The buttinskis at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) are at it again as they filed a lawsuit against YUM Brands, the company that runs KFC, as well as the popular chain restaurants Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, because of the high-fat content of KFC’s fried foods.
The CSPI is suing YUM because KFC uses partially hydrogenated oils to prepare many of the Colonel’s most popular – and fried – meals, and as a result these meals are high in trans fats. Hey, there’s a shocker: deep, deep fried foods are high in fat!
An unconfirmed rumor is that the CSPI is planning on suing Pizza Hut for serving foods that are high in tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese to unwitting patrons.
The CSPI folks have said that it’s harder to avoid trans fats at KFC than at any other fast food joint. Do ya think it has anything to do with the fact that the “F” in KFC stands for “fried?”
The suit wants KFC to stop using hydrogenated oils – “the worst oils available” – and switch to healthier oils. If KFC won’t switch oils, CSPI wants KFC to post signs that tell people the foods they are being served contain trans fat, which promotes heart disease.
The CSPI is concerned that unsuspecting patrons are being fed foods they don’t know are bad for them. At KFC. Fried chicken. French fries. Fried everything.
Unofficial estimates of people nationwide who don’t know that the foods at KFC are bad for you put the number at about 7 people.
The know-it-alls at CSPI have a lot of nerve. Starting back in 1984, and on up into the early 1990s, the CSPI was singing the praises of hydrogenated oils and defending trans fat. In the mid '80s, the CSPI led the charge against fast food restaurants that used beef fat and palm oil to fry their french fries, while making claims that saturated fats were getting a bad rap and didn’t pose a health threat.
According to Mary Enig, Ph. D., the author of Know Your Fats, in 1987, the CSPI’s newsletter Nutrition Action featured an article that contained the following pro-trans fat information:
- From margarine to Tater Tots, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils play a major role in our food supply...In fact, hydrogenated oils don't post a dire threat to health...Improving on Nature...Manufacturers hydrogenate...these vegetable oils so they won't become rancid while they sit on shelves, or during frying...it seems unlikely that hydrogenation contributes much to our burden of heart disease...The fact that hydrogenated oils appear to be relatively benign is cause for thanks, because these fats are everywhere.
In 1988, the CSPI’s Nutrition Action newsletter stated, “All told, the charges against trans fats just don’t stand up. And by extension hydrogenated oils seem relatively innocent.” As a matter of fact, this edition of the Nutrition Action newsletter devotes a lot of space to an article that looks to allay fears with regards to trans fat.
Article comments
1 - Paul Roy
You mean I have a choice in what I eat? Doesn't the poor Colonel have enough problems already with the chicken abuse nazis. All kidding aside, I actually do deplore the way chickens are mass "farmed", but are people willing to pay $15 dollars for a free-range chicken breast, or simply go without. It's easy enough to live without beef and pork, but chicken is another story. Those fake chicken tofu patties my wife makes me eat are starting to get real old. Great article.
2 - RedTard
These sorts of things grate on my nerves as well. The slippery slope is always towards more government control.
With these sorts of things the nazis only need to win once. The food industry may win 99.9% of the time but when they slip up even once the pirahnnas will feed on the precedent and a defacto 'fat tax' will be set.
We may not like having our foods picked by Uncle Sam now but these groups have already got to our kids through the schools. In turn, our children will be more receptive to the government dictating food choices because they grew up with it all along. In the good old days there would be a revolution, now we're too lazy to care that we're turning more and more into government controlled stooges.
I'm not sure whether I'm more dissappointed that our leaders in government take away our rights or that the sheeple are so indifferent to it.
3 - Nicholas Bowman
I think dismissing the KFC issue only because of the CSPI's reputation is a bit irresponsible. I don't care that it can be considered hypocritical for them to have said hydrogenated oils were better than sat. fats in the 80s That's what EVERYONE thought. Food science in general is changing everyday. Everyone thought margerine was healthier than butter. Rememebr when carbs were good for you?
Despite the CSPI's track record, credible food scientists of today are telling us that trans fat is very bad for us, and with this in mind, the most important thing about this issue is how much MORE trans fat is in KFC that you might expect. I always knew it was junk food, but I had no idea that a 2 piece meal with biscuits and potato wedges had the same amount of trans fat as 30 McDonald's hamburgers. Did you? So I wouldn't dismiss it like "Duh, we know it's not healthy but people know what they are doing when they eat junk" I didn't know I was eating 30 hamburgers worth of death fat every time I had one KFC meal.
4 - sal m
dismissing the CSPI's actions is completely responsible given their recent track record of being completely off-base and downright deceitful with their actions.
accepting the stats provided by the CSPI with regards the amount of trans fat - or with regards to stats dealing with ANYTHING - is foolish given that the CSPI has been so wrong so often.
by virtue of their own actions the CSPI has abrogated their position of being a neutral watchdog type of organization. they've cried wolf way too often to be taken seriously.
i'll wait until we get some confirmation with regards to this comparison of 30 mcdonald's hamburgers to 2 pieces of fried chicken, biscuits and potatoes.
in the meanwhile DON'T EAT KFC if you're worried.
5 - Nicholas Bowman
KFC 2 piece meal =
McDonald's Hamburger =
The KFC meal (as close as I could put it together) has 14 grams of trans fat according to their own website's calculator. According to the McDonald's website, their hamburger has 0.5 grams. So that means 28 hamburgers worth in every 2-piece meal.
I dont agree with a lawsuit being filed against KFC because I don't think they broke any laws, and I am not defending the CSPI. My point is simply that you should look at each issue individually rather than assuming anything the CSPI speaks about is a non-issue. I was shocked to find out how much worse a KFC meal is for you compared to eating another type of fast food and I think it is an important thing for people to know when they make their dining decisions.
I agree 100% with you that it is our choice when we eat fast food and I don't want them to change the recipe if it will make it taste bad. (The french fries from all the popular chains taste like crap to me now since they changed their frying oil) I just think our choices should be educated ones, and signs in the stores sounds like a good idea to me.
6 - sal m
nicholas:
thanks for the info...
and i agree with you in principle, but i will never take anything seriously that CSPI says.
7 - sal m
nicholas:
with the mcdonalds comparison, if you have a big mac and a large fries your meal will contain about 9 grans of trans fat, and a double quarter pounder and fries gives you 10.5 grams of trans fat.
so i think comparing what most people eat at mcdonalds to KFC - rather than the puny hamburger without fries - puts this into perspective.
once again by using the small hamburger to full meal comparison, CSPI tried to be cute and as a result they live up to their reputation of being less than honest.
8 - Matthew T. Sussman
You know how they tax cigarettes? Tax trans fat. Everyone wins.
9 - Nicholas Bowman
Thats a good point Sal. I guess the most staggering thing is how much of the fat is in the side dishes like fries. I'd rather have 2 quarter pounders than 1 w/ fries in that case.
On a side note, I dont know if that comaprison withthe 30 burgers came form the CSPI or from the news story I got the info from.
10 - sal m
i'm actually surprised at how low the burger trans fat numbers are...but we've always known that deep fried foods are the worst. but that's why they taste so good!
and i agree that i'd forego the fries for the extra burger.
frankly, i used to look forward to a once or twice a year kfc binge, but my stomach just can't take it any longer. i guess because i so rarely eat fried foods i lost my ability to tolerate them.
11 - Joan Hunt
I'm all for updated SCIENCE and learning what the most recent (real) experts have discovered, but someone with an axe to grind (or a special interest check to cash) has no right to impose their biases on my life.
I'm tired of being nannied to death.
As it stands, someone decided it was unfair to make non-smokers enter a bar where there was smoke. Instead of recommending non-smokers go elsewhere, California (and many other places) are now 100% smoke-free in public businesses. No one is even allowed to smoke at a football or baseball game in the stands. You can't smoke at a concert (unless you smuggle in a joint, which I find more offensive than cigarette smoke). There are other people who even want to ban cigarettes in the home. This is ridiculous.
People are free to make choices based on what's okay with them. I would never expect someone to cede to my particular requirements (air conditioning must be at 68 degrees at all time, I must always have perfectly formed mini CUBES of ice -- none of those cylinders, a booth with no one behind me -- especially someone with crying or whining children...), so it's crazy to think we should all give in to these nutso people.
If I don't want to come home smelling like an ashtray, I should be able to find a place that's smoke-free. If I don't want to eat something that's bad for me, I'll make my own salad at home and drink my bottled water. If I don't want to be bullied into following someone else's health agenda, I'm going to forward this article to everyone I can think of with some power to keep these special interest people out of my personal life.
12 - sal m
joan:
i love feisty well-reasoned comment such as yours!
13 - Aaron
im writing a college paper on trans fats, for or against general regulation. if you have any helpful sourses or articles on the pros or cons plz help me [Personal contact info deleted] thanks for your help and opinion
14 - Andy Sturgell
Hello,
Thank you for posting these great comments. I'd also like to add that the CSPI continues to demonize saturated fats and animal products in spite of overwhelming evidence (both scientific and anecdotal) indicating that these foods are actually quite good for you. I fear this organization like crazy -- it's scary when such poorly informed individuals like those at CSPI have such substantial credibility.