For starters, Stephen L. Joseph, who runs the site, is the Marin-based lawyer who sued Kraft foods over their use of trans fat in Oreos - which prompted Kraft to announce they were reducing or eliminating the trans fat in their Oreo cookies and Goldfish crackers (which are heavily marketed to children, the group most at risk from a diet high in trans fats). He has also sued McDonald's for false advertising in response to their unfulfilled promises to change the oil in their deep fryers from saturated trans fats to unsaturated vegetable oil.

Trans Fats, or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, are created by steaming vegetable oils at high pressure to change the molecular character of the fatty acids which make up vegetable oil. This is done to extend the shelf life of vegetable oils as well as make them solidify at room temperature. You probably have some Crisco or margarine somewhere in the house - these are both partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Trans-fats were invented by Hippolyte Mège Mouriés in 1869, who answered the challenge posed by Napoleon III to create a shortening and spread that could last over long sea voyages.