One Big Rant

Sorry, we can't ban trans-fats until we make it illegal first (please note: this is a jab at our reigning goverment party's ban on illegal fire arms - a pitiful move to try and better their re-election campaign. Next, may I suggest banning murder?).
Rew

I wish there was more info in the article. The goal is to reduce the amount of trans fatty acids consumed. I think it will only help people who can afford eat whatever they want, at the expense of those who cannot.

The article says: "While the Canadian food industry will certainly have to put up with additional costs for replacing trans fats in its food products by healthier alternatives, I have no doubt these costs will be greatly surpassed by the resulting benefit on human health."

Nothing compels the food industry to put up with the additional costs of labelling, and/or the cost of using alternatives to partly-hydrogenated veggie oil. So the companies' foods will get more expensive.

It doesn't matter if a company raises the price of its TFA-based or non-TFA-based products--the end result is that the price of the company's products will increase.

Low-income consumers buy a disproportionate amount of processed food. So this law benefits only people who can afford to make a decision based on labelling.

That's a good point Ryan, but I don't think it's quite so bleak.

Nabisco recently made their Oreo cookies trans fat free (http://www.bantransfats.com/theoreocase.html), with no reported rise in cost. Also, here in the US, all Frito-Lay products are trans fat free, and remain competitively priced. McDonalds is also realizing that it will be cheaper for them to switch oils than settle lawsuits.

About the cost of labeling, numerous studies have shown that these costs more than paid for themselves in the long run, when health care costs are taken into account (http://www.fao.org/docrep/T2860T/t2860t07.htm, http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aer793/aer793e.pdf, http://www.cspinet.org/canada/add_input_avail.html).

I also think that mandatory labeling (along with better consumer education) will result in healthier products, since consumers will opt for healthier options (the Atkins low-carb fad is one example of this).

Rew, I agree the handgun ban will do little to prevent handgun-related deaths. But it is campaign season, so every token effort counts!

Well, none of the links gave the costs/benefits of additional, mandatory trans fat labelling so I can't argue with them. They talk about labelling vs. no labelling at all.

Look at it this way: suppose Nabisco raises the price of its non-TFA-based products. This puts healthy food further out of reach of low-income consumers. If Nabisco raises the price of its TFA-based foods, then the healthy food is still no cheaper than it was before, and the consumer will have to spend more on groceries than before.

I really doubt that additional labelling and switching to alternative oils is costless for the industry. But I'm willing to accept statements like this:

"After six years of review, the FDA proposed modifying the label. It concluded that just listing trans fat on labels would save an estimated 2,500 to 5,600 lives per year. The health benefits were 50-fold greater than the cost of labeling."

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/08/EDGRQ8KVR31.DTL

My point is that the increase in cost is being born by those who can least afford it, so that well-off consumers can benefit. The vast majority of those 5600 saved lives will be well-off people. It's great that there will be a net benefit for consumers like you & me, but doesn't it seem kind of non-progressive to leave the poorest consumers footing the bill?

Sincerely,
Ryan B., friend of the oil & shortening lobby

Maybe I'm missing your point. The goal of labeling trans fats is not to provide the poorest customers with cheap healthy food. It's to provide information to consumers about potentially harmful ingredients, and hopefully pressure companies to provide healthier options.

It's like arguing against organic produce because it's too expensive for the poor to buy. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be available.

I seriously doubt trans fat labeling will result in across-the-board price increase, just like mandatory nutritional information did not.

And remember Ryan, if trans fat labeling saves just one life, it's all worth it :)

Cool. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a Marshmallow Pie in the microwave...

http://www.littledebbie.com/products/BananaPies.asp