A while back, Joel mentioned the city of Chicago's ban on foie gras as a good exam question for a trade law class. Here's another. Tomorrow, New York's Board of Health "will hold its first public hearing on a proposal to make New York the first U.S. city to ban restaurants from serving food containing artificial trans fats." The primary source of these trans fats is partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Who makes this oil? I'm not sure, but whichever companies and countries it is must be getting nervous (and possibly consulting their trade lawyers).
Here's an interesting side note:
Ironically, many fast food companies become dependent on hydrogenated oil about 15 years ago when they were pressured by health groups to do something about saturated fat. McDonald's emptied its fryers of beef tallow in 1990 and filled them with what was then thought to be "heart healthy" partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
UPDATE: It appears that at least one fast food restaurant, KFC, has taken the initiative and is eliminating trans fat from its food. (Well, from its chicken anyway. They are still looking for a replacement oil to use in the biscuits.) Other big chains may follow soon. Taking the government out of the change makes the likelihood of a trade complaint much lower.
