New York City is trying to reduce a different kind of butts with its latest proposal.

Last… New York City is trying to reduce a different kind of butts with its latest proposal.

Last week, the city health department proposed a ban on artificial trans fatty acids in all of the city’s 24,600 food service establishments, according to the Associated Press. Cigarettes were the first thing to go in the city three years ago, as the city’s health department has become more proactive in making the city a healthier place.

Trans fatty acids — we know them as “trans fats” — are a type of unsaturated fat that occurs naturally in small amounts in meat and dairy products. Chemically processed plant oils and animal fats artificially create the type of trans fats that we’re most familiar with. These bad boys, which are also listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated oil, aren’t considered good for the body in any amount. Beginning in January, the Food and Drug Administration requires food labels to list trans fats.

“It’s a dangerous and unnecessary ingredient. No one will miss it when it’s gone,” New York Heath commissioner Thomas Frieden said in an AP interview.

Despite all the negative press given for trans fats, restaurants are not digging the city’s proposal. Chuck Hunt, the executive vice president of the city’s chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, believes that a citywide ban would only mean trouble for chefs and restaurants that would have to meticulously examine recipes and ingredients.

“Labeling is one thing, but when they totally ban a product, it goes well beyond what we think is prudent and acceptable,” Hunt said.

New York City first asked restaurants to voluntarily abandon using trans fats, but found that a year later, few restaurants had actually done so. Chicago is also considering a similar proposal, though because of negotiations, the ban wouldn’t be nearly as comprehensive as the one proposed in New York City.

The New York ban would require all restaurants to first eliminate artificial trans fats from cooking oils, margarine and shortening by July 1, 2007, and then rid everything else of artificial trans fats by July 1, 2008. Fast-food restaurants will also be forced to comply with the proposal if it is passed in December. Naturally occurring trans fats wouldn’t fall under the ban, and grocery stores will still be able to sell trans fats.

Companies are making efforts on their own to ditch the trans fats. Wendy’s announced in August that it’s using a trans fats-free cooking oil, Oreos are now made without trans fats and Frito-Lay also removed trans fats from Cheetos and Doritos.

It doesn’t seem to be that hard for companies and restaurants to find alternatives to this terribly unhealthy goo. While it’s good that local governments are taking a proactive role in protecting and promoting the health of their residents, banning trans fats is taking away freedom from private businesses — and we do love freedom.

It seems that as people are learning more about the dangers of trans fats, they are seeking products that don’t have any. Rather than a government-driven ban on trans fats, why don’t we promote a market-driven ban of the stuff? Make labels larger, educate the people and let their money speak for them.

It’s one thing for the city government to ban smoking in New York — smoking encroaches on the personal freedom of others. But you can’t harm anyone else by filling your belly with trans fats.

While we applaud the efforts of the New York City health department for taking the initiative to get Americans to make healthy choices, we maintain that it should be just that — a choice. Don’t tell people what they can’t eat. Tell them what they should eat.