SACRAMENTO — — California became the first state to require restaurants to cook without artery-clogging trans fats, such as those in many oils and margarines, under restrictions signed into law Friday by the health-conscious governor.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a physical-fitness advocate and crusader against obesity, sided with legislators who said the measure would help get the fat out of Californians who are too dependent on fast food.
Trans fats can preserve flavor and add to the shelf life of foods but have been linked to heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Look, it’s true: you should be warned that the average restaurant is trying to kill you. Not just by cooking with far too much fat and sugar, but by enormous portions. The average guy, if he’s a normal weight and getting some exercise, needs maybe 2000 calories a day to be well. And most of that should come from fresh fruit and vegetables, not chimichangas. I doubt you could get out of a restaurant anymore with less than 700 – 1000 under your belt, and very little good nutrition from it. But I have a problem with laws like this.
I don’t think The State should be taking it upon itself to raise us like we’re children. I don’t like paternalistic laws, and California is just getting carried away with them lately. Like the stupid cell phone law. We have to use hands-free devices when driving, which is just as distracting as holding a phone to your ear. And the law is too narrowly drawn: They should have strengthened the law against driving while distracted, period. Because people are different; we react differently to stimuli. And whether someone is distracted is a matter of specific circumstances and facts, not generalized situations. But I digress.
We don’t need to fix the restaurants that have been cooking with trans fats. The public should be educated about their homicidal tendencies, so people stop eating there and the restaurants go out of business. Because even after they fix their brand of grease, they’ll still be serving up unhealthy craptastic anti-food. We don’t need those places at all; we need to choose for ourselves a new lifestyle, and teach it to the kids, so they don’t learn to rely on factory fabricated, bio-miodified tummy-fillers in place of nutrition and wellness.
Metaphor 
Kyle,
This reminds me of my time spent in Europe. I never saw an all you can eat buffet, nor was I offered the option of super sizing my order.
Europeans (at least in Germany, France and Italy) have a much calmer approach to food than we do. No eating on the run, at the desk or in front of the tv. It’s a good reality check for all of us.
I don’t remember a meal over there that lasted less than an hour. And the biggest problem at a restaurant is getting the waiter to bring you the bill, especially as you have reserved your seat for the evening.
Perhaps we are paying the price for our overflowing bread basket.
I wish I was living in Munich or Paris right now, with the farmer’s market, cheese shop, baker and butcher all within walking distance of my front door.
Pat