Two Breasts, Extra Fat
I like to think I'm a moderate when it comes to Nanny-Statism. I've no problem with the government looking out for my health and well-being, but only up to a point. For instance, Howard County just recently banned smoking in all county bars and restaurants making it the fourth jurisdiction in the Baltimore-Washington metro area to do so. That's good.
But now a Maryland doctor and a consumer group have sued KFC in an effort to stop the chicken chain from cooking with high-fat, partially hydrogenated oil. That's bad.
Not that I'm advocating the use of trans-fats over healthier alternatives. And I'm not an especially big fan of KFC (although I do start salivating whenever I think about those fried potato wedge things they serve). It's just that everyone knows what they're getting into when they dine in a KFC. The chicken is fried, the potatoes are fried, the biscuits are fried, it's all fried. That's why people go there... to get fried food. We're not going there to eat healthy food. We are choosing to eat not-healthy food. We step carefully in the store so as not to slip on the greasy floors. Grease is what we want.
Seems like an intrusion into individual choice for some judge to order KFC to adjust its menu. The doctor says he is suing to force KFC to change its cooking practices "for my son and others' kids, so they may have a healthier, happier, trans-fat-free future." A healthier, happier future at a KFC? You've got to be kidding me. Here the Nanny State is going too far and I hope the suit gets tossed. There's a conscious choice here and everyone knows the consequences. Common sense will work.
Next they'll be going after cheesesteaks and meatball subs.
K-
My thought is that if KFC wants to change their frying habits, so be it. But I think it should be their choice. I eat very little in the way of fried foods, and I don't even think there is a KFC near us (can you believe?), but as you say, people are making a choice. No one is shoving them through the doorway.
And as far as smoking goes, that has been proven to hazardous to those who aren't smoking, but are near people who are. Different story all together.
Why single out KFC? Why not everyone who serves fried chicken? Throw it out. It probably IS the greasiest chicken on the planet but I still love their original recipe.