Chick-Fil-A, Subway, Kraft, Cheerios: Changes Made at Public Demand

More good news that public opinion is working to force mega-corporations to make their highly processed food products healthier. 

Last month, I reported that public sentiment recently pressured manufacturers and retailers to begin taking bold steps to label or halt using GMO ingredients and foods. 

• Target quietly introduced its "Simply Balanced" brand of USDA-certified organic products.
• General Mills altered original Cheerios to include only non-GMO ingredients
• Whole Foods will no longer sell Chobani yogurt because of "the yogurt maker’s use of milk from cows whose feed is derived from genetically engineered crops."

Now comes terrific news of dozens more changes to highly processed foods... changes to remove ingredients that never belonged in healthy foods.  Among these welcome changes...

Kraft Singles, manufactured since 1949 by Kraft Foods. will shed artificial preservative sorbic acid, to be replaced by natamycin, which Kraft dubs as "natural." The European Union, which has notoriously higher food standards than the USDA, has approved natamycin for use in cheeses.  

"Consumers are looking for those less artificial cues and messages. Those messages are more meaningful to consumers than they have been in the past." observed Gavin Schmidt, manager of cheese research and development at Kraft.

Eliminating artificial preservatives won't make Kraft Singles devoid of chemicals or a real, rather than fake, food. But it's a definite step in the right direction for Americans' health. 

Subway, the world's largest fast food restaurant, is removing a chemical, azodicarbonamide, from its breads, in response to public outcry started by one astute blogger's petition. The chemical is used as a dough conditioner, but is  also found in yoga mats, shoe rubber, and synthetic leathers.  

Azodicarbonamide is banned from foods in Europe and Australia, but classified as "safe" by the USDA. Per the World Health Organization:

"Case reports and epidemiological studies in humans have produced abundant evidence that azodicarbonamide can induce asthma, other respiratory symptoms, and skin sensitization in exposed workers."    

Center for Science in Public Interest studies show that when the chemical is baked in bread it creates the carcinogen urethane and "leads to slightly increased levels of urethane in bread that pose a small risk to humans."

Removing one chemical from the many dozens hidden in Subway sandwiches doesn't make its fare much healthier.  But removal does make their bread less of a risk for health-sensitive consumers.  (Read Subway's Chemical-Laced Sandwiches: Fooled by the Look, Taste of Freshness.)

Chick-Fil-A announced that within five years, they will serve only chickens raised without antibiotics. This commitment will command extraordinary effort since more than 90% of all chickens destined for U.S. consumption are grown in factory farms heavily dependent on antibiotics. Chick-Fil-A sales topped $5 billion in 2013.  Enthused management:

"When the people who matter most to you ask you to do something important --- you listen. So when our customers started asking us about antibiotics in chicken, we began exploring our options....

"This is why we are collaborating with national and regional poultry suppliers to build a supply chain based on chickens raised with no antibiotics. We are asking suppliers to work with the USDA to verify that antibiotics are never administered from the hatchery to the processing plant...Changes like these take time, but we believe this is the next step in honoring our heritage and our continued commitment to service and quality."

Change Dictated by People, Not Political Leaders

Federal and state political leaders have failed to keep the U.S. food supply clean of chemicals, additives, emulsifiers, stabilizers, and artificial flavors and colors deemed unsafe and unfit for eating in much of the world, and certainly in all other developed, democratic countries.

But business market forces, fueled by public buying decisions, are exerting massive pressure on industrial fake-food mega-corporations to change their highly processed ways.    

McDonalds, for instance, rang-up surprisingly sluggish sales for the fourth quarter of 2013, amid reports that it's "losing customers, as the world's largest hamburger chain struggles to attract diners with its higher-priced sandwiches and new offerings like Mighty Wings." 

Cited as the reason for falling sales at McDonald's? "A shift in eating habits toward foods people feel are fresher or healthier," per AP. "We've lost some of our relevance" lamented McDonald's CEO Don Thompson. 

So far, healthy changes have been minuscule to the U.S. food supply by major corporations. A mere French fry on a mountain of McDonald's finest fried GMO spuds. 

But the trend is good news! And made all the more good and powerful because, we, the people, are in charge. 

Fake Food Products Endorsed by Doctors: Bogus Claims, Empty Promises?

Be wary of food products endorsed by doctors. Very wary!

"When you see a product that's endorsed by a doctor, keep in mind that the doctor is probably being paid for that endorsement, just as if he were an athlete or an actor, so take it with a grain of salt," warned one local TV station. 

The medical establishment can be seduced by money to hawk all manner of questionable products, from dangerous prescription drugs to processed breakfast cereals, quasi-useless supplements, and genetically modified foods. Yes, even cigarettes, years ago. 

Not all in the medical establishment can be enticed by all-expenses-paid junkets, pricey speaking engagements, meals and gifts, scads of free samples, and various forms of direct payments.  

But sadly, far too many succumb to financial temptation from vendors with something to sell.

Ensure Drinks, Supplements
For example, take Ensure "nutrition drinks" and "meal supplements," which are manufactured by Abbott Nutrition, part of Big Pharma corporate giant Abbott Laboratories.   Abbott Labs  is the maker of addictive painkiller Vicodin and dozens of other highly profitable drugs.

"#1 doctor recommended brand" blares on the label of every bottle of Ensure's various nutrition drinks.  Yet, Ensure is formulated mainly of sugar and water, spiked with innumerable chemicals, and loaded with preservatives, additives, and artificial flavorings and colors. 

Writes the editor of NaturalNews.com of Ensure:

".. the top two ingredients in Ensure are almost identical to the top two ingredients in soft drinks! ... the top four ingredients (are): water, sugar, corn syrup and maltodextrin. That's basically three sweeteners and water. So if you were trying to be funny, you could call this product 'sugar-sugar-sugar-water,' because that is primarily what it's made of, according to the ingredients label... So essentially, what you have here with Ensure, is a predominantly sugar-water product that has been fortified with a few vitamins and minerals. 

"The phrase, 'Complete, balanced, nutrition,' in my personal opinion, is an outright lie. This product has nothing resembling complete, balanced nutrition..."

In 2012, sales of Ensure and Glucerna, its diabetic alternative to Ensure, were almost $2 billion.... thanks mainly to credibility lent to the products by many in the medical establishment. 

(Read Ensure Drink: Sugary Fake Food Pseudo-Wonder Tonic by Vicodin Maker for more.)

Wheaties Fuel Cereal

Another example is Wheaties Fuel cereal, introduced by General Mills in 2009, which based its appeal on endorsement by "Dr. John Ivy, a world-renowned expert on the role of nutrition and exercise performance." Commented Dr. Ivy, a professor at University of Texas, Austin who is associated with many consumer products:

"We’ve learned a lot about the bond between nutrition and performance over the years and as today’s athletes continue to get bigger, faster and stronger, it was important to develop a cereal that evolved along with them,”

Five years later, Wheaties Fuel is hard to find, and for good reason: this cereal aimed at athletes is more costly, and yet, is essentially no healthier than run-of-the-mill Wheaties cereal. Maybe less healthy for most people... 

Critiqued OutSports.com in 2010:

"As someone who is big on nutrition and an obsessive label-reader, one thing is obvious: Wheaties Fuel is basically Wheaties with more fat and sugar.

"Regular Wheaties is a pretty simple cereal with only five ingredients: Whole grain wheat, sugar, salt, corn syrup and trisodium phosphate. One serving (3/4 cup) has 100 calories, .5 grams of fat, 4 grams of sugar, 15 grams of other carbs, 3 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein, along with some added vitamins. Wheaties Fuel, in contrast, loads up on the sugar, with some added fat.... Fourteen grams of sugar per serving is a lot for anyone who cares about their nutrition."

Miracle Foods from Obscure Ingredients
You've heard them hawked on infomercials and the internet, via multi-level marketing orgs... Acai berry, olive leaf extract, raspberry ketones... 

Here's another: Skyfruit, touted as...

"... only largely found in tropical areas in the South Pacific where its cleanest and unspoiled places like Solomon Islands. The people there have consumed Skyfruit internally for over 1000 years. It is known as the queen of plants and knowledge of its healthful properties has been handed down from generation to generation to the present day. Common in the South Pacific, Sky Fruit is also found in small quantity in other tropical areas of the world."

XKLWorldWide.com promotes  that its "Herb Food Concentrate is made from 100% natural Skyfruit that is being advanced bio-technologically processed and prepared. The quality of XKLCare?products has earned worldwide recognition.? 

Testimonials? Of course, with claims of relief from inflammation, hypertension, backache, skin peeling,  asthma, even diabetes. 

Doctor endorsements? Absolutely. Five, including glowing statements:

• "We desperately need XKLCare™ product. Instead of waiting for your health care ship to come in, with this product you're already aboard."
• "It is with joy and pride that I endorseXKLCare™ product, the world's most potent natural food supplement."
• ""If you think XKLCare™ product is expensive, try disease. Based on the preventive effect and strong antioxidant activity of XKLCare™ product, I would like to say that it is indeed the most incredible dietary supplement I have ever come across."

(Also read Raspberry Ketones: Another Industrial Food Quasi-Scam? and Olive Leaf Extract: Industrial Food Quasi-Scam with Clever Story.)

Be wary of products endorsed by doctors!  Don 't buy into the credibility lent to quasi-healthy fake-food products by doctors and other medical professionals seeking to fill their coffers.  

If tempted, do your homework. Check out both the medical professional and the product via a simple Google searches. And read the labels, friends. Be your own informed advocate. 

U.S. Food Supply Ranked Subpar to Other Major Nations

Attention Congress and USDA/FDA leadership: the U.S. tumbled embarrassingly into 21st place in OxFam's worldwide ranking of 125 nations' healthy, plentiful food supplies and policies. 

Iceland, Australia, most western European and all Scandinavian countries all scored well above the United States, which barely edged out Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary, Israel, and New Zealand.  

Oxfam's in-depth survey, taken from October through December 2013, tallied data on food reality worldwide using four categories. The U.S. ranked admirably in two categories, average in one, but fared shamefully low in one... 

Afford to Eat, or the price and price volatility of food - U.S. ranked 1st  overall in  food affordability, mainly because food prices nationally are extremely stable and relatively inexpensive.

Food Quality, or the availability of clean water and nutritious foods - U.S. ranked 4th overall in this category, despite ranking a painful  41st in access to clean drinking water. 

Enough to Eat, or hunger within the country - U.S. ranked 35th overall among 125 nations. Although few U.S. children were underweight due to lack of food, many are malnourished. 

Unhealthy Eating, or frequent consumption of non-nutritious foods - U.S. ranked 120th among 125 nations, indicating that U.S. eating habits are causing obesity and diabetes among Americans. 

These shocking results shout that most Americans have access to both healthy and unhealthy foods, and are choosing unhealthy foods for both adults and children.

The U.S. is ranked the fattest and most diabetic nation among all major countries. The U.S. populace ranks as healthier only than Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Mexico, Fiji, and Jordan. in obesity and diabetes, two lethal health conditions.

Critics firmly believe that American health has plunged radically in recent decades due to the extreme prevalence in the food supply of fast and casual foods larded heavily with salt, fat, and sugar, and of industrial-manufactured "fake foods" riddled with salt, fat, sugar, chemicals, additives, fillers, and artificial flavors and colors.  

(Click here for "Salt Sugar Fat" - Stunning Big Food Tactics to Hook, Trick, Harm Americans.)

Why do Americans have extremely easy access (and thus, temptation) to unhealthy foods, especially when compared to the other 124 nations? 

One main reason: lack of political will in Washington D.C. to stand-up to corporate political donors and lobbyists in order to bring  the U.S. food supply up to international standards by mandating...

• Manufacturers to offer a higher percentage of food products with more nutritious and better quality ingredients
• Restaurants and fast food purveyors to eliminate and/or minimize purposely addictive levels of salt, fat, and sugar 
• Markets across the country to prominently display and emphasize a plethora of fresh, healthy products, rather than continue to exclusively push industrial-made chips, cookies, candy, ice creams, cereals, crackers, hot dogs, baked goods, frozen fare, etc, etc etc.

Congress, are you listening?  USDA and FDA leaders, are you there?  Are you working for the health of our nation, or for mega-corporate interests and your donors and political patrons?

Before answering that query, remember the warning of famed British historian and Oxford professor Arnold J. Toynbee (1889 - 1975) who observed and believed that the health of a nation is only as good as the health of its diet, and that a downward spiral in the quality of a nation's diet foretold a nation's cultural and political death spiral.

If unchecked, this U.S. tumble in Oxfam's data-driven survey of healthy diets around the world will be more than an embarrassment. This terrible tumble could be warning of a permanent downward spiral of our nation. 

Public Forces Food Industry to Sell Non-GMO Products, Ingredients

The good news in 2014 is that market forces are alive, well, and working quite effectively to label GMO foods, or to remove them entirely from grocers' shelves.  And instead, to pressure retailers to offer non-GMO foods for sale. 

The political process may have failed, thus far, to label or halt GMO foods, but public sentiment is firmly forcing manufacturers and retailers to begin taking bold steps.  

Per Forbes this week:

"... public opinion is reaching critical mass. Ninety-percent of Americans believe that GMOs are unsafe, 93 percent of Americans favor stringent federal GMO labeling regulations, and 57 percent say they would be less likely to buy products labeled as genetically modified." 

Retailers and manufacturers respond when the public demands. Among big-deal changes in 2014 are...

Target has quietly introduced its Simply Balanced  "wellness" brand of foods to its grocery shelves, including the USDA-certified organic blue corn tortilla chips pictured above.  The USDA-certified organic label means that all ingredients are non-GMO, as well as dozens other attributes. 

(I bought two bag of these chips this past weekend for family football-watching munchies. The chips are delicious! Target got the requisite taste right.)

The Target website exudes:

"The products include wholesome ingredients, and more than 40 percent of the assortment is organic. There are no products with hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, synthetic colors, artificial preservatives, artificial flavors or artificial sweeteners.

"The good news doesn’t stop there: The majority of Simply Balanced items are made without genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and Target will eliminate all GMO ingredients from the line by the end of 2014. Target is also setting a goal to increase organic food offerings by 25 percent by end of fiscal year 2017."

Cheerios, original only, have been altered to include only non-GMO ingredients.  General Mills spokesman Mike Siemienas commented, "We switched from what we were using to non-GMO corn and non-GMO pure sugar cane... We do value our Cheerios fans and we do listen to their thoughts and suggestions." Siemienas noted that "did not change the formula and has never used genetically modified oats."

Whole Foods recently announced that starting in 2014, Chobani Greek Yogurt will no longer be sold in its 370 stores because of "the yogurt maker’s use of milk from cows whose feed is derived from genetically engineered crops," per The New York Times. Chobani yogurt sales topped $1 billion in 2013.  

Replacement of Chobani with other, non-GMO Greek yogurts is part of Whole Foods' larger, ambitious goal of removing or clearly labeling all GMO products from its shelves by 2018. Boasts the Whole Foods website:

"We now have thousands of products within our stores verified as certified organic and/or Non-GMO Project Verified. In fact, we sell 4,800 Non-GMO Project verified products, more than any other retailer in North America."

Yes, the American political process has, so far, failed to allow the law to reflect public will on GMO foods.   Industrial food corporations outspent California grassroots voters $55 million to $9 million to defeat Prop 37 in 2012, yet won by a paltry margin of 51 percent to 49 percent, and spent $22 million in Washington state for another razor-thin victory. 

But political prospects for GMO foods labeling are brighter in 2014 in state legislatures than ever before. 

"As many as 26  state legislatures could consider similar bills for labeling genetically engineered foods during the 2014 legislative season. Two Northeastern states, Connecticut and Maine, have passed bills requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods, but both of those laws are contingent on other states in the region taking the same action." (Source - Food Safety News, January 7, 2014)

Indeed, market forces are alive, well, and working quite effectively to label GMO foods, or to remove them entirely from grocers' shelves.  

These positive changes by major corporations newly offering non-GMO products and clearly labeling or dumping GMO foods are potent reminders of the power wielded by the purse of the American people. Power to the people! 

Boldly Healthy Christmas Dinner Earns Praise, Second Helpings

They ate my thoughtfully planned, carefully crafted, boldly healthy dinner, and they enjoyed it. Really enjoyed it, believe it or not. 

"They" are my immediate family... four adult children, one fiance, and my husband of twenty-something years. 

The dinner in question was Christmas dinner, a few days ago. My family invariably enjoys my meals, as I'm an experienced and fairly imaginative cook. In our home, meals are meant to be enjoyed, not endured. And my Yuletide fare is a special feast. 

This year's Christmas dinner, though, was different. Experimental, sort of.  It was vegetarian. (Well, except for the Boar's Head ham on the side, for those who just couldn't hack a meatless holiday.)

Yup, I boldly ventured where few middle-class baby-boomer cooks tread on indulgent foodcentric holidays... vegetarian!   Here was my scrumptious Christmas 2013 menu:

• Penne pasta with elegant tomato-parsley sauce, Marcella Hazan rustic-style
• Organic carrots, sauteed in butter, kissed with cinnamon
• Organic greeen beans, sauteed in olive oil and soy, sprinkled with sesame seeds
• Organic applesauce, spiced with light brown sugar, cinnamon
• Asiago-rosemary rolls (source: Trader Joe's)
• And yes, a Boar's Head ham, unglazed, succulent in its own juices
• San Pellegrino water, fruit juices

All dishes and elements were homemade, except for the pasta (and except as noted). All produce was selected from our weekly CSA carton delivery, except vine-ripened tomatoes from Sprouts.   

As a delightful result, our family Christmas spread was healthy, low fat, largely devoid of dairy, and not loaded with carbs, salt, or sugar. 

I heard nothing but compliments on taste and that requisite feeling of satisfaction.  Eating was hearty, and second helpings were scooped up by all. To several of us, it was a revelation that a holiday meal could quench our appetites, yet not leave our bellies uncomfortably stuffed.  (I confess that three of us seven, including me, also sampled the ham. It, too, was delicious.)  

Would I serve vegetarian again at Christmas? Absolutely, although the group tentatively approved next year's theme to be Mexican cuisine.    

Would I again serve a Christmas meal that was healthy, low fat,  minimal dairy, and not saturated with carbs, salt, and sugar? Absolutely.  

In fact, consider it a new White family tradition. It feels terrific to grasp that we can genuinely enjoy holiday meals, without our table groaning with 2,000-calorie meals so typical in American homes. 

Yes, they ate my thoughtfully planned, carefully crafted, boldly healthy dinner, and they enjoyed it. Really enjoyed it. I am proud and pleased. 

FDA Blackballs Top Food, Clean Water Activist Group

Consider Food & Water Watch as you ponder year-end giving to worthy organizations. Put Food & Water Watch at the top of your giving list for two main reasons:

First, FFW is perhaps the most effective and prolific organization in working "to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced" both in the U.S. and around the world.  

Second, the FDA is apparently blackballing FFW, in a strong-armed attempt to intimidate and silence this "non-profit organization that advocates for common sense policies that will result in healthy, safe food and access to safe and affordable drinking water."

Through info research  and dissemination, an authoritative website, events, media coverage, and protests, in addition to "tens of thousands" of petitions and comments filed with the FDA yearly, FFW is involved in dozens of vital issues, including...

• Food safety, including factory farming
• Food and water justice
• Groundwater protection, including fracking
• Water conservation
• Water privatization, including bottled water
• Federal budgeting
• Consumer food labels, including GMOs
• Congressional Farm Bill legislation
• Climate change

Seems the FDA chafes at watchdog FFW's vigilance  at protecting the public and public health. And FDA brass have apparently taken action to blunt FFW's influence and access... 

Reported FFW yesterday:

"Last week, a representative from the USDA’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) Office informed Food & Water Watch staff that its invitation to participate in a USDA event featuring CFC registered organizations had been cancelled. The representative stated in an email on December 5, 'I regret to inform you that I’ve been notified your organization has not been approved for entrance into USDA to attend the USDA-CFC event on December 10, 2013.  I do not have specific information on the reason approval was not granted...'

"This email denial came two weeks after Food & Water Watch staff members were turned away from an earlier CFC event at the USDA on November 20, 2013 when an agency guard insisted the organization was not on the confirmed list for the event, contrary to an email confirmation Food & Water Watch received from the event organizer on November 12, 2013. 

Food & Water Watch staff has attended multiple CFC fairs over the past several years without incident. The CFC is the Federal Government’s workplace giving program that encourages federal employees’ charitable giving...  Despite inquiries, Food & Water Watch has yet to receive any further information from the USDA as to why the organization was refused entry to this charity-related event."

Is the FDA attempting to...

• Limit contributions given by federal employees to support FFW?
• Inhibit FFW access to FDA resources and decision-makers?
• Deter FFW investigations?
• Curtail FFW activism and advocacy?
• Suppress FFW's free speech rights?
• All of the above?

The terrific news is that Food & Water Watch is clearly putting strong pressure on the FDA to protect  public health over corporate profits... or the FDA wouldn't push back, or push so hard, against FFW. 

The FDA should know better: FFW is not going away. Far from it. 

"Clearly, we are a thorn in the USDA’s side. But to block us from entry to this event by denying our security clearance is not only bogus—it’s intimidation. But we won’t be intimidated,” said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director. “We’ll continue to force the USDA to do its job to protect consumers, not corporate profits.”

Show the FDA that you support the causes of safe food, clean water, and food and water fairness.   

 I ask that you consider Food & Water Watch as you ponder year-end giving to worthy organizations. Click HERE to donate to Food & Water Watch. 

About Waffles, Fried Chicken and Freedom of Food Choice

I ordered a fried chicken and waffle plate last weekend at a local cafe. The trendy entree was on the eatery's Fall Special Menu, and it was luscious... a smallish round waffle with warmed maple syrup, and a freshly fried chicken leg and thigh. 

Most of my meals these days are what friends would call healthy: Greek yogurt, whole-grain granola and seasonal fruit for breakfast; salads for lunch; and dinners filled with veggies, whole-wheat pastas, homemade soups.  Not much bread. Often an apple for dessert.  Coffee and water to drink. No soft drinks.  Vegetarian days are not unusual. 

I feel better when I eat this way... and frankly, feel lousy when I've eaten greasy, dense, sugary, or carb-heavy foods.  But oh boy, once in a while, an indulgent dish such as The Filling Station's fried chicken and waffle plate satisfies to a full, pleased smile.  

I tell you this to clarify the mission of my FakeFoodWatch.com blog: I don't directly eat for health. I eat to feel good, and to savor the experience of delicious food.  And I don't believe that scolding or nagging others ever leads to healthier eating habits. Ever. That's simply not human nature!  

FakeFoodWatch.com is not a health site. Nor is it an animal rights advocacy site.  

FakeFoodWatch.com is a food policy and investigation site.  I fervently believe that all people in free societies have a right to full facts about the foods they choose to ingest... origins, added ingredients, cleanliness, age, and processing, handling and storage protocols and realities.  

The goal of FakeFoodWatch.com is to inform and surprise you, the reader, with info about:

• food commonly consumed  in the U.S. and around the world;
• how today's food supply affects public health; 
• how government food policies affect or could affect your home;  
• how food you eat affects how you feel, and ultimately how it affects your and your loved ones' health and longevity.  

You see, I believe that we should have enough information to make well-informed choices about food.   The federal government and mega-corporations should NOT be making those choices for us, and should NOT be allowed to cleverly obscure or hide accurate, understandable, relevant info from consumers.  

Sadly, the FDA in the 21st century acts far more interested in protecting corporate profits (and political donors) than the health and welfare of Americans. And industrial food mega-corporations are interested in only one goal: profits. Period. Your health matters naught to most fake-food makers and purveyors.  

I believe that every American has the right to the real, old-fashioned food enjoyed by our grandparents and ancestors: food unadulterated by chemicals, additives, cheap fillers, artificial flavors, colors, and taste enhancers, or genetic engineering. 

And every American has the equal right to indulge in fast, fried, and highly processed foods, and anything and everything legal and non-poisonous.  

Indeed, everyone has the delightful right to feast on a fried chicken and waffle plate, at their whim.  

So please, don't mistake FakeFoodWatch.com for a health site. Think of this pet project of mine as a site that advocates for transparency in all things related to food. And respects your right to make your own choice.  

The FDA Deserves No Credit for Banning Trans Fats in 2013!

Count me out as congratulating the FDA for proposing a ban on trans fats.... a fake, chemically-made food additive... from U.S. foods. Finally... 

Famed New York University professor Marion Nestle, Food Politics author, applauded the FDA for "finally taking care of the trans-fat... loophole" and exulted, "The FDA is Back!"

Really? Not so much, in my view. Accolades in 1993, maybe. But in 2013? When studies conclusively proved 20 years ago that trans fats clearly exert a toxic impact on public health, especially heart disease?   When, as early as 1956, scientists suspected that trans fats caused a major jump in coronary artery disease?

Briefly, trans fats were created as part of the early 20th-century rise of industrial food manufacturing, to augment for shortages of butterfat to meet growing consumer demand for fried and baked foods.  Trans fats also are a cheap substitute for pricey, purer fats. 

"Trans fats are a type of unsaturated fat which is uncommon in nature but can be created artificially. In food production, liquid... unsaturated fats such as vegetable oils are catalytically hydrogenated to produce partially or completely saturated fats that melt at a desirable temperature (30–40 °C).

"Trans fats are an artificial contaminant introduced... in partial hydrogenation. Although trans fats are edible, consumption of trans fats increases the risk of coronary heart disease..." (Source: Wikipedia)

NOTE - "Catalytic hydrogenation" is chemical treatment with gaseous hydrogen to change molecular structure.  The process is commonly used by the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and food product industries. 

Trans fats are commonly used in fried and baked foods and meat products found in U.S. grocery stores and some restaurants in 2013, including:

• Margarines and spreads
• Cake mixes and canned frosting
• Microwave popcorn
• Coffee creamers
• Ice cream
• Ground beef (as fatty filler)
• Packaged jerky and meat sticks
• Frozen pizzas and other entrees
• Fried chicken and fish
• Bakery goods... donuts, cookies, sweet rolls, biscuits, cakes

Clogged cardiovascular systems aren't the only health problems caused or exacerbated by trans fats in foods. Among health hazards tentatively associated with trans fats are Alzheimer's, certain cancers, liver dysfunction, female infertility, and depression. 

Why did the FDA delay banning trans fats from the food supply for 20 years, if the fake-fat is so lethal to public health?  

• Fear of upsetting fake-food corporate donors to political campaigns?
• Close ties between fake-food corporations and the FDA?
• Fear of hurting fast food and fake food sales, which would impact the economy?
• All of the above?

Who profited from the FDA postponing a ban on trans fats in U.S. foods? Mega-corporations, both fast food chains and fake food manufacturers, who spent billions and two decades to develop new, cheap chemical additives and fillers to substitute for trans fats.  "Some nutritionists worried that trans fats would simply be replaced by saturated fats," noted the New York Times.

"No trans fats," hawk McDonalds and other fast food chains, never mentioning that the substitute fat is equally harmful to health.  

Why, in 2013, did the FDA finally propose a ban on trans fats? After 20 years, it's an easy step to take, one already fixed by major corporations at their own snail's pace, using their vast resources to produce a result that won't hurt profits. No major political donors will be miffed. 

The FDA desperately needs a spate of good publicity in 2013, given that it's ignoring the tremendous harm done by Monsanto to the U.S. food supply, and calamitous nationwide controversy over genetically modified foods (GMOs).  

How many Americans died due to the FDA's long delay in banning trans fats, despite clear and damning scientific evidence that the fake-fat food additive was lethal to public health? 

"Banning them completely could prevent 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year, the F.D.A. said," reports the New York Times.  By FDA measure, then, at least 400,000 heart attacks would have been prevented and 140,000 lives saved had the FDA enacted this ban when it became scientifically known 20 years ago that trans fats are lethal to human health.

In 1993, the FDA should have been lauded and applauded for enacting this ban to protect Americans from the toxicity of trans fats.

In 2013, the FDA deserves no credit whatsoever for taking the no-brainer step of finally banning trans fats from the U.S. food supply.

Pro Athletes Hawking UnHealthy Foods: LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Serena Williams

Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy summarized findings of a recent study analyzing food endorsements by sports celebrities by concluding:

"The promotion of energy-dense, nutrient-poor products by some of the world’s most physically fit and well-known athletes is an ironic combination that sends mixed messages about diet and health."

That's muted academic-speak to say that professional athletes are hypocrites for endorsing junk food. But endorse they do... to the tune of millions of dollars in rich endorsement deals. 

The fascinating study, published in the Pediatrics journal in November 2013, found that of the 100 professional athletes with the highest-value endorsements in 2010:

• They were paid to promote 44 different food and beverage brands
• Food and beverage brands were the second largest category of endorsements, behind only sporting goods 
• 79% of their 62 food endorsements were for fast food or junk food
• 93% of their beverage endorsements were for drinks with "100% of calories from added sugar"

The biggest hypocritical fast-food offenders among health-conscious, physically fine-tuned professional athletes?

Peyton Manning (pictured below), reportedly earns $10 million per year from Papa John's pizza, Gatorade (owned by PepsiCo), Wheaties (General Mills), as well as DirectTV and Sony. In 2012, NFL quarterback Manning bought 21 Papa John franchises in Colorado.

LeBron James, NBA superstar, "received $5 million to endorse Bubblicious Gum, including his own flavor, LeBron's Lightening Lemonade," in addition to his lucrative contracts with McDonalds, Sprite, and Powerade.

Joe Maurer, six-time All Star baseball player and Minnesota Twins catcher, peddles Pepsi-cola, Gatorade, and Kemps ice cream, including Joe Maurer-blessed Grand Slam Monster Cookie flavor ice cream and a limited-edition 12-pack of Joe Maurer ice cream sandwiches. 

Serena Williams, perhaps the all-time greatest woman tennis champion, endorses Oreo cookies (owned by Kraft/Nabisco), Gatorade (owned by PepsiCo), and Nabisco 100-Calorie Snack Packs. 

Kobe Bryant, 15-time NBA All-Star and Los Angeles Laker team captain, is rumored to earn a whopping $12 million annually solely from his contract to push McDonald's menu. 

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., NASCAR driver, is paid to shill for Mountain Dew, Hellman's/Best Foods Mayonnaise, and Amp Energy, a "flavor extension of the Mountain Dew brand", which is owned by PepsiCo.

Sports celebrities endorsing fast food, junk food, and/or sugary drinks hail from football, basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis, skateboarding, even Olympic sports as speed skating. 

Without exception, professional athletes promoting "energy-dense, nutrient-poor products" are extraordinarily fit physically, and must adhere to a disciplined, health-conscious diet.  

Yet, the food and beverages they endorse to Americans... particularly to U.S. children... are unhealthy. 

Kids revere and often long to emulate professional athletes as LeBron James, Peyton Manning, Serena Williams, Joe Maurer, Kobe Bryant, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Which, of course, is why fake-food corporations dangle million-dollar contracts to entice popular athletes to lend cache and credibility to their unhealthy fare.  And per the study, "research shows that athlete endorsements are associated with higher healthfulness ratings on the products they endorse." 

Greedy industrial food mega-corporations will do what it takes to sell their highly processed, salty, sugary, fatty food products. That's a sad given in 2013. 

But professional athletes know better. In their own lives, they do better. But certain athletes choose to enrich themselves by hawking an unhealthy dietary mantra to the American public.   

Exhorted the study, "The promotion of energy-dense, nutrient-poor products by some of the world’s most physically fit and well-known athletes is an ironic combination that sends mixed messages about diet and health."

Indeed! I wonder... do these athletes feed a steady diet of fast food, soft drinks, and junk food to their children and loved ones? 

Chicken Nuggets Secrets: Mystery Ingredients, Dog Food Parts, Profits Galore

Chicken nuggets, a food scientist's invention first sold in 1980, are a gargantuan American industrial-foods sales success far beyond the initial imaginations of even fake-food corporate executives. 

Billions of chicken nuggets have been sold in every U.S. supermarket, served in all family-style restaurants, and are essentials on fast-food menus.  

First and foremost, chicken nuggets are widely seen as healthier kid-friendly options than greasy cheeseburgers in spongy white-bread buns.   Nuggets are purposely formed to fit a kid's hand. Compact, easy to hold and handle, ubiquitous in generic taste and look... nuggets are a perfect, extra-fast food for even the fussiest kids and busiest families. A no-brainer when ordering or fixing a quick meal while on-the-run.

Parents feel good about ordering McDonald's Mighty Kids Meals with chicken nuggets, apple slices, less fries, and milk for their children. Chicken nuggets are viewed by parents as the white meat alternative to red-meat health concerns, first voiced in 1977 by the federal government.

Problem is, chicken nuggets aren't all that healthy. And per a new American Journal of Medicine article, chicken nuggets are made of only about 40% to 50% actual chicken "meat."  

Ordering chicken nuggets for kids might be a convenient no-brainer. But switching on skeptical parental brains would reveal the inconvenient reality that these golden industrial-made orbs are:

• Highly processed, machine-formed lumps 
• Dipped in mystery batter
• Fried or deep fried.
• Chocked with invisible ingredients

McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, for instance, contain 25 ingredients, including heavy doses of salt, fat, and sugar, and chemical additives, preservatives, and flavor enhancers. That's before salty, sugary dipping sauces. 

And the chicken in chicken nuggets? Only about 18% of a nugget is actual meat protein, per two doctors at the University of Mississippi Medical Center." The rest of the "meat" in a chicken nuggets? A slurry of chicken parts, similar to pink slime, made of ground:

• Fat
• Blood vessels
• Bones
• Nerve cells, connective tissues

In short, "stuff that usually ends up in dog food," per NPR. Chicken nuggets would be accurately be tagged as "fat nuggets," commented Dr. Richard deShazo, professor of pediatics and one of the article's authors. 

Those chicken nuggets you serve to your beloved brood? Not much more than pulverized chicken leftovers (plus a smidge of actual meat), mixed with fat, salt, and sugar, and topped with a big dollop of the usual chemicals found in highly processed, highly profitable meat products.  

My suggestion? If the kids crave chicken nuggets, a better, far healthier idea is to create them at home. Recipes abound, including more than a dozen delicious, easy, free ideas at  AllRecipes.com. 

Meanwhile, don't fool yourself that industrial-made chicken nuggets are healthy kid-friendly food options. They're not. Fast-food and supermarket chicken nuggets are just one more fake-food industrial product larded with addicting fat, salt and sugar, and loaded with chemical additives, emulsifiers, preservatives, and fillers. 

And billions in corporate profits.