Susanna J. Sturgis   Martha's Vineyard writer and editor
writer editor born-again horse girl

Return to Archives

Trans Fat

January 25, 2007

I keep a few things in my freezer for when I get sick of my own cooking or run out of it: potpies and enchiladas mostly, but tonight I pulled out the Swedish meatballs. I try to avoid the nutrition information on whatever I eat (though sometimes I can't resist knowing how much of my daily vitamin A requirement is being met by half a 99-cent packet of Doritos -- why don't they say how much of Rhodry's daily vitamin A requirement is being met by his half?), but while looking for the microwave directions I couldn't help noticing that my Swedish meatballs contained 2 grams of trans fat.

Trans fat first entered my consciousness when I started noticing that Doritos, Nutrageous bars, and my favorite cookies all trumpeted "0 grams trans fat" prominently on their labels. No sooner had I surmised that trans fat was the newest threat to the nation's nutritional security than New York City was considering a measure to ban trans fat from the city limits. And here I'd been thinking all these years that danger to life, limb, and sanity was what drew people to New York!

For months I've been searching unsuccessfully for evidence that anything suitable for human consumption contains trans fat, so I was astonished and delighted to see that my Swedish meatballs contained 2 whole grams of the stuff.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned; affluent USians obsess about trans fat clogging our arteries while making the world uninhabitable for the less affluent. I devoured my meatballs, and Rhodry licked the plastic tray clean.

 

Home - Writing - Editing - About Susanna - Bloggery - Articles - Poems - Contact

Copyright © Susanna J. Sturgis. All rights reserved.
web site design and CMI by goffgrafix.com of Martha's Vineyard