Voluntary or Regulated? The Trans Fat Campaign in New York City

This case takes students behind the scenes in the world of public health policymaking. Students follow the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the process it went through to craft a policy to reduce public consumption of trans fats in restaurants. In 2005, the department’s Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control elected after considerable internal negotiations to launch a public awareness campaign aimed equally at consumers, restaurants and their suppliers. But after a year, the awareness campaign had not budged the rate of trans fat use in restaurants. In 2006, the department decided to resort to regulation, despite the risks of triggering protests of a “nanny state,” not to mention pushback from industry.