While scanning the politics section of Yahoo! News the other day, I was amazed to find myself reading an article on trans fats. There is no debate over whether trans fats are dangerous or not, so I wondered what political implications could be found in this article.

It has been proven that these fats, which are found in fast food, margarine and pastries, increase the risk of coronary heart disease and cause other health problems. It's been said before that we need to change our diets, so what else is new?

As I read on I discovered that New York health officials are outraged by this news, and I took a moment to reflect on at whom they could be outraged. They claim to be upset at the amount of deaths caused by heart disease, so does that mean they are mad at Americans for not eating right?

No, bypassing the logical route they instead become angry at food companies and restaurants. The majority of the trans fats consumed are the products of the hydrogenation of oils and fats so that they are denser at room temperature and keep longer in storage. Because trans fats are added to products by companies, health officials are blaming them for people's health problems as if they knew trans fats were harmful when they began manufacturing them and are now forcibly feeding them to Americans. It is clear how irrational this outrage is, and where there is irrational emotion it is typically followed by irrational action.

In a 1984-esque manner, health officials in NYC are calling for a legal ban on trans fats in restaurants, and are claiming the law is justified because forcing restaurants to change their ingredients will come at little cost to them and ultimately could save many lives. But people, knowing the risk of eating fries and donuts, eat at these restaurants anyway. This shows that the foods these restaurants provide are of greater value to people than the degree of harm caused to their health.

This proves that there is no justification for this ban because there is no justification for anyone forcibly standing between a person and what they value. The government has no place in the health affairs of its citizens or in the practices of companies. Since the truth about trans fats has been discovered, many restaurants have already worked to get rid of them, without coercion from their government.

All this makes me wonder if our society is headed toward a dystopia such as that featured in Orwell's novel. 'Big Brother' banned certain foods and required exercise all in the name of good health, and it was made clear in the book that a controlling government is a much greater risk to our well-being than our own indulgences.

Health officials and politicians need to learn that they are not saving my life by not allowing me to live it. Bans and regulations such as this need to be fought with the same fervor as would be used if there were to be a ban on any other human pursuit of happiness.