While Ottawa is working on having trans fat listed on food products, some are saying that doesn't go far enough. So they've started a new grassroots campaign to ban trans fats altogether.
The movement is spearheaded by Winnipeg NDP MP Pat Martin. Martin says he's made it his mission to get the industrial fat, also known as hydrogenated vegetable oil, eliminated from the Canadian food system.
Martin's campaign against "this toxic garbage" includes petitions and postcards to ban the industrial fat that has been linked to so many health problems.
"We know trans fatty acids are really bad for you, and it's the duty and obligation to eliminate them from the food supply system altogether -- not just label them," Martin says.
Hydrogenated trans fats form when liquid oil is changed into a solid fat, for example when a vegetable oil is made into margarine or shortening.
A 1997 New England Journal of Medicine found that people who consumed 1 gram of trans a day for a decade had a 20 per cent increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Canadians ingest, on average, more than 10 grams of trans fats daily.
To fight this almost invisible health hazard, Ottawa says labeling is its best and first option.
Health Canada says consumers will be given the information on where the trans is and then be allowed to make their own food choices. "When our labelling is in full force and effect, we will have the best science based nutritional labelling of any country in the world," Health Minister Anne McLellan has said.
But Pat Martin says he receives countless letters a week from Canadians asking him to take further actions.
Canadians like Bridgette Romero say they have cleaned out their cupboards of products containing hydrogenated oils or vegetable oil shortening. "If we know it's detrimental to our health, why continue to use it? Outright ban it, ban it," she says.
At least one European country -- Denmark -- has done just that. It's adopted legislation that limits trans fats to between two and five grams per 100 grams of oil, depending on the product. Since that's a tiny amount, the rules are essentially a ban on trans fats.
But similar legislation may not be so easy to create in Canada. That's because the North American Free Trade Agreement would block Canada from banning any product unless the U.S did the same.
Still, some food makers are taking their cue from health-conscious consumers. Voortman cookies has already announced its cookies will be trans-free by March of next year. And Canada's top pizza chain, Pizza Pizza, says it's not far behind.
"We are undergoing, right now, dough testing, replacing hydrogenated oils with canola oils," says Pizza Pizza's Paul Methot. "We fully intend that we will eliminate trans, which is in the pizza dough very soon."
While some food chains in the U.S. are following suit and banning the substance, Pat Martin is keeping up the campaign, promising to work until all trans fats is out of our food.
Those who would like to contact Pat Martin can email or write to him:
[email protected]
Pat Martin MP for Winnipeg Centre
892 Sargent Avenue
Winnipeg R3E 0C7
phone: (204) 984 1837
