Worlds collided last week, in the House of Commons of all places. As Canadians, we are much more used to watching our Members of Parliament bicker like children than unite over an issue. So it was with more than a little bit of bafflement that we watched as New Democrat MP Pat Martin introduced a friendly motion that proposes stringent new limits on the trans-fatty acid, or trans-fat, content of food manufactured or sold in Canada.
After debate on Thursday, Carolyn Bennett, the secretary of state for public health, announced that the federal government will create a task force to examine ways of eliminating the unhealthy trans-fats. Bennett’s announcement came before the NDP bill had even passed, and produced a blinding flash of multi-partisan co-operation from our squabble-prone Parliamentarians, drawing near-unanimous support from Conservatives, Liberals, and New Democrats alike.
This sudden chumminess between the governing and opposition parties makes Canada only the second country in the world, after the Netherlands, to take legislative action against the health risks of trans-fats. The proposed ban on trans-fats adds considerable heft to the federal government’s proposed guidelines for the mandatory labelling of products containing trans-fatty acids that come into effect December 2005.
As it is, trans-fats are common in many North American food products, from french fries to packaged cookies, crackers, and baked goods. Trans-fatty acids are produced during the hydrogenation process that is used to extend the shelf-life of many vegetable oils and the food products manufactured from them. Studies over the past decade have identified links between the consumption of trans-fats and significant health risks, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. Basically, trans-fats make your Oreo cookies killer.
The federal government is looking to cap the trans-fat content of foods at five grams per 100 grams of oil, with a subsequent target of two grams. Some brands of Canadian frozen fries contain oil made up of 45 per cent trans-fat, so such a reduction would be a significant one compared to the average content now. It would significantly lower the average Canadian’s intake.
In short, the trans-fat issue is a great place for our commonly divided MPs to start finding some common ground. All parties have agreed that the trans-fat ban must proceed with caution in order to ensure that neither consumers nor food manufacturers suffer as a result of a lack of safe alternatives to hydrogenated vegetable oils once the trans-fat ban comes into full effect.
All of this should be of some comfort to Canadians. We are about to break new ground in food and health policy, and we will likely gain a healthier food supply as a result. Perhaps more interesting, however, is that the trans-fat issue is a good example of how our federal government can pull together and work, when it wants to. Now if only this could happen with every issue that a majority of Canadians agree on: say, missile defence.
