FDA to Ruin Future July 4th Festivities With New Trans-Fat Ban

This weekend, families all across America will celebrate America’s independence with fireworks, swimming pools, friends, family, libations, hamburgers and hot dogs, and a whole host of foods. However the government is likely going to make that more difficult for future holidays as new regulations by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to ban artificial trans fats, could have an enormous impact on taxpayers, the economy and what choices individuals make when it comes to what to eat not just on the 4^th of July, but every day.   This new regulation is a clear government over reach and in poor taste.  Will donuts and fried chicken become illegal and considered contraband?

There are several problems with what the FDA is doing, and regardless of any good intentions the agency may or may not have, another regulation is absolutely not the answer to any concerns over the safety of trans fats. The first problem is that at the core, individuals can make their own choices about what food products they want to put in their body, as opposed to an outright ban that prevents people from making that choice.

Taxpayers will be hit with an enormous cost as the FDA bureaucracy is expanded with this new regulation. The most recent “Taxpayer Watch” podcast discussed the trans-fat ban and harkened back to the creation of a new bureaucracy that dealt with tobacco. The budget for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products started out at $5 million in 2009 and yet after only a few years it went to $459 million in 2013 and now it costs taxpayers $532 million in 2015. That amounts to a 16 percent increase in the two-year period between 2013-2015.

This new regulation will also come at a cost to many different industries in the economy. Food manufacturers have a vast reach throughout the economy including retail, grocery, tourism, and the service industry. The impact of these new regulations could have a devastating impact on jobs. Over the years since the concerns over trans-fats have been made known by those in government, food manufacturers have reduced their use of trans-fats by 86% (per the Grocery Manufacturers Association).

These types of policies designed at altering behavior when it comes to food and drink consumption usually fall flat. Several states have tried to institute bans on fatty foods (including Maryland) and they have subsequently been repealed because they simply do not work.

The overall takeaway here is perfectly summed up by Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI). Shortly after the ban was announced, Minton called the FDA’s actions exactly what they were:

Finally, as I have argued in the past, this isn’t about trans fats: it’s a power-grab. Rather than protecting Americans from an acute threat in our food supply, the agency is attempting to ban a product that is only harmful if overconsumed and not mitigated by other lifestyle choices (like exercising).

A new tax on trans-fats would NEVER pass Congress today, and the FDA knows it so they are doing the next logical thing for an agency when they can’t get money from the consumption: ban it.

The federal government has a great deal of nasty habits: wasting money, bloated bureaucracies, redundant policies; and this new regulation from the FDA appears to encompass all three at the same time. The decision on whether to eat foods with trans fats isn’t something the government should dictate by fiat, and Congress and voters should make that very clear to the agency. The process of getting from an announced regulation to expanded bureaucracy and wasted tax dollars can take time, so there’s a chance that taxpayers can still win on this one.  So, don’t start hoarding donuts yet and enjoy a nice 4^th of July holiday.