Indeed Governor Florio of NJ got himself into a shit storm over regulating out runny eggs in restaurants.
harveyc: If you are only comparing McDonald’s expense to making your own lunch, then I still would not call it expensive but rather medium prices.
Go to any restaurant for lunch and it is a on average twice the cost.
You still have not addressed the fact that McDs does not need trans-fat oil to make tasty fries. That was mentioned earlier by kanicbird.
You refuse to address the big question of what civil rights are being violated?
Trans fats can’t be tasted, and they don’t make your eating experience any better.
They could be replaced by older fats and you’d never know.
They can hurt you wrose than those other fats.
They are used only to save money for the manufacturer.
The manufacturer could also save money by not washing hands, by not cleaning the kitchen, by feeding you sawdust. All of that would harm you too, but lower the cost.
Analogy for trans fats, now we have NYC saying we can’t have trans fat fries for lunch, yet the “LDL” hamburger and cheese are ok!
– The government has the obligation to insure that people understand the health risks of smoking. Government and employers ought to help people who want to quit smoking. Ultimately, however, it is up to the individual to decide if they want to engage in risky behavior such as smoking or riding a motorcycle. What is wrong is using the power of the government or the paycheck to tell other people how to live. ~ ACLU
Average cost of a McD’s Value Meal = $5.69 (w/ the $2.69 McNuggets) + tax?
This is essential 100% of the national median daily food cost per person, and what about the nutritional value?
**Extra Value Meal #1 - Big Mac served with French fries and your choice of soft drink. Sandwich only $2.89 - $5.99
Extra Value Meal #10 - Filet-O-Fish served with French fries and your choice of soft drink. Sandwich only $2.59 - $5.69
Extra Value Meal #2 - Quarter Pounder with cheese and served with French fries and your choice of soft drink. Sandwich only $3.09 - $6.19
Extra Value Meal #3 - Double Quarter Pounder with cheese served with French fries and your choice of soft drink. Sandwich only $3.89 - $6.99
Extra Value Meal #4 - Big N’Tasty served with French fries and your choice of soft drink. Sandwich only $3.09 - $6.19
Extra Value Meal #8 - Chicken Selects served with French fries and your choice of soft drink. 3 piece meal $5.79 or 5 piece meal $6.79; Chicken selects only meal: 3 pc $3.59, 5 pc $4.99 and 10 pc $7.99
Extra Value Meal #9 - 6 piece McNugget served with French fries and your choice of soft drink. 6 McNuggets only $2.69, 10 pcs $3.69 or 20 pcs $6.39 - $5.79**
Just ignore the price. You still haven’t answered the question about “civil rights”. You can argue that this is a wise or unwise decision without bringing “rights” into it.
I agree, I always bring a bottle back when I’m in Europe. They had an absinthe bar at Sundance this year. I had two shots. This is in Utah, which made it all the more special. Yes, I’m channeling Oscar Wilde.
I guess it depends on how you define cheep vs expensive food, if you just compare by a ‘filling’ meal, then it doesn’t seem that bad, but if you look at the nutrition in that meal I think you will find that this food is very expensive in terms of micronutrients. Also since we are talking about Manhattan, I know there are many many pay per pound places there where you can get a pound of food, you chose, for about $5-6.50/lb. Here you can do better then Mc D's in /meal as you can chose more nutritious foods for less then Mc D’s
I believe that slowly but surely it is being discovered that transfats are worse then saturated fats, and slowly but surely saturated fats are being found healthier then suspected.
I’m not sure about lead paint, but I think you still can insulate with asbestos, just that you are fully responsible, as well as the manufacturer, and hence no one makes the stuff. Perhaps that’s the way we should go about banning transfat, allow it but the manufacturer will be held fully liable for heart attacks and high blood levels and the like.
The price was brought up as a big issue, I addressed it …
Hate to repeat a post, substituting ***** …
– The government has the obligation to insure that people understand the health risks of *****. Government and employers ought to help people who want to quit *****. Ultimately, however, it is up to the individual to decide if they want to engage in risky behavior such as ***** or riding a motorcycle. What is wrong is using the power of the government or the paycheck to tell other people how to live. ~ ACLU
This still is not addressing the issue of civil rights.
While it might not be the best policy for government to legislate our safety (I, personally, agree, and dislike helmet laws, seatbelt laws, etc.), this is not the same thing as violating civil rights.
We repeat for the last time: What civil right is being violated?
PS: Those McD’s prices are considerably higher than they are here in Toledo, Ohio.
And that’s the thing – no one decides “I want a trans fat!” The presence of trans fats is invisible to the consumer. It harms the consumer, benefits the bottom line of the producer, there’s no guarantee the producer will even pass on the cost savings. The consumer didn’t even know it was harming him until the government stepped in.
Since no one has ever said “I feel like eating trans fats tonight,” no one has had a private decision countered by the government.
DO not confuse trans fats with the fats and oils originally in foods – these are a relatively new and completely artififical additive.
Not necessarily true. I’ve decided that before. I don’t eat lard, and so if I want a solid shortening that’s low-moisture, my options are pretty limited. I have decided on rare occasions to use Crisco. Furthermore, I have decided when road-tripping to eat at McDonald’s, even though I know that the fries have trans-fats in them.
The thing is, whether someone is deciding to eat trans fat or not isn’t the point. The point is that the government is CONSTANTLY interfering “with the private, noncoercive decisions of citizens.” From seat belt laws to smoking in bars to shooting up junk, there are hundreds upon hundreds of laws that create such interference. None of those are commonly understood to violate civil rights.
Ah, well, if you think that is what “civil rights” means, there’s not much point in the discussion. First of all, that’s hardly mainstream or even a significant minority opinion, second of all, it pretty much puts into question almost all government action (after all, murdering someone is a “private, noncoercive decision of a citizen”), and thirdly, it has no real meaning (define “noncoercive decisions of citizens” and define “private” while you are at it…).
