They have drunk the cool-aid. They forced the fast food industry off relatively safe (note, I say "relatively safe", not "safe"), durable and economical beef tallow at the behest of ADM and their patsies in the American Heart Association who were still promoting trans fats a few months ago (still recommending margarine instead of (gasp!) butter). Surely fat research grants from ADM / Cargill had nothing at all to do with this, right?

The fast food industry didn't go to trans fats because they wanted to, but because they were forced to. The Health Nazis forced them off beef tallow. Normal vegetable oils are entirely unsuitable for deep frying, becoming rancid, CARCENOGENIC and unusable in just an hour or three (or minutes by some reconing).

So what is the fast food industry being force to now? Expensive GENETICALLY MODIFIED VEGETABLE OILS such as "canola" (formerly highly toxic rapeseed oil, but now in it's second round of genetic modification).

The other option is to go from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (trans fats) to fully hydrogenated vegetable oils - and guess what those are - they're FULLY SATURATED FATS - exactly what ADM'S Health Nazi patsies have declared is worse than the Devil himself - but since they're made from ADM perveyed products they are Jesus Christ in a Bottle (well, actually, in a tub, because fully saturated oils are stiff as a hocky puck at room temperature).

Remember, back in the 19th century when America practically lived on pig fat heart disease and cancer were very minor problem. They became prominent with the rise of "healthy" polyunsaturated oils and trans fats promoted by the grain and cotton industries.

I see absolutely no better roll for government than taking trans fats off the market. The consumer watches television advertising and has no concept whatever of the health impact. The consumer is in no way prepared to make proper decisions on this subject.