As if we all needed another excuse to indulge in fast food, McDonalds announced today that its famous French fries are now completely trans-fat free. According to McDonalds CEO Jim Skinner, the fast food chain’s fries have been cooked without trans fat for “a few months”, and the restaurant will be phasing out trans fat in all of its menu items by the end of the year. McDonalds pies, cookies, and other baked items still contain trans fat at the moment, but no longer will in the months to come. According to this article, McDonalds has “lagged behind” other American fast food chains in dropping the use of trans fat in its recipes, due to concerns that doing so would have a negative effect on taste. The change was finally made, due in part to pressure from “consumer advocates and some public officials.”
What effect will the dropping of trans fat have on McDonalds’ business and the demand for fast food in general? Probably none at all. Yes, it’s very unhealthy, but most people are willing to accept a few blood pressure points along with that Big Mac and large fries, so long as they continue to taste good. In the past few months, since McDonalds supposedly stopped using trans fat in their French fries, nobody seems to have noticed a difference in taste. Almost everyone knows that trans fat is bad (though not as many know what, exactly, it is), and McDonalds’ public announcement might actually encourage people to eat more French fries. After all, they’re much healthier now … right?
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