enough to control the atmosphere of restaurants, they wanted to control the menu, too. And now they do.
Emboldened by the virtually non-existent resistance to their unconstitutional cigarette ban, Bloomberg and company then turned their guns on trans fats. Now, I'm not saying the trans fats hysteria is akin to the global warming scare. Certainly there have been several studies that seem to link trans fats to health issues. However, the principal authors of the research cited by New York officials have also come to some other health conclusions. For example, they found those who consume Indian food made with sunflower oil are three times more likely to have a heart attack than those who used mustard oil. They also claim that consumption of dairy products was associated with an 80 percent jump in the risk of Parkinson's disease among men.
Other no-nos, according to a Fox News report on the anti-trans fats fanatics, are potatoes, peas, peanuts, beans, lentils, orange juice and grapefruit juice. With all apologies to Pastor Martin Niemoller, who penned the eloquent poem about inaction in the face of Nazi aggression:
First they came for the cigarettes. I remained silent. I was not a smoker. Then they came for trans fats. I remained silent. I was a health nut. Then they came for my orange juice and there was no one left to speak out.
You see, you may be cheering Bloomberg and the rabid anti-smokers because you despise cigarette smoking. That's certainly your right. I don't think anyone can argue the health benefits of smoking. But that's not the important issue here. What's important is individuals are, or should be, free to make decisions about their own lives and their own health without the government stripping them of their options. You may not like cigarettes but you may love Big Macs. I can certainly make as good a case for banning Big Macs as you can for banning cigarettes.
It's all about the consumer's right to choose. Furthermore, it's about the restaurant owner's right to choose. If I run a restaurant that allows smoking and enough people choose not to come, I either have to change my policy or go out of business. Likewise, if I cook my foods using trans fats and the trend moves away from trans fats, I have the option of following the trend or risking my business.
All we as consumers can expect is to be armed with the information – all the information. We don't need the government citing one particular study over another. Let us see the information and we will make a decision based on that knowledge and our right to be boneheads if we see fit. To have the government micromanage our lives when it comes to cigarettes and trans fats is to allow them to take away any freedom of choice. Once the risk-assessment bureaucrats take over, they'll suck the fun completely out of your life. Because, after all, fun is extremely high in calories and may cause obesity and oiling discharge. We'll all be walking around with SPF 50 Funblock smeared all over us.
It's not about the unhealthy activity. It's all about our right to choose. Beware: The health Nazis are on the move.