PrintDecember 23, 2006
Surely not Calgary?
It's one thing for Mike Bloomberg's New York City to ban trans fats in food. We're used to "Nurse Bloomberg's" view of big government's role, forcing citizens to behave in ways the bureaucrats decree to be healthy. Nevermind the way in which ideas about the relative health of foods change. Remember when you were only supposed to have one or two eggs a week? Or when coffee was deemed hazardous to your health? Or, for that matter, when leeches were used to treat various illnesses? All these prescriptions have been disproven.
But I am in shock to read that Calgary, Canada's oil capital, economic dynamo, and general exemplar of the value of freedom and self-responsibility, might go down the Bloomberg road. From the Calgary Sun:
The Calgary Health Region is now seriously considering forcing all city restaurants to remove artificial trans fat from their meals, as the New York City Board of Health voted to do earlier this month and Massachusetts is considering."We're definitely going to look at the trans fat initiative," says straight-talking health region boss Jack Davis, referring to the Big Apple's action to rid itself of the artery-clogging oils that raise the risk of heart disease and stroke and are found in such foods as french fries and pastries."We see our role as relentlessly advocating for healthy behaviour. To do that, sometimes you need regulation."
The world seems to be careening in unexpected directions What's next? Alabama adopting gay marriage? San Francisco urging citizens to refrain from anal sex due to the health hazards? We live in strange times.
