Cause and Effect: NYC Bans

Ever wonder why people who believe in global warming would buy beach front property? Or why we hand out federal grant money to people to study ways to cut federal spending? Or why 24 hour stores have locks on the doors? Perhaps it's the same logic as to why a New York City mayor that would put a ban on car idling, and then also ban trans fats. Are you a little confused? Let me explain.

Back in 2008, the NYC Health Department fully implemented a ban on trans fat at all restaurants within the city limits (with the exception of foods served in the manufacturer's original packaging, such as crackers). The new rule has had a big impact on everyone (except Mayor Bloomberg, who got caught exploiting the loophole with trans fat Cheez-Its). New research shows the regulation had the desired effect, banishing a not-insignificant amount of trans fat from New Yorkers' hearts, but it's also had an impact worldwide.

New York City restaurants and Big food companies are squeezing trans fats out of products from Oreos to Cheetos and rushing to find palatable substitute oils. Even Crisco has been reformulated so it's trans-fat free. Fast-food chains such as Wendy's and McDonald's have scrambled to figure out ways to cook fries without trans fats. Not only in New York but getting ahead of the curb with it's restaurants nationally, in many cases, trans fats simply are being replaced with other oils, usually ones that are only slightly better for you. The primary solution that these chains and producers have found? Palm oil.

Its properties make it highly versatile in the food and chemical industries. It has a high melting point, making it smooth and easy to spread. Palm oil is contained in thousands of supermarket products. In fact, more than 90 percent of the palm oil produced is used to manufacture food products, cosmetics, detergents and candles. Bio-diesels are on the rise, but I digress.


Worldwide demand for palm oil has increased sharply over the last few years. With 54 million tons in 2011, doubling from 2000, it is the most widely produced vegetable oil worldwide. It has the highest yield of any oil crop and is the cheapest vegetable oil to produce and refine.

What is the problem here, a slightly healthier food that works basically the same way? Sounds like pretty decent trade off, doesn't it? What was I trying to say when I pointed out the car idling in my first paragraph?

The demand has gotten too high, the industry can't keep up. The solution? Make more room to produce more palms. Nearly 90 percent of global palm oil production was in Malaysia and Indonesia in 2010. Although much of this production took place on land long ago established for agriculture, some of it occurred in areas that were newly cleared specifically for oil palm cultivation. In fact more than half of plantations established since 1990 in those two countries has occurred at the expense of natural forest. This expansion has resulted in a decline of almost half the natural forest in Malaysia and Indonesia, roughly 60 million hectares have been destroyed between Malaysia and Indonesia, roughly the land area of the states of Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Combined!

And the problem is growing, now countries like Columbia and Nigeria are cashing in on the latest craze, both rich with peat swamps, forests, and jungles, that are cleared out, increasing their rates of deforestation to account for this massive shift that is being spurred by New York and other major cities.

Less forests, less carbon getting filtered out of the air naturally, it may be that Mayor Bloomberg must have anticipated this minor little side effect of eliminating trans fats from our diet, that is why he passed the car idling ban, to reduce his carbon footprint. Oh wait, that's right...