Had your Plastic today?

[Rono]

Margarine was illegal to sell in Wisconsin up until around 1970 Being a Dairy State, I always thought it was to limit competition...But statistics show that Wisconsin, with all of it's oversized people, ranks 5th in the nation for length of life...even with it's cold weather

...and maybe there is something to the following as well.


Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback, so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance with no food appeal, so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings.

DO YOU KNOW the difference between margarine and butter? Read on to the end. It gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.

Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.

Eating margarine can increase ! heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter,

according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.

Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.


And now, for Margarine...


Very high in trans fatty acids.


Triple risk of coronary heart disease.


Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDLcholesterol, (the good cholestrerol).

Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold.

Lowers quality of breast milk.

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact...


HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!


Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC.

This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen in added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

You can try this yourself:

Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something).

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it.


Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic.


Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share this with your friends, if you want to "butter them up".


Rono

[StanN]

Rono,

I use a margerine that has zero fatty acids.

I am trained as a polymer chemist/chemical engineer. I gurantee you that margerine is NOT one step away from plastic.

All organic molecules have a vague relationship to one another. Most have a carbon atom chain in their structure - but other wise exhibit great differences in structue, properties and function. It like saying that almost alll animal's tissue consist of protein and therefore a mouse is one step awy from a man.

Whoever has given you that information owns a dairy farm or has some monetary stake in milk or butter.

Your statement is even less correct than your views on annexation :wink:

stan

[Cathy]

It's a;ways been my advice to anyone to not eat ANYTHING that was created in a lab.

When I read about how margarine is made by pumping hydrogen gas through liquid oil to change the chemical structure of it, that was enough for me to decide that it was not edible.


Cathy

[Rono]

Rono,

I use a margerine that has zero fatty acids.

I am trained as a polymer chemist/chemical engineer. I gurantee you that margerine is NOT one step away from plastic.

All organic molecules have a vague relationship to one another. Most have a carbon atom chain in their structure - but other wise exhibit great differences in structue, properties and function. It like saying that almost alll animal's tissue consist of protein and therefore a mouse is one step awy from a man.

Whoever has given you that information owns a dairy farm or has some monetary stake in milk or butter.

Your statement is even less correct than your views on annexation

stan

I won’t ague with you Stan, you’re the expert. But since you mentioned that you’re a polymer expert and most people are not aware that many polymers are made with formaldehyde, a know carcinogen which starts out as a flammable, poisonous, colorless gas with a suffocating odor, perhaps the dangers of modern chemicals do not have that much meaning to you.

I think Atkins had the right idea when he said use butter.

But I do admit, life with chemicals is what we live. Who really knows what we are doing to ourselves. I guess only the you “experts” :wink: know for sure

Rono

[StanN]

Rono,

My first job out of college in 1954 was with the Bakelite Company who made phenol-formaldehyde plastics. The acrid odor of formaldehyde comes back to me as I write this. It permeated the labs and plant I worked at for about five years. And if formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, (true) how about dusty, asbestos powder which I scooped out of a drum and added to Bakelite resins to make molding compunds used for pot handles. Protection from the dust and fumes was practically non-existent. Today, such plastics they are a relatively minor % of the total.

But by far the most common plastics today are made from ethylene or propylene gas, typically extracted from neatu.ral gas...e.g. poly film, storage containers, milk bottles, detergent bottles, pails, tubs - any waxy, semi-transparent household plastic. They are quite inert - one step away from paraffin wax.

stan

stan

[Rono]

Rono,

My first job out of college in 1954 was with the Bakelite Company who made phenol-formaldehyde plastics. The acrid odor of formaldehyde comes back to me as I write this. It permeated the labs and plant I worked at for about five years. And if formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, (true) how about dusty, asbestos powder which I scooped out of a drum and added to Bakelite resins to make molding compunds used for pot handles. Protection from the dust and fumes was practically non-existent. Today, such plastics they are a relatively minor % of the total.


While this is not the forum to continue this topic, I will tell you that in the 70’s I was pulling windings out of PCB oil filled transformers, and in working around many STEAM ships, there was plenty of asbestos to go around (even into the early 90’s…I know many ships that are still sailing that are full of asbestos). No one also likes to mention that most floor tile before 1980 (12 X 12) was made with asbestos, not to mention brake shoes (Right DonF!) and even the fire retardant that did not hold on the World Trade Center Buildings that collapsed. And how about the lead based paint that is still behind the new coats of paint on old buildings?

My point of continuing this is that these are also some of the very unspoken reasons why business has moved to third world countries….because they are not regulated to protect the health of the workers against all these known hazards. Forget about human health...it's all for the bottom line!!!

Rono

[bobo]

StanN wrote:

My first job out of college in 1954

Wow StanN, you're certainly no spring chicken! :lol:

I wonder what the average age of carypolitics.org posters is? My guess would be 42. What do you think, is my guess to high or to low?

Okay, you guys have convinced me to cut back on the margarine. Instead of two pieces of margarine coated toast for breakfast, I'm only going with one in the morning. :-D

[johnb]

They are quite inert - one step away from paraffin wax.

Which is the alleged "cheese" McDonald's puts on it's burgers. Which brings us right back to plastic being "one step away" from some psuedo dairy product. Ron was wrong, it wasn't margarine, it's McDonald's cheese. ;)

Snorting asbestos, phenol-formaldehyde plastics, and god knows what else sure does explain a lot. Hey, since you "imbibed" in some rather toxic substances Stan, ever have a mosquito bite you then sorta just drop dead sucking on your blood?

It's scary the things you can get a young man in his early 20's to do.

"Get outa my plane!" "OK"
"Go get some asbestos!" "OK"
"Put on these sunglasses, watch that nuclear explosion" "OK"

How has this species survived?

[Anonymous]

JAGGER & STONES STICK IT TO BUSH - WILL "SWEET NEO CON" BE BANNED IN THE U.S.A.?*


"You call yourself a Christian,
I call you a hypocrite
You call yourself a patriot.
Well, I think your are full of sh*t!...
How come you're so wrong, my sweet neo-con."


A Virgin spokeswoman in the US has already put
out a panicky statement denying it's about Bush
or anyone on the White House (can't risk
upsetting Clear Channel, can we?) But if
you believe that, you'll believe anything.

[johnb]

The truth is, no one cares.

Mick & crew stopped being relevant when they started having to take Fibercon and wear Depends.

Those geezers are the remains of heroin and coke freaks, nothing more. 40 years ago they choose to deep fry their intellect in a splattery mess of narcotics, alcohol, and hedonism. They're not intellectuals, they're not insightful, they're not particularly interesting. I guess if Michael Moore is the leading light of your movement Oliver Stone must seem like a god to you.

[Rono]

THE MARGARINE HOAX

--Margarine, Fatty Acids and Your Health--

by Dane A. Roubos, D.C

Extracted from Nexus Magazine, Volume 4, #2 (February-March 1997).

TRANS- FATS AND CONFUSED CHEMISTRY

Naturally occurring fatty acids contain double bonds of a particular configuration, referred to as "cis-" by biochemists. The cis- causes the molecules to be bent so that the two hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the double bond. This means the bonds between the molecules are weaker due to their irregular shape, resulting in a lower melting point—or, in supermarket shopper lingo, they are liquid at room temperature. Fats with either trans- double bonds or no double bonds ("saturated") are solid at room temperature.

Margarine is made by adding hydrogen atoms to the fat molecules to make them more saturated, raising the melting point of the fat so it remains a solid at room temperature, i.e., the margarine won't run all over the table. This process, called "hydrogenation," requires the presence of a metal catalyst and temperatures of about 500°F (260°C) for the reaction to take place. It causes about half of the cis- bonds to flip over into a trans- configuration.

Hydrogenation became popular in the US because this type of oil doesn't spoil or become rancid as readily as regular oil and therefore has a longer shelf life. You can leave a cube of margarine sitting out for years and moulds, insects or rodents will not touch it. Margarine is a non-food! It would appear that only humans are foolish enough to eat it! Because the fats in margarine are partially hydrogenated (i.e., not fully saturated), the manufacturers can claim it is "polyunsaturated" and market it to us as a healthy food.

Many other fatty chemicals are also created when oils are partially hydrogenated. In Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, Udo Erasmus stated: "So many different compounds can be made during partial hydrogenation that they stagger the imagination... Needless to say, the industry is hesitant to fund or publicize thorough and systematic studies on the kinds of chemicals produced and their effects on health."1

Erasmus also quoted a statement about hydrogenation, made by Herbert Dutton, one of the oldest and most knowledgeable oil chemists in North America. It basically boils down to this: because of the known and unknown health effects of these hydrogenation by-products, government health regulations would not allow the process to be used for making edible products if it were to be introduced today.

Another 'side-effect' of hydrogenation is that a residue of toxic metals, usually nickel and aluminum, is left behind in the finished product. These metals are used as catalysts in the reaction, but they accumulate in our cells and nervous system where they poison enzyme systems and alter cellular functions, endangering health and causing a wide variety of problems. These toxic metals are difficult to eliminate without special detoxification techniques, and our 'toxic load' increases steadily with small exposures over time. Since they are increasingly found in our air, food and water, the cumulative doses can add up to dangerous levels over time.

Since trans- fats don't occur in nature, our bodies don't know how to deal with them effectively and they act as poisons to crucial cellular reactions. The body tries to use them as it would the cis- form, and they wind up in cell membranes and other places they shouldn't be.

In recent years, measurements of trans- fats in the membranes of human red blood cells have been as high as 20 per cent, when the figure should be zero. While red blood cells were used because they're easy to access, it's safe to assume that most other cell membranes in the body also contain these unnatural fats.

Trans- fatty acids in cell membranes weaken the membrane's protective structure and function. This alters normal transport of minerals and other nutrients across the membrane and allows disease microbes and toxic chemicals to get into the cell more easily. The result: sick, weakened cells, poor organ function and an exhausted immune system—in short, lowered resistance and increased risk of disease.

Trans- fats can also derail the body's normal mechanisms for eliminating cholesterol. The liver normally puts excess cholesterol in the bile and sends it to the gall bladder, which empties into the small intestine just below the stomach. Trans- fats block the normal conversion of cholesterol in the liver and contribute to elevated cholesterol levels in the blood. They also cause an increase in the amount of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), considered to be one of the main instigators of arterial disease (hardening of the arteries). Meanwhile, trans- fats lower the amount of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) which help protect the cardiovascular system from the adverse effects of the LDLs. Trans- fats also increase the level of apolipoprotein A, a substance in the blood which is another risk factor for heart disease. Indeed, trans- fats have now been shown to cause even worse problems than saturated animal fats.

Another adverse effect of trans- fats in the diet is an enhancement of the body's pro-inflammatory hormones (prostaglandin E2) and inhibition of the anti-inflammatory types (prostaglandin E1 and E3). This undesirable influence exerted by trans- fats on prostaglandin balance may render you more vulnerable to inflammatory conditions that don't want to heal! Prostaglandins also regulate many metabolic functions. Tiny amounts can cause significant changes in allergic reaction, blood pressure, clotting, cholesterol levels, hormone activity, immune function and inflammatory response, to name just a few.

Want to read more?: http://drcranton.com/nutrition/margarin.htm

[StanN]

Brummel and Brown and several other margarines, are based on a blend of yogurt and non-hudrogenated corn oil. They have less than 0.5% trans fatty acids.

Old fashioned margarine is not good for you because of its high trans fatty acid content as in Rono's posting.

Even non-hydrogenated, unsaturated oils, including canola and corn oil are suspected of promting prostate and other cancers. Olive oil is the best choice and is predominantly used in our house, including for fried eggs and omlettes and all our home made salad dressings. BJ's and the like offer olive oil at prices comparable to vegetable oils at the supermarket. It is a far better choice for frying than butter and other fats and oils. As a prostate cancer survivor (and literature resercher) I suggest you stay away from butter, regular vegetable oils and standard margarines, MacDonalds, most cheeses and french fries. An all men should have their PSA's checked annually. I will have my annual exam by my radiation oncologist this December - it will be my sixth year without a sign of reoccurence. Knock wood.

stan

PS If you have to fall off the wagon, which I rarely do, a great place for burgers is Teds (Jane Fonda's ex) in Sothpoint. The Buffalo Burgers are indistinguishable from beef burgers, taste great and are much lower in fat content. But if you get the one with cheese and bacon you aren't helping yourself. If you have them once a year they even taste better.

stan

[dhyatt]

[snip]

PS If you have to fall off the wagon, which I rarely do, a great place for burgers is Teds (Jane Fonda's ex) in Sothpoint. The Buffalo Burgers are indistinguishable from beef burgers, taste great and are much lower in fat content. But if you get the one with cheese and bacon you aren't helping yourself. If you have them once a year they even taste better.

stan

Dakota Grill in Morrisville (just over from the theaters) also has Buffalo burgers and they are indeed quite tasty!

BTW - My daughter starts Chem E at State next week :-) at the ripe old age of 17 yrs, 1 mo & 13 days. The good news is that via AP exams, she's already finished Calc I&II and her full first year of Chemistry! I'm worried about her rooming with a girl from a public school down east though ;-) (not really)

[Laurie]

The truth is, no one cares.

Mick & crew stopped being relevant when they started having to take Fibercon and wear Depends.

Those geezers are the remains of heroin and coke freaks, nothing more. 40 years ago they choose to deep fry their intellect in a splattery mess of narcotics, alcohol, and hedonism. They're not intellectuals, they're not insightful, they're not particularly interesting. I guess if Michael Moore is the leading light of your movement Oliver Stone must seem like a god to you.
Brent and I enjoyed their concert in Wembley Stadium in London a few years ago. (Maybe 'cause we're both geezers, also. :wink: ) They can still put on a good show. When I look at Mick all I can think of is that he is only three years older than Brent's dad.

[johnb]

Laurie,

As the book title goes, "Shut up and sing".

“If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we’re morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal.”
-Alice Cooper

“When I read the list of people who are supporting Kerry, if I wasn’t already a Bush supporter, I would have immediately switched. Linda Ronstadt? Don Henley? Geez, that’s a good reason right there to vote for Bush.”
-Alice Cooper

You gotta like a guy that knows the limitations of his profession. ;)

[Wuptdo]

Ahyatt wrote:
Dakota Grill in Morrisville (just over from the theaters) also has Buffalo burgers and they are indeed quite tasty!
**** Stars - Recommended for family dinning if early, if full, Danny's B-Be-Que is the next stop!

AHyatt wrote:
I'm worried about her rooming with a girl from a public school down east though! (Wink)

I will be shipping my firstborn off the following week to WCU (biology). His roommate is a foreign national - Candian. :wink:

JohnB - Alice Cooper is probably one of the "smartest" rockers on the planet. Good quotes.

Wuptdo B-)

[StanN]

DonH,

Good luck to your daughter. When I started down the ChE path everyone had to have a K&E log, log decitrig slide rule in a bright orange leather case.
$25 in 1949 dollars - about $250 adjusted for inflation.. and a $20 calculator will do the same thing better. That orange case on your belt was a status symbol. But I bet she has a lap-top.

A chemical engineering degree will open a lot of doors for your daughter. If she combines it with a MBA, even more so. And the chemical industry is a lot less likely to move offshore than IT. If she is her father's daughter she will do well.

stan

[johnb]

wup,

Beware of those damned Candians.

John

[dhyatt]

DonH,

Good luck to your daughter. When I started down the ChE path everyone had to have a K&E log, log decitrig slide rule in a bright orange leather case.
$25 in 1949 dollars - about $250 adjusted for inflation.. and a $20 calculator will do the same thing better. That orange case on your belt was a status symbol. But I bet she has a lap-top.

A chemical engineering degree will open a lot of doors for your daughter. If she combines it with a MBA, even more so. And the chemical industry is a lot less likely to move offshore than IT. If she is her father's daughter she will do well.

stan

Well she's fairly fluent in Chinese (speaking, reading & writing) and is continuing her Chinese studies at State so even if things do move offshore, she should be OK. :-)

[Laurie]

BTW - My daughter starts Chem E at State next week :-) at the ripe old age of 17 yrs, 1 mo & 13 days.
Hyatt -
Your State bound daughter is younger than my high school senior bound son.

[dhyatt]

Speaking of plastic (at least we were :-) ), I found this interesting...

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/08/10/plastic.steel.reut/index.html

[StanN]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 11, 2005
Hold That Fat, New York Asks Its Restaurants
By MARC SANTORA
The New York City health department urged all city restaurants yesterday to stop serving food containing trans fats, chemically modified ingredients that health officials say significantly increase the risk of heart disease and should not be part of any healthy diet.

The request, the first of its kind by any large American city, is the latest salvo in the battle against trans fats, components of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which three decades ago were promoted as a healthy alternative to saturated fats like butter.

Today, most scientists and nutrition experts agree that trans fat is America's most dangerous fat and recommend the use of alternatives like olive and sunflower oils.

"To help combat heart disease, the No. 1 killer in New York City, we are asking restaurants to voluntarily make an oil change and remove artificial trans fat from their kitchens," said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the city's health commissioner, who compared trans fats to asbestos and lead as public health threats. "We are also urging food suppliers to provide products that are trans-fat free."

It is far from clear how many restaurants will heed the call of Dr. Frieden, one of the city's most activist public health commissioners in a generation.

A survey by the department's food inspectors found that from 30 to 60 percent of the city's 20,000 restaurants use partially hydrogenated oil in food preparation, meaning that thousands of cooks and chefs might need to change their cooking and purchasing habits to meet the request. Trans fats are particularly prominent in baked goods, frying oils, and breading, and can be hard to replace without raising costs or changing the taste of familiar foods like cookies and French fries.

While the health department will not seek to ban the ingredient outright, it has begun an educational campaign among restaurateurs, their suppliers and the public denouncing trans fats. In a letter sent to all food suppliers in the city last week, Dr. Frieden wrote: "Consumers want healthier choices when eating out. Our campaign will increase consumer demand for meals without trans fat."

Many of the city's higher-priced restaurants already avoid using the fats, and Dr. Frieden said he had received a positive response from other restaurants and suppliers who will try to get on board.

"Working together to reduce trans fat from our kitchens will be one more way to ensure an enjoyable and healthy experience," said E. Charles Hunt, the executive vice president for the New York State Restaurant Association, which represents 7,000 restaurants across the state.

Public health officials contend that trans fat not only has the same heart-clogging properties as saturated fat, but also reduces the "good" cholesterol that works to clear arteries.

Denmark imposed a ban in 2003 on all processed foods containing more than 2 percent of trans fat for every 100 grams of fat. Canada is considering a similar ban.

Government agencies in the United States have been less interventionist, largely relying on the industry to police itself. Outside of New York, the only effort of note was a campaign in Tiburon, a small town in Marin County, Calif., that led to 18 local restaurants ending the use of trans fats.

New York's campaign comes on the heels of the Food and Drug Administration's finding that there is no safe level of trans fats in a healthy diet. As a result of that finding, all food companies must include trans fat levels in labeling information starting Jan. 1.

While the F.D.A. decision is already having a broad impact on processed foods sold in grocery stores, the city's effort will expand the campaign to include restaurants.

"Trans fat clearly contributes to heart disease, but it is something that is relatively new to the consumer environment," said Dr. Sonia Angell, the department's director of cardiovascular disease prevention and control.

Next year, the city plans to conduct another survey to determine the effectiveness of the campaign and will then assess what further steps might be needed.

While not naming individual restaurants, Dr. Angell said the survey the city recently completed did not show any clear patterns in terms of the types of places that use partially hydrogenated oil.

Among the alternatives available to replace partially hydrogenated oil, Dr. Angell said, are many common monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils like olive, peanut, sunflower and cottonseed oils.

McDonald's and a few other fast food companies have pledged to use healthier alternatives to partially hydrogenated oils but have faltered in finding a solution that is both cost effective and that does not significantly alter the taste of their foods.

The city was careful to solicit the endorsement of the Restaurant Association before announcing its campaign, as well as the American Heart Association. However, many restaurant owners, workers and patrons interviewed yesterday greeted the city's campaign with some skepticism.

The reaction of Karen Quam, a waitress at the Bridgeview Diner in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, was typical. "Labeling is as far as you want to go," she said. "You don't want to be telling people what to eat."

Dr. Frieden, stressing that the campaign was strictly voluntary, said he was optimistic that both the public and the industry would react positively to his appeal.

"I am aware of the changing winds regarding nutritional advice and therefore we have been very selective," he said.

He compared it to the situation with asbestos and lead, materials that at one point the public believed were safe but now are known to be dangerous. "In this case," he said, regarding trans fat, "the evidence is clear."



Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company Home Privacy Policy Search Corrections XML Help Contact Us Work for Us Back to Top

[Cathy]

YEAH!!!!!

I've been waiting for many years to see this day come!

Ever since they started taking butter off of the tables in restaurants.

Cathy

[StanN]

The best french fries I ever had were cooked in lard.

August 12, 2005
High on the Hog
By CORBY KUMMER
Boston

WHEN the New York City health department asked restaurants to stop serving food containing trans fats this week, it aroused anxiety in some diners but joyful anticipation in me. The stage might be set at last for the comeback of the great misunderstood fat: lard.

Every baker knows that despite lard's heavy reputation (it is pig fat, after all), nothing makes a flakier or better-tasting pie crust. Lard also makes the lightest and tastiest fried chicken: buttermilk, secret spices and ancient cast-iron skillets are all well and good, but the key to fried chicken greatness is lard.

Dainty eaters who pay dearly for prosciutto but leave the ivory-colored ribbon of fat on the plate infuriate Italians, who know that's where the flavor and succulence are. Italian food lovers now live for the recently revived lardo - salt-and-pepper-cured fatback, heaven on bread.

In the United States though, lard has long been demonized. Whenever I enter a bakery (and I enter every one I find), I ask if anything is made with lard. Even in Mexican and Latin American bakeries with Spanish-spoken-only signs, where the bakers surely know that in their native countries the most savory empanadas and the airiest tamales rely on lard, my hopes are usually dashed.

I recently got lucky at the wonderfully antiquated LeJeune's Bakery in Jeanerette, La. LeJeune's is famous for its French bread, which in Louisiana means a puffy white loaf particularly suited to muffalettas - the Louisiana version of the hero sandwich whose bread is soaked with olive salad and layered with provolone and meats like salami and ham. I wasn't surprised to hear the secret of LeJeune's exceptional flavor and soft but pliant crumb, but I was delighted: lard. The baker proudly led me to a tub of golden lard he had bought from the farm down the road. I was looking at a tub of joy.

But when I went deeper into Cajun country, to bakeries down the highway from LeJeune's, or asked at restaurants where cooks once swore by lard for the lightest biscuits and fried catfish, I was met with the same misbegotten pride: "We only use vegetable fat, it's so much healthier."

Vegetable shortening, of course, tastes like greasy nothing. And there is ample evidence, as the city health department knows, that it is anything but good for you. Vegetable shortening (vegetable oil that is partially hydrogenated to make it solid - the "trans" in "trans fat") did seem like a miracle in the early days of industrialized food. Indeed, early in my mother's marriage when she spent a month making a pie a day to perfect her crust-making skills, she used the fat she grew up on: Crisco, developed by industry to mimic the virtues of lard but relieve housewives of the burden of rendering their own fat. It was useful not just to kosher-keeping cooks like my mother but to city dwellers, who lived far from a reliable source of lard (any Italian cook will still tell you that the only trustworthy lard comes from a pig you know). Crisco could be used solid for baking, or melted for frying. It didn't need refrigeration, and it was inexpensive.

Then came the damning conclusions of the first long-range studies of the national postwar epidemic of heart disease, and the countrywide fear of saturated fats. Butter, cream and egg yolks were the first to go, to the heartbreak of cooks just learning the glories of French cuisine, and lard soon followed. Besides, lard seemed old-fashioned - redolent of poverty and its companion cuisines.

Now trans fats are considered the devil, and vegetable shortening is worse than butter could ever dream of being. After prodding by nutrition advocates, the Food and Drug Administration has taken the stand that there is no healthy level of trans fat in the diet, and as of January will require manufacturers to state the presence of trans fats on every food label. Now comes the call from Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, New York's health commissioner, for restaurants to "voluntarily make an oil change and remove artificial trans fat from their kitchens." What are beleaguered manufacturers and cooks to do? The loss of trans fats makes things tough. It makes pastry tough too.

I have a suggestion for those Old World cooks who are wrestling with New World advice: take another look at the fat profile of lard. It has half the level of saturated fat of palm kernel oil (about 80 percent saturated fat) or coconut oil (about 85 percent) and its approximately 40 percent saturated fat is lower than butter's nearly 60 percent. Today's miracle, olive oil, is much lower in saturated fat, as everyone knows, but it does have some: about 13 percent. As for monounsaturated fat, the current savior, olive oil contains a saintly 74 percent, yes. But scorned lard contains a very respectable 45 percent monounsaturated fat - double butter's paltry 23 or so percent.

As with all dietary advice, the fat of the day will change. But eternal truths will remain: food is always best with little or no processing and eaten as close as possible to where it is grown. This goes for lard, too. The artisan pig farmers whose fortunes have been revived by a new market for pork with real flavor should look into selling lard because the supermarket kind is processed and dismal. And Dr. Frieden's request may produce a burgeoning metropolitan market.

The health department is suggesting alternative oils including olive oil and neutral oils like peanut, sunflower and cottonseed. Olive oil is a true gift of nature, of course, and good for anything on a grill or from the garden. But when it comes to cherry pie or fried chicken or French fries, excessive reliance on these oils has the potential to clear both arteries and restaurants. Chefs and short-order cooks can do everyone a favor - even the guardians of the public health - by reaching for the fat that everyone knows tastes the best: lard.

Corby Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly.

[bobo]

Hmmm, I'm still searching for the humor in this thread. You folks sure have a strange sense of what is, and isn't, funny! :?

[Brent]

This thread is a bit low on humor.

I'm going to go eat a stick of butter.