Both of these are serious problems. We can't fix one at the expense of the other.
I support banning trans fats, but I hope the FDA doesn't just stop there and allow harvesting of palm oils to skyrocket. If this is going to cause a significant increase in deforestation, then IMO we need to ban palm oils too.
I generally agree.
However, this is not banning a type of food. This is banning a industrial food ingredient. 99% of people do not check the label of food they eat to look at the ingredients and research them. They assume that a cookie is going to have some sort of fat, but they just assume that it's safe to eat.
So, it's not necessarily the consumer's choice here. Rather, the consumers just rely on the FDA and the food companies to make their products safe to eat. As medicine progresses, we just keep gaining more knowledge about the danger of this ingredient. It's a question of danger vs. benefit I think.
Would you allow a company to sell lead flavored cookies? No. Would you allow them to sell lead paint? I hope not. You have to draw the line somewhere, it's an oversimplification to just say, "consumer choice!" Choice only works when the consumers have the information, inclination and ability to make up their mind.
