Six Flags over Texas cutting trans fat from its menu.

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janfrederick said:
^I wonder if trans-fat turns you into a raise the gate kinda guy? ;)

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Yes, I'm convinced trans-fats add to intelligence. ;)

All those chemicals gotta be screwing with something.

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rollergator said:
^The environment is an *entirely* different scenario. No one individual benefits from changing his/her behavior. For instance, the latest research shows it STILL costs more to drive a hybrid than a regular fossil-fuel-guzzler, even with the tax benefits. That's "batsh!t crazy" (TM) - as an economist, one of the REAL jobs of government is to CORRECT where market forces will lead us down the wrong road. "Public goods" are like air and water, where everyone has an interest, yet no one *individual* would be expected to behave in "everyone's best interest". How many of us could, or would, buy a B2B bomber, if *national defence* were left to market forces?

I have YET to see Al Gore's movie, and I know he's gotten a LOT of flak, but the latest research I saw says that Beluga whales have *about* 25-30 years left in the wild due to the changing climate - not that humans are in ANY way *responsible*... ;)

edit: Sorry to get OT - blame jeremy! :)

*** Edited 2/22/2007 3:22:32 PM UTC by rollergator***

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Unless they are being whaled or poisoned in some way, The Beluga whale is a victim of survival of the fittest. Who knows, Maybe someday the earth will be too hot for humans to survive. BUT THERE WILL BE LIFE of some kind. How do you explain A type of worm growing on volcanic vents in the ocean that is over 2000 degrees F.?

Man has the ability to adapt, So do several thousand other species on earth.

No I don't say go burn fuel, toss your trash on the side of the road or any of that. I do say, Our impact as a whole is minute compared to other forces. Reefs dying, Volcanoes. Tidal waves.

Do you think every human on earth could wreck a 600 mile stretch by 20-30 miles in 4 hours? Katrina did!

Chuck, who says Mt. St. Helens put more particulates in the upper atmosphere than a decade of human driving.

Oh, BTW, Thanks to everyone who wished me well on this diet.

From day one's standpoint and what I've eaten and plan to eat. It's gonna be hard just to make my limit. (And from what they say, Shorting your limit is actually bad)

Chuck, who's had his four veggies, Three fruits. One dairy and 6 of his eight cups of water and still has one dairy and 21 points to go. Nothing fried but I'll get used to it :) *** Edited 2/22/2007 8:08:37 PM UTC by Charles Nungester***

^Sure, just a few hydrogen bombs ought to do the trick. And I'd love to see the paper you are referencing in regards to St. Helens versus driving.

-e

Random, but has anyone tried the new Honeycombs? Man those things SUCK! I emailed post about the, and they are now "healthier" I'm getting a coupon reimbursement in the mail for my purchase, because there was no mention of any changes in the formula or whatever. I want the original "slightly more fattening" version of Honeycombs back :( Those were a favorite of mine. I forget someone mentioned most things not having any difference in taste if changed to make them less fattening, well, it killed Honeycombs

Do your really think the atmosphere is worse now than it was 50 years ago?

Dad tells me the skys were gray back in the 50s, You had coal suit on your cars and just about every house burned coal for heat, All power plants were coal and all Trains and several ships were as well.

Im not saying there aren't things we can still do. IM SAYING SOME THINK IT's the end of the world. When it's actually dramatically improved.

Urban spraw, FUNNY, Only 4 percent of the UNITED STATES is developed in any way. 4%! If you listen to Al Gore or the Media they'll make it sound like it's 80 %

The oceans are rising. NO THEY ARNEN'T They've been receding for 65 million years. OR WAS THE GREAT SALT LAKE and The MOJAVE desert not oceans at one time. Was not the Great Lakes not three times as big as they are? Was their not a Glacier than ran all the way south to MORAINE Ohio? (Moraine) The deposit left at the end of a glacier.

Is not the Antarctic Icecap actually growing? Yes!

The Earth may be changing and there are examples of Human contamination. But to say we cause the whole works is just insane.

All Im saying is get a grip, Do what you can to make it better (Plant a tree ect) But the OMG THE WORLDS ENDING AND WERE AT FAULT idea is just nuts to me. A comet or asteroid could hit us tomorrow and THEN YOUR TOAST! Blame me for that one!

Chuck, who's be resting in heaven wondering why you drove yourself nuts over it in your lifetime.

W

I'd like to see where you're getting your figures and information Chuck. Do you have a source?

Also curious if you've seen Gore's movie. There're some interesting points about non-linearity and reasonable explanations about how greater trends may affect local areas in varying intensities and even in the opposite way of the greater trend.

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2Hostyl said:

Of course, I'm the one who will leave the car in park until everybody puts on their seatbelt when I'm drive. Hey, my car's not a demoracy. I *am* the sole dictator!

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And trust me kids, with Jeremy behind the wheel, a seatbelt is manadatory safety equipment:) I don't know if he's slowed down now that he's married, but I don't even want to think about how quickly we made it back from BGE to his (then) apartment in D.C.

As far as the transfat thing goes, as long as it tastes the same, than I'm good with it. A local major bakery though is having trouble should they have to implement the transfat ban. They said there aren't easy solutions to substitute for transfat in some of their receipies.

Don't get me wrong, I think Texas is a good place to start with such a ban. In 2002, Houston and San Antonio were listed one, two (don't remember which order) on the list by either Men's Fitness or Health.

Houston was sited for having an inordinate amount of donut shops (verified), and San Antonio for the all-day Tex-Mex diet leading to excessive girth (again verified).

Some people have been in praise of Six Flags for the transfat ban, but if you take away the all-you-can-drink Soda Oasis's at Holiday World, I bet a riot would start!:)

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I got no problems with the soda oasis's at Holiday World. Diet Pepsi, Diet Dr. Pepper, and Water... I'm good! It's all that other stuff in there I could do without ;)

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rollergator said:

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Lord Gonchar said:Gaia's Revenge. The Earth can take care of itself...and will.

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True...once the pesky humans wipe themselves out, the Earth will rise again... ;)

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I thought a Giant Asteroid was going to wipe us out.
;)

Clearly a marketing effort, but no real change. Portion size will still be too big. Park food will still have way too much fat and simple carbs.

Personally, I'm less concerned about banning trans-fats and more concerned about having healthy choices in parks. I like an elephant ear as much as the next guy, but as often as not, I'd rather have fruit or grilled chicken with a whole wheat bun. Hopefully, as time goes on, more of my fellow guests will feel the same way, and parks will respond with options for us.

Right now, I'm clearly in the minority. Things may be changing though. We'll just have to see.

-brian, who is now puling his belt in to the last notch, and finally able to wear pants that haven't fit for well more than a year.

I'm still not where I want to be, but have finally decided that I've got to make a permanent change in the way I live. Getting old and not being able to live the way you "used to" sucks, but it's amazing what daily exercise and cutting way way back on the booze and fast food will do in only a few months.

^ I wish that MORE parks sold elephant ears!

I'm all for healthy food options, but when I go to enjoy a day at an amusement park, all thoughts of "being good" go out the window. Bring on the BBQ ribs, funnel cakes, greasy boardwalk fries, Teaberry ice cream and fried Oreos- I'm going to eat like it's my last day on Earth ;) (and with that kind of diet, it just might be!)

*** Edited 2/23/2007 6:37:04 PM UTC by Rob Ascough***

I regards to the Great Salt lake being larger and the prehistoric lakes in the California desert, they were large because the climate was cold and wet (ice age). The Oceans rise as the glaciers and ice caps melt. And yes, they are indeed melting at a greater rate than they have in the past.

Anyway, sure we'll all be dead some day (in regards to your resting in heaven comment), but I for one think we owe a little more to our descendents. I think the only one going nuts here is you.

Yes, we live in a world where we seem to be bombarded by political correctness. But honestly, this isn't some liberal left-wing political conspiracy to make you think the sky is falling. We do face challenges. And the whole right-wing reaction to the science reeks of right-wing media blowhards yelling for attention. Ignoring the science of man induced global warming reminds me of how, when I was studying plate tectonics, there were still some scientists who actually did not subscribe to the idea...even though the evidence and work was extremely compelling.

Rob, you and I are on the same page: I'd rather there be choices than have the park dictate to me, even though I'd prefer to eat like I plan to come back to the park tomorrow, too. ;)

However, for those choices to be useful, there must also be transparency. I'd rather see SFOT provide nutritional information at each food service outlet than to make almost any other change.
*** Edited 2/23/2007 7:16:53 PM UTC by Brian Noble***

Toss me in with the camp that nature/earth/Gaia whatever you want to call it will move on and adapt. Even humans will adapt. (extra coat? Air Conditioning?) Everything else is just trying to keep things the way they are and prevent change, which ironically requires change as well. Sometimes change is necessary, so why fight it?

I'd rather enjoy life and possibly have to go buy larger clothes (change) or go out and actually exercise (change) than resort to eating cardboard and tasteless drivel (undesirable change) that is sold under the guise of being 'Healthy' (and I agree wholeheartedly with Honeycomb.. I can't eat that garbage anymore even though it used to be one of my favorite cereals)

If I die "early", or even earlier than I supposedly would have, than so be it. At least I will enjoy every last minute of my (shorter) life instead of torturing myself trying to be PC and extend the miserable existence. Where's the fun in that?

With that said, maybe I should mention that I weigh 155 lbs, and last time I donated blood (November) the cholesterol level came back at 119 (with a note saying that over 200 is borderline, and over 250 is a problem). Yet I guzzle down soda like it's going out of style and eat deep-fried and greasy foods on a regular basis such as Chalupas from Taco Bell (once or twice a week)and Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxe from Wendy's (3-5 times a week on average). The difference is that I get off my butt and exercise (no gym membership - just making sure I have an active lifestyle that doesn't involve sitting around all day every day surfing the net or the TV) and generally don't eat for the sake of eating - I eat when I'm hungry. But when I do eat, I'm going to enjoy what I eat. As for the fast food? I don't order extra grease on my burger -- I get maybe one or two - just enough to fill my stomach. Small portions/often seems to work a lot better than pig out 3 times a day. I also don't sit around like a lazy bum saying "Wahhhh!! I deserve millions of dollars because Wendy's and Taco Bell made me fat!!!"

I guess you could draw an analogy to filling your gas tank on your car. If you fill it up whenever it's at half a tank, you'll end up spending what you need to spend on gas. If you just go to the gas station every morning and pump a full tank with reckless abandon, you're going to spill a lot of gas. The difference is that the human body doesn't spill it on the ground - it stores it up for later. :)

There's a difference between laziness and personal metabolism. I have high respect for the latter, and extreme disdain for the former. Banning trans-fat will just make the lazy bums fatter because they'll think they can do no wrong and keep shoving the fast food down their throats at breakneck speed thinking it's healthy now.

[/rant]

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Brian Noble said:
However, for those choices to be useful, there must also be transparency. I'd rather see SFOT provide nutritional information at each food service outlet than to make almost any other change.

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To me, that seems like the better of the ideas. Rather than telling people, "this is no good for you, we're going to make sure you can't have it", put up a sign that says, "this is why we REALLY feel you shouldn't buy this, but if you insist, it's your own funeral".

Again, it all comes down to not wanting someone else to rule what I do to myself. If I want to drive without a seatbelt in a trans fat-induced haze, let me do it ;)

Nice post Dannerman, and thanks for bringing up Honeycombs! Lol.

Wow, Rob. Those last 2 sentences are a much shorter way to say what I feel! :)

Heck, Rob, I don't even need them to editorialize about why I should or shouldn't eat something. I just want to know what it is that I'm eating! I'll make the decision myself.

Edited to add: in the end, though, I'm still convinced this is just marketing. Right now, upper-middle-class parents are up in arms over trans-fats. Guess what market Six Flags is shooting for? *** Edited 2/23/2007 8:12:44 PM UTC by Brian Noble***