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Most trans fats consumed today are industrially created by partially hydrogenating plant oils — a process developed in the early 1900s and first commercialized as Crisco in 1911. The goal of partial hydrogenation is to add hydrogen atoms to unsaturated fats, making them more saturated. These more saturated fats have a higher melting point making them attractive for baking, and extending their shelf-life. Another particular class of trans fats, vaccenic acid occurs in trace amounts in meat and dairy products from ruminants.

The process of producing trans fats was developed for economy, no other reason.  Hydrogenated fats are fats which are liquid at room temperature that are spun at high speeds to create a fine 'bubbling' which then makes them as if 'solid' at room temperatures, as in Margarine. The spinning process however renders the oil difficult to digest, and suspect in ailments such as hardening of the arteries.

Hydrogenated and Trans fats were developed since they replace the - more expensive to produce - butter, and allegedly enjoy a longer shelf life than some oils.  [Though ironically, pure butter is fresh indefinitely.]   There is absolutely no health benefit to margarine over butter.  It is deleterious rather.  The idea that Margarine is some way superior is a result of the American paranoia about fat.  As if the slightly lower fat content of margarine were going to prevent weight gain. 

Inactivity and hidden SUGAR are the Culprits in American obesity.

OVERWEIGHT: It is not the fat content of food in America which is the culprit in our overweight population, but the sugar content.  The guilty ingredient is that which is hidden in our processed food products, breads, cereals, you name it its there.  Look at so called 'wheat' breads.  They are nothing more than colored white breads [if the ingredients do NOT say WHOLE WHEAT, then the flour is WHITE over- processed flour, to which perhaps colorants and some vitamins are added to make the overall vitamin content read like real bread.] But have you ever wondered why the breads in most grocery stores are so gummy and squishable.  Read the number 2 ingredient.  [You should know that by law ingredients in food products are listed in the order of quantity.]  The number 2 ingredient in most American 'wheat' bread is corn syrup.  That is nothing more than liquid high octane sugar.   Bread needs little or no sugar to be bread. 

Want to lose weight? - get used to the taste of real bread. Use a bit of real butter on the bread too, which small amount of fat has two powerful benefits [as Europeans have always known and do NOT eliminate the fat from their diets as Americans do]  #1 Fat satisfies.  When you eat a small amount of a quality fat, your stomach feels fuller and you do not have the powerful urge for more that sugared products create:  #2.  Without some fat in your diet, the critical fat soluble vitamins [A, D, E, K] cannot be absorbed & digested. #3 Quality fats like that in fish oils, Olive Oils and other types of un- refined vegetable oils, are beneficial, assisting in the absorption of vitamins, improving dry skin, and more.  Whereas white sugar adds NOTHING to our diet.

But read the ingredient listing of nearly every processed food and corn syrup is there somewhere in almost every case.   American grocery stores are FULL to the brim with sugar laced foods.

I was at my brother's house for Thanksgiving some years back and he was serving 'fat free half & half for the coffee service.  Fat free HALF & HALF?  That's like serving fat free fat!  Naturally I read the ingredients and they listed somewhat like a Bolar Pharmaceutical Catalog.   At the top of the list of course was corn syrup, and a host of other sugars.  I talked him into substituting the real thing for the substitute, and guess what, he did not gain weight!  But I can guarantee his arteries are better for the switch, and he's LESS likely to gain weight over time with the reduction in sugar in his diet.