A 'blow for pie' and orangutans as U.S. government finally finds a 'trans' it can ban

The nanny state strikes again, this time going after partially hydrogenated oils, also known as “trans fats,” with a new FDA directive to phase out their use over the next three years:

Artificial trans fat will be banned from the U.S. food supply over the next 3 years http://t.co/4xSMvERTfj pic.twitter.com/MTCaqbJZAN

— Bloomberg (@business) June 16, 2015

The FDA is doing this to save lives, but don’t ask them how many lives it will save because they don’t know:

“I don’t know how many lives will be saved, but probably in the thousands per year when all the companies are in compliance,” said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

And the ban only affects you if you eat food that tastes good, so don’t worry too much:

Say goodbye to trans fats in your pizza and popcorn! The FDA is expected to announce a total ban on trans fats soon: http://t.co/eaiGpn6eOB

— WILX News 10 (@wilxTV) June 16, 2015

You guys like donuts, popcorn, creamer, dessert mixes & fried chicken? Of course you do! FDA is to begin rolling out a ban on #transfats

— Amy La Porte CNN (@AmyALaPorte) June 16, 2015

Of course, food companies are using trans fats now because of past health initiatives:

Jeff Stier- LEFT WANTS TO BAN TRANSFATS THAT THEY HELPED INTRODUCEhttps://t.co/ruN1GLrPKuhttp://t.co/FvcaqamSHChttp://t.co/cr2bgMH83v

— Bill Martinez (@BMartinezLive) June 16, 2015

Yep. From The Atlantic:

In the 1980s, some scientists began to associate heart disease with saturated fats, and in response, groups such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the National Heart Savers Association (NHSA) began to hound manufacturers for “poisoning America … by using saturated fats,” and as a result “nearly all targeted firms responded by replacing saturated fats with trans fats,” as David Schleifer wrote in 2012 for the journal Technology and Culture.

At the time, many restaurants used beef fat for frying, which groups like CSPI believed was far worse than hydrogenated oils, based on the research of the time.

The science wasn’t so settled?

The biggest winners from the trans fat ban will be producers of palm oil, which is seen as the least costly substitute:

#U.S. Bans Trans Fat in a Boost for Palm Oil and a Blow for Pie – Bloomberg http://t.co/8LznANrIHD

— Global Pharma News (@pharma_global) June 16, 2015

However, this is bad news for the environment as enviros hate palm oil companies and their farming methods:

Palm oil companies exploit Indonesia's people and its corrupt politics http://t.co/9WSF6GUXnZ

— Saut Situmorang (@AngrySipelebegu) June 16, 2015

Hardest hit will be Indonesia’s orangutans:

40 pellets in her body. Arms & legs broken. Rescued from an oil palm plantation. This is the cruel reality facing us. pic.twitter.com/7e8tQS59pg

— BOS UK (@BorneoOSUK) June 11, 2015

Orangutans are starving in Borneo and palm oil is to blame http://t.co/zVDwI4TeHV pic.twitter.com/rDfYWUymNN

— The Dodo (@dodo) June 15, 2015

And elephants!

Bulldozers continue to destroy elephant habitat for Conflict #PalmOil in Leuser Ecosystem. Read more: http://t.co/FCcehPB4Fj

— RAN (@RAN) June 10, 2015

Why does the FDA hate the environment?

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