Wherever he is, I hope Harland Sanders is proud of his restaurant chain for promising to make the expensive switch to a non-hydrogenated frying oil for its famous chicken this week. Kentucky Fried Chicken’s corporate leaders yielded to consumer pressure and truly did the right thing, though kudos are also due to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which filed a lawsuit against the fast food giant last summer, alleging its fried products endangered public health.

“What are McDonald’s and Burger King waiting for now?” asked CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. “If KFC, which deep-fries almost everything, can get the artificial trans fat out of its frying oil, anyone can. Colonel Sanders deserves a bucket full of praise.”

Next stop: Getting KFC to go free-range!

The Colonel actually died of cancer (not heart disease) at the ripe age ninety. Scroll down here for a picture of his grave. Will someone please buy his Christmas album on eBay now? It’s surely a collector’s item and great conversation piece!