Political grandstanding aside, and ignoring the obvious health reasons for the ban, I find it odd that such items are even on an alderman's busy agenda. What's next? I'd be happy if restaurant menus highlighted which items had trans fats. I'm sure most owners would suddenly find alternative oils to use.
Chicago Weighs New Prohibition: Bad-for-You Fats A proposal would make it illegal for restaurants to use oils with trans fats, which have been tied to health problems.Edward M. Burke, who has served on the Chicago City Council since 1969, when cooking oil was just cooking oil, is pressing his colleagues to make it illegal for restaurants to use oils that contain trans fats, which have been tied to a string of health problems, including clogged arteries and heart attacks.
If approved, nutrition experts say, the ban will be the first in a major city, following the lead of towns like Tiburon, Calif., just north of San Francisco, where restaurant owners have voluntarily given up the oils. In truth, while the proposal’s prospects are uncertain, Chicago officials have been on a bit of a banning binge these days in what critics mock as City Hall’s effort to micromanage residents’ lives in mundane ways.
The aldermen voted in April to forbid restaurants to sell foie gras. They have weighed a proposal to force cabbies to dress better. And there is talk of an ordinance to outlaw smoking at the beach.
Even Mayor Richard M. Daley, who often promotes bicycle riding and who not long ago appointed a city health commissioner who announced he was creating health “report cards” for the mayor and the aldermen, has balked at a trans-fat prohibition as one rule too many.
“Is the City Council going to plan our menus?” Mayor Daley asked.
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Despite his wish to make Chicago healthier, even Mr. Burke — who appears trim, though he said that he, like most people he knows, would not mind losing 10 pounds — balked at the claim that it was the fattest city. Having seen the crowds at Walt Disney World, he said, he rather doubted that Chicago deserved the distinction.Back at the Taste of Chicago, a spokeswoman for the festival said she was not qualified to comment on what might become of the summer event, in its 26th year, if trans fats were banished. She was also unable to say how many of the delicacies were cooked with oils containing trans fats.
Still, she pointed out, correctly, that there were booths selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Yet among the statistics city officials proudly announced as the festival closed after a 10-day run: 20,000 servings of fried dough were sold, as were 70,000 pirogies and 150,000 plates of fried cheese.
Tags: Food
The few times I visited Chicago there were two traits of the city that impressed me: the civility of its people, in stores or restaurants, for example, and the huge portions of food served as single entries.
My Chicagoan friend laughed at me and said, "Well, Tina, this is meat and pahtahtoes country."