If we are what we eat, then figuring out who we are these days requires a degree in chemical engineering.

Recently, as I sipped soup in my favorite sandwich shop, I discovered the complimentary crackers were made with more than flour, yeast, and salt; they also consisted of partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil. Hydrogenated oils contain high levels of trans fat, a fatty acid transformed during an industrial process that makes vegetable oils more solid. As one of those annoying label-readers, this did not shock me and, to be sure, there is not much trans fat in two crackers. Yet I wondered: How much of the local restaurant food I love contains trans fat?

Directly or indirectly, many foods are made with trans fats, including those that have been fried or baked with margarines or shortenings, such as French fries, crackers, cookies, pizza dough, pastries, and piecrusts. In other words, this is about far more than one restaurant’s brand of soda crackers.

Unlike, say, a cone of cotton candy at Defeat of Jesse James Days, trans fat is not a treat to have in moderation. The recommended daily amount: nil. Of course, regular old fat exists in many healthful foods. However, trans fats are altogether different from fat in peanuts, milk, and meat. According to the American Heart Association, trans fats raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lower your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Eating them increases your risk of developing heart disease and stroke. And it might not take much. According to the New York Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, increasing intake of trans fats by even two percent can increase the risk for a heart attack or other cardiovascular problems by more than twenty percent.

Trans fats are also associated with a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, a disease already at epidemic levels and rising. According to projections published in the November issue of an American Diabetes Association journal, if nothing is done, by 2034 as many as 44 million Americans will have the disease, up from 23 million today. (Another possible culprit, according to a University of California study, is the ubiquitous concoction high-fructose corn syrup. Depending on the source, Americans consume anywhere from 45 to 60 pounds of corn syrup a year.)

The one upside of trans fats: they last longer than traditional vegetable oil (trans fats do nothing to enhance flavor) and therefore using them is cheaper. That savings, however, comes at a cost. Because not only are trans fats a public health issue, they are also an economic one. As is painfully obvious to many of us, health care costs have skyrocketed in recent years and — even if Congress passes health insurance reform — they are not going down anytime soon. By some estimates, spending on diabetes alone will nearly triple in the next twenty-five years. The debate is not either/or. The health insurance system is broken and we need to make better personal choices.

That is not easy to do in restaurants. In a grocery store, we can read the list of ingredients, and because trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup have received much attention lately, packaging frequently touts the lack thereof. (In Northfield, too, blessedly, we can shop at Just Food; the next time I find trans fats at the co-op will be the first time). But there is no such disclosure at restaurants. When selecting from a menu, we are blind.

That is why two years ago New York City banned trans fats from its restaurants. Already, that step has paid off. Health officials reported in an issue of Annals of Internal Medicine that total saturated fat and trans fat in French fries decreased by more than fifty percent, and overall trans fat use declined from fifty percent to two percent. Given these results, other jurisdictions have followed suit.

I think Rice County Public Health should consider a similar initiative. So should the federal government. (How are dangerous ingredients in food less an issue than lead-paint-laden toys?) However, government could stay on the sidelines if local restaurants that have not already done so voluntarily removed all trans fat from their kitchens.

In this economy, no doubt, establishments have to do what they can to survive. I just know one patron who would pay more for his soup crackers today if that meant not increasing the odds he will pay for a trip to the hospital tomorrow.

Tom Swift, an award-winning author, breaks bread in Northfield. He can be reached via tom-swift.com.

I was interviewed by longtime Minnesota Twins television broadcaster Dick Bremer for the team’s Fox Sports Net pre-game show (August 17, 2009).