One molecule away from plastic?

I decided to write this article after my son made the offhand comment "after all margarine is only one molecule away from plastic" the other day.  Because college has taught me to be a critical thinker, I thought I would research the topic.

I went to Google and typed in the phase "one molecule away from plastic" and up came whole page of results.  Because Heart Foundation recommends replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat and margarine is unsaturated and butter is saturated, they have addressed this claim.  In summary here is what they say: Plastics are a polymer and can be made from natural products such as wood, corn, plants and even sugar and some of the earliest plastics were made from milk, so while plastics can be made from vegetable oils and so is margarine that is where the similarity ends. Adding one molecule to margarine won't turn it to plastic and even if it were true one molecule can make a world of difference.  For example, bleach and water only have one atom apart and they are vastly different. The article also addresses several other myths that are often passed around at the same time as this one (Heart Foundation, 2012).

In light of what I discovered from my research, what is my recommendation on the question of butter vs margarine. Here are my thoughts; margarine has vastly changed since it was first came out in 1869.  One of the big concerns when research was done on it in 1980 was trans-fat because it increased the risk of heart attack.  Since then margarine manufacturers have addressed this issue by making margarine's that are trans-fat free. Butter has also changed to address the saturated fat issue by adding oil to them to make spreadable butters with reduced calories and up to half the saturated fat.

So for me the question comes down to three things; taste, nutrition and health benefits.  As to taste, I prefer butter, as far as nutrition, they are essentially the same other than the fact the butter has more saturated fat and the nutrients in margarine have to be added in order to match butter. With regard to the health benefits I think it comes down to oils vs dairy.  Do you want your spread to be from oils (which are questionable themselves) or from a natural source such as milk? My personal opinion is that I prefer the taste of butter, but I want to reduce my calories and saturated fats; so I chose spreadable butter with oil added.

Reference:

Myth busting: butter versus margarine. Retrieved from http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz/healthy-living/healthy-eating/food-for-a-healthy-heart/replace-butter/myth-busting-butter-versus-margarine