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At Issue
Slamming Trans-fats Is Like Being In Favour Of The Air We Breath
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
The cloudy hydrogenated soybean oil on the left contains unhealthy trans-fatty acids while the clear 1% linolenic soybean oil on the right contains no trans-fatty acids.It was welcome news coming from Ottawa. We have grown used to our politicians exuding platitudes about health care and finance but nothing about the food we eat. Having a showman like Layton step up to the plate was a refreshing break.
For those of us on the periphery of the food industry, trans fats are one of those things easy to over look. Most Canadians are only concerned that their food is cheap. Surely trans fats must have to do with the taste of food. It only makes sense something bad could taste so good.
But unfortunately trans fats aren't so good. They are formed when liquid vegetable oils go through a chemical process called hydrogenation - hydrogenated vegetable fat is used by food processors because it is solid at room temperature and has a longer shelf life.
The NDP release described Canada as having one of the world's highest consumption rates of trans fats, about 10 grams a day. One gram of trans fat is four to 10 times more dangerous to the heart than a gram of saturated fat. It cites information from the New England Journal of Medicine that says consuming even one gram a day increases heart disease risk by 20 per cent.
That's an incredible statistic, one, which should spur our politicians to action. The problem is nothing is ever so simple as banning a food additive to the betterment of Canadian health. Yes, the ban would have economic effects. Nobody wants to lose their job over something so mundane as a trans fat. But that is exactly what could happen if the NDP gets their way November 18th.
What you say? What'll happen if the trans fats ban is successful? Will the local waitress serving French fries lose her job? Will the fast food chains suddenly see a slower sales picture? Will consumer revolt or will they simply yawn and look for cheaper alternatives? Or will they notice at all?
It's hard to say because there is a lot more to the food system than meets the eye. Take a look in any of southwestern Ontario's many grocery stores. The shelves are jammed with products from around the world. I was stopped recently in a local grocery store from a recent immigrant to Canada from Mexico. He was excited to show me a can of jalapeno peppers straight from Mexico. They were his favourite snack, a real treat for a Mexican ex-patriot.
The point is what to do with all the imported food products demanded by Canadians, which contain "trans-fats?" How do we ban trans-fats and satisfy the many trading relationships we have within the WTO? Or should we just "damn the torpedoes" and do it regardless of the many negative economic effects, which may follow?
I dunno, but I do know that "food issues" aren't top drawer for almost any of us. Every night most Canadians go to bed never doubting that there will be food tomorrow. Yes, we have our food banks but mostly food has become "trivialized." Each year the percent of our disposable income spent on food goes down.
Food processors have responded with jazzy packaging hoping to add a little pizzazz to our food purchase decision. Trans-fats have been part of that buzz. It's all taken for granted, much to the chagrin on many Canadian farmers who don't share in the huge profits garnered by the sale of such food products.
So Jack Layton's foray into anything remotely to do with "food" was a very good thing. Sure, slamming trans-fats is like being in favour of the air we breath. It was surely politically motivated. But it does point the finger at the uglier side of our food system.
Simply put, trans-fats add profit to the food chain at the processing level. An argument can be made that their only redeeming value is adding profit to the big corporate multi-nationals who dominate the food industry. The result has been higher profits for them, but much more heart disease for us.
Consequently Jack is right. In the end, everybody should win. I'm sure those big multinationals will too. Profitable substitutes for trans-fats are already in the works.
Philip Shaw, farms 830 acres near Dresden, Ontario. He holds a Masters of Agricultural Economics and Business Degree from the University of Guelph and is a well-known commentator on agricultural issues in print, on radio and over satellite in Canada and the United States. In the Chatham-Kent Times, Phil will use his frank and forthright writing style to address political and economic issues from the local to the international stage. He is a keen observer of political life at all levels, reads widely and has travelled the world to gather fodder for his column. See what's At Issue this week.
