Libertarians and others saw evidence of a metastasizing "nanny state" in 2006 when Mayor Michael Bloomberg banned artificial trans fats in New York City. A similar outcry is likely to follow last week's announcement that the Food and Drug Administration has taken the first steps toward eliminating partially hydrogenated oils from the American diet.
These aren't the first man-made fats to attract such intense controversy. An earlier generation of Americans fought over another, very similar creation: oleomargarine. Curiously, the outcome of that battle helped introduce trans fats into the food chain.
Oleomargarine's history begins in the 1860s, when many Europeans worried that butter had become too expensive, especially in the burgeoning cities. This led the French government to offer a prize at the Paris World Exhibition of 1866 for an affordable butter substitute. Three years later, French chemist Hippolyte Mege-Mouries came up with a creation he dubbed "oleomargarine."