Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to ban trans fats in the city’s restaurants, which has most health advocates applauding and most restaurateurs crying “nanny state,” found a new — and unexpected — opponent today. It’s the American Heart Association, reports the Post in a piece with an unappetizing subhead “Group Rips Fat Plan.” Granted, fervor-wise, the group is more Brooklyn Speaks than Develop Don’t Destroy, if you follow our drift. They’re not arguing that trans fats are somehow “heart smart.” They’re just worried that the plan’s brutal implementation table (the mayor wants it imposed by next July) won’t leave enough time to stock up on healthier alternatives. The concern is that cooks will simply switch from trans fats to things like palm and coconut oil, which are, if anything, even worse for you.
At least, with Heart Association’s invocation of palms and coconuts, the awkward truth comes out: The entire flap now seems to be about primarily Latin American foods. As such, it is slowly acquiring an unpleasant air of highfalutin squabbling over the good of a minority perfectly capable of making its own decisions. Somehow, Develop Don’t Destroy springs to mind again.
“Heart” Attack on Ban [NYP]
Earlier: Who Will Speak for the Plantains? [Grub Street]
