I attended last Wednesday’s Rose Cafe on the history of fats. I had never thought of fat in a historical context, only a nutritional and biological context. This way of viewing the macromolecule was exciting in its newness to me.

One thing that I found very interesting was the interchangeability of fats, as Jonathan Robins described it. If different fats can be used to produce the same taste in foods, then it (unfortunately) makes sense that companies would use the cheapest kind regardless of it’s affect on the consumer’s health. I guess this is why trans fats are being regulated by governments across Europe and in the US.

I also found it very interesting that the vegetable fat industry hoped to bring animal agriculture down, whereas it really had the opposite effect. This happened because as fats are extracted from vegetables and grains, what is left over can be used as cheap feed for animals. This makes me wonder about how far the fat industry’s reach is regarding the health of Americans. Fat in excess is already bad for us, and both fat and meat in excess is even worse. Also, the fat industry could have broad effects on the environment given rainforest is removed to plant palm trees and create land for grazing animals and given the agriculture industry as a whole is one of the leading producers of greenhouse gas emissions.

Overall, I had never thought about fats in this way. I had only really thought of their impact on my body and others’, not the economy or the environment. It’s great to be able to stay in the West community and expand my view in ways I never would have even thought of trying.