Open Letter

1313 Cemetery Lane
New York, NY, 90210

1 June 2011

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg:

Hello, I am a 22 year old female student in LaGuardia Community College; born and raised in New York City. I am writing to you because I believe your ban on trans fats is unnecessary. I don’t believe it’s the governments place to keep people from putting garbage in them. I think it’s the responsibility of each person to decide what they should or should not do. Warnings like commercials that are constantly shown about smoking and warning labels should be the extent the government has on whether people partake in a product. The government banning such things would be like the government banning driving because someone might get hit by a car. As awful as it is to watch someone destroy their health with a substance, in the end it is not anyone’s place to make that person stop. Warn the public that trans fats is bad for them, then allow Darwinism to take place. It is only natural (even if the substance in question is not). Now I know it sounds horribly cold and evil of me to say this but frankly if someone is going to continue doing something knowing that doing it is harming them, I don’t see the point of making them stop. For example, I have yet to meet someone who upon hearing of a smoker being diagnosed with lung cancer say, “wow if it wasn’t for those cigarettes being forced into his/her lungs”, from my experience they usually think, “it’s their own fault for smoking”. I don’t believe that just because trans fats is considered a “food” product that it should be treated any differently. What’s next? Banning the use of sugar because diabetics won’t stop eating sweets that they very well know will harm their health? As a diabetic if I were to ever lose my foot to diabetes I will not blame the food, or the disease, I will blame myself for not taking care of myself better knowing full and well that certain foods are harmful to me. I do not claim to be better than any consumer, I certainly take my part in purchasing food items that can be harmful but at the same time I am completely aware of how and why it is harmful to me and I am aware of the consequences of ignoring these “food rules” I must follow. And I am fully aware there are people out there that do take the steps to be an informed consumer. Like the people who own and run Brooklyn Grange Farms, they did not like the product being supplied to them so they leased a rooftop and grew their own. I believe more people should do what they have done and take responsibility for what they eat.

The government should not protect people from things that they won’t bother to protect their selves from. If someone chooses to eat nothing but fast food for the rest of their life they should not be surprised when their heart explodes (not literally). People these days are lacking will power and the ability to make a decision and I partially blame the government for this they have made it so that people don’t even read the labels on what they buy anymore. They expect everything to be presorted and predetermined to be something harmful but this should not be the case. People should be willing to learn about the products they are going to eat, would you go into a forest and eat a mushroom without knowing whether it was edible or not? There was one article I read called “Is Vitaminwater Really a Healthy Drink?” where the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) lead a class action lawsuit claiming that the Coca-Cola Company were violating consumer-protection laws with their Vitaminwater brand by advertizing their product as a “vitamin-enhanced” making it seem like their product was “healthy” when Vitaminwater has 150 calories and 30 grams of sugar which completely cancels out the effect of the vitamins. As said in the article “Vitaminwater is great tasting, hydrating beverage with essential vitamins and water – and labels clearly showing ingredients and calorie content”(Coca-Cola-Rep) I believe the CSPI had no case against the Coco-Cola Company because although Vitamin water did not advertize the calories and sugar they did put it in the nutritional facts on the bottle and it is the consumers responsibility to do something as simple as turn the bottle and read the nutritional facts. The government has babied the people and making people too lazy make a decision of their own. I am a diabetic, and being such I understand how food can be misleading and cause more damage than good but I would never blame the products for being bad for me. I do not expect someone to keep track of everything I eat and forcefully take away anything that will harm me. I think it would optimal if people would do what I and many other people in this world have done and take responsibility for their own lives and not blame anything else but their selves when they eat something knowing that ingredients are probably not the best thing for them. People should not expect food companies to openly tell that their food may not be healthy, there are many laws in place that keep companies from lying about their products but not many that insist they advertize every little detail of their product; that’s the consumers job and I sincerely believe that it should stay that way.

On December 5, 2006 the New York City Board of Health made the use of trans fats banned from all restaurant. I propose the ban on trans fats be lifted and for the government to allow people to make their own educated decisions on whether or not they eat the substance. Although I do not like the use of trans fats in fast food restaurants I do not think anyone should force a restaurant to change their cooking methods. Restaurants should be able to make the decision their selves whether they care enough about the health of the people they are serving. If people choose to continue using these products, then the government should warn them just like people are warned against cigarettes, with commercials and warning labels. And then if people choose to ignore the warnings then I believe it’s their own fault for whatever health complications that may result. It is time to end the laziness of people in their own decision making, and end the governments control on what we can and cannot eat. Is the driving of cars going to be banned because people are constantly getting into accidents? I doubt it. Allow the people to use their own brains to do what is best for them because if the government continues to intervene too much I believe the people will suffer even more in years to come.
Sincerely,
Lynn-Mari Rodriguez


Work Cited:
Gregory, Sean, “Is Vitaminwater Really a Healthy Drink”, Time Magazine, July 30, 2010. www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,2007103,00.html Web.