Once again, the food industry is claiming that consumers are too stupid to understand what ingredients on a label mean. This time, The Corn Refiners Association has petitioned the FDA; they are requesting permission to change the name from “High Fructose Corn Syrup”  to “corn sugar”.

Seriously? What do they think changing the name will do? We still know how bad HFCS is for us; our bodies still don’t metabolize the man-made sugars in the same way.

Apparently, the higher-ups in the food industry think that the name “high fructose corn syrup” is too confusing for us peasants to understand.

Audrae Erickson, president of The Corn Refiners Association, had this to say:

Clearly the name is confusing consumers. Research shows that ‘corn sugar’ better communicates the amount of calories, the level of fructose and the sweetness in this ingredient.

HFCS has become widely known by the general population as an unhealthy ingredient; research by the NPD shows that 58% of Americans are concerned about health risks posed by HFCS. This petition to the FDA seems more like an attempt at a coverup; many Americans would not realize that “corn sugar” is the same thing as HFCS. Therefore, until we got the news spread around about the dangers of this “new” ingredient, people would still be endangering their health and the health of their children.

The most logical solution to the fact that people are discovering how unhealthy HFCS is for our children would be to stop using it. This apparently reeks of too much common sense for the food industry people!

Ms. Erickson goes on to say that,

The name is confusing, and consumers don’t understand that [HFCS] has the same calories as sugar. They also think it’s sweeter tasting. That’s why the alternate name provides clarity for consumers when it comes to the ingredient composition and helps them better understand what’s in their foods.

My question is this: how are our brains, which this woman obviously thinks are puny, going to see the same ingredient differently simply because they change its name? IF The Corn Refiners Association is successful with getting the name of HFCS changed to “corn sugars”, it will be a vast injustice.

Information about our foods is not made readily available; they don’t publicize things like this on the evening news. Instead, we have to actively search for the information. Because of this, the general public will not be aware that “corn sugars” are just another name for the same killer ingredient: high fructose corn syrup.

Read More: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/a-new-name-for-high-fructose-corn-syrup/

It’s already been proven that genetically modified plants are a risk to our health. But now the FDA has before them a request to approve genetically modified salmon as a food source. This GMO salmon was made so that its body automatically creates an overabundance of growth hormones; therefore, the GMO salmon reaches full maturity in 18 months, instead of the 3 years nature requires.

However, scientists that advise the FDA are claiming that genetically modified salmon are “as safe as food from conventional Atlantic salmon”.

You can’t create an exact replica of something from nature. If it has been scientifically proven that other genetically modified substances are not processed by our digestive systems, why would they think that fish would be any different?

If the FDA approves the genetically modified salmon, what’s next? Cloned cows? Pigs? Will all of our food be artificially created? What’s that going to do to the ecosystem?

Think about it…if the FDA opens the door to artificial animals as a food source, we’re going to have an overabundance of animals. What would happen to cows, pigs, chickens, and all the other livestock we currently use for food? The organic industry is not big enough to handle the entire population of livestock in this country.

Many scientists are concerned about what would happen if “natural” and “artificial” animals were to mix; who knows what this mix could do to our ecosystem? Researchers have already proven that the real salmon find the GMO salmon more attractive for breeding purposes, presumably because they are larger in size.

Scientists argue that the eggs of the GMO salmon are “treated” before they are sold so that they only create sterile female fish. My question to this is: if we can’t even guarantee treatment for humans that 100% removes the possibility of reproducing, why should we believe that they can do it with fish?

Research has been done but only by the companies themselves; no unbiased researchers or facilities have performed any tests at all. Therefore, it is doubtful that the testing results are accurate.

The FDA is conducting public hearings from September 19^th – 21^st. If you’re able, make it a point to go to them and get your voice heard! You can register online.

If you can’t attend the public hearings, please tell the FDA that Americans don’t want GMO salmon online by submitting a comment on docket # FDA-2010-N-0385.

We have to stop this craziness!!

Read More at Business Week

I saw an advertisement yesterday for Borden, in which they claimed to be extremely healthy and beneficial to the American farmer. Because of the dangers of rBGH, I decided I wanted to check into it. After all, if it is a healthy product, AND it supports our farmers, then I definitely want to support Borden!

I went directly to the source: http://www.bordenonline.com and http://friendsofelsie.com.

It’s true, Borden does not use rBGH or any other artificial growth hormones!

In addition, Borden gets its dairy products through a co-op program called Dairy Farmers of America, Incorporated. Over 17,000 farmers are members of Borden’s co-op. Milk is delivered quickly to local stores, so Borden’s products are fresh! This means, that not only are you stimulating your local economy by purchasing Borden, but the dairy products are coming from family farms, not commercial farms.

I’ve talked before about buying local by visiting local farmer’s markets. Buying Borden milk, cheese and butter will also support your local farmers. In addition, by buying Borden products, you are also supporting your children’s health.

By visiting Borden’s website, you can view information on their farms local to you, their organic farm in Austin, Texas and meet the farmers in your area. What other company shows you everything up front?

I am in no way affiliated with Borden, Elsie or Dairy Farmers of America. I was merely playing a game on my iPhone when an ad popped up for Borden, claiming it was healthy…this prompted my research, to see if Borden dairy products were as good as they claimed. And they are! My family will definitely start buying Borden.