1. a) What is the role of the FDA?
b) What is the FDA's budget?

2. Why is the FDA set to ban trans fat?

3. If the FDA believes trans fat is unsafe, why hasn't the department banned it yet?

4. What types of food contain trans fat?

5. a) What are trans fats?
b) Why are trans fats used in food?
c) What harm can trans fat cause to a person's health?

6. How does Dr. Joe Schwarcz view the danger posed by trans fat?

7. Products such as Oreos and Top Ramen have already reduced trans fats to zero grams per serving. (McDonalds and other fast food chains stopped using trans fats in their french fries and other items.) But eliminating trans fats changes the flavor of the food, can drive up manufacturing costs and make the snack’s shelf-life shorter.
a) Ask a parent if he/she can notice a taste difference in McDonalds fries and Oreos since trans fats were removed
b) and if he/she supports the FDA's move to ban the use of trans fats, and to explain both answers.

8. What do you think: are trans fats a threat to Americans health? and if so, should the government ban its use? or should the FDA only warn people of the dangers of eating food with trans fats, and allow people to decide for themselves what they should and shouldn't eat? (do trans fats pose the same danger as a toxin, or as sugar? if on the level with sugar, should the use of sugar in soda be banned? what about artificial sweeteners?) Explain your answers.