Give me artery-clogging fat or give me death

Oh, wait, is that a choice?

In any case, the debate over whether to ban trans fats in restaurants brings some rare agreement between right and left.

Mass. GOP News sees yet another plot by Big Government to take away your God-given right to kill yourself slowly:

... What right has government to determine the recipe for the foods we wish to eat? Are human beings so helplessly vulnerable, or vulnerably helpless, that their diets need to be monitored by the government? The mere suggestion of having a state law regulate food, not because it is deadly, but simply because it is not good for you, has too much of an Orwellian flavor about it. Big Brother is not only watching you – he is now cooking your dinner. ...

Over on the left, SCO doesn't see Big Brother behind every fry pan, but still argues against Rep. Koitoujian's proposal:

... I'd be more sympathetic if they wanted to make sure menu items containing trans fats were labeled as such. That way people could make up their own minds. Restaurants would likely start eliminating the fats by themselves as people became more informed about how bad they were for you. ... Generally, I hate slippery-slope arguments, but there are so many unhealthy things that people can buy at restaurants, where do you draw the line?

Leave it to Charles Swift, the historian among us, to point out that food regulation is nothing new in Boston:

... I find this outpouring of libertarianism amusing because history shows that one of the primary functions of Boston's government was, in fact, the regulation of the food supply to ensure consumers received what they paid for and that the food they bought was healthy. This runs contrary to the libertarian belief in a pre-big government Eden where people lived freely in a state of nature, unecumbered by governmental snares. Sam Adams (the brewer and patriot) would have known and understood the beer brewing regulations laid down by the Town of Boston and Bostonians would have understood these regulations as part of the proper scope of government. ...

Naturally, he provides several examples dating back to the early 1800s of local regulation of stuff we toss down our gullets.