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2004-01-18 International
US sugar barons ’block global war on obesity’
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Posted by Steve White 2004-01-18 12:38:59 AM|| || Front Page|| [11133 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 What a giant steaming crock of conspiracist junk-science. It is well-documented that dietary fat is a significantly more important factor in obesity than is refined sugar. The same is true to a lesser degree for carbohydrates other than refined sugar. The latter of course is the main product is the main product of "big sugar."
If sugar is such a big risk factor, why aren't the people of Britain, the world's largest consumers of sweets, all as fat as the Hindenburg?

Yet again, we have a conspiracy theory based on clairvoyant and therefore unverifiable claims about intent and motivation.
Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2004-1-18 1:01:48 AM|| [http://www.nuclearspace.com]  2004-1-18 1:01:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 The sugar lobby must go. Chicago was the candy capital, we've lost a hell of a lot of jobs because we pay 15 cents more a pound domestically.

It was 15c when I read the article about 2 years ago which made the point the American candy Life Savers moved to Canada. And I have no doubt in my mind that if Hershey's was able to spin off, they'd be outta Hershey, PA.

Just like steel tariffs, losing more good paying jobs than gaining.
Posted by Anonymous2U 2004-1-18 1:11:19 AM||   2004-1-18 1:11:19 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 And now Fannie May's gone, too!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you have any idea how many jobs? We've lost Brach's, Frangos, FM, and other specialty companies.
Posted by Anonymous2U 2004-1-18 1:12:28 AM||   2004-1-18 1:12:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 AC, carb's are actually as big a problem as fat. Refined, simple carbs like glucose and fructose (e.g., candy, etc) generally cause spikes in your insulin levels. That's appropriate to handle the sugar, but in the long run it promotes fat formation. That surge also causes blood sugar levels to dive, and then you get hungry as hell, and eat some more.

A2U: sugar lobby really does have to go. Chicago (my home town) has no candy industry to speak of anymore. The sugar tariffs are just as bad as the steel tariffs.
Posted by Steve White  2004-1-18 1:15:44 AM||   2004-1-18 1:15:44 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Steve:
"Refined, simple carbs like glucose and fructose (e.g., candy, etc) generally cause spikes in your insulin levels. That's appropriate to handle the sugar, but in the long run it promotes fat formation."

That contention is the basis of various low-carb high-protein diets.
The Canadian Sugar Institute naturally disagrees and has a number of scientifically authoritative and well-referenced rebuttals on its website.

Most notable is Carbohydrate Intake and Obesity – An Epidemiological Perspective By Alison Stephen Ph.D CANTOX Health Sciences International, ON

"In an era of enthusiasm for low carbohydrate diets as the answer for weight control, it is worthwhile to note that most observational studies do not support such a conclusion. Large dietary surveys conducted on different age groups in numerous countries show inverse relationships between obesity and carbohydrate intake, both in grams per day and as percentage of energy, in contrast to positive relationships with dietary fat (1,2). Research with adult American males, using skin fold to assess body fat, found the fattest subjects ate more fat and less carbohydrate than lean subjects (3). Similarly, a recent survey in Spain showed lower carbohydrate intakes were found in overweight adolescents compared to those of normal weight (4).[Excerpted]


We can infer from the fate of the US candy industry that any influence the sugar lobby does buy is directed much more at maintaining high prices than at undermining any kind of anti-obesity campaign.
Posted by Atomic Conspiracy 2004-1-18 2:21:37 AM|| [http://www.nuclearspace.com]  2004-1-18 2:21:37 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 "You! Yes, you! Smith7162543! You're not trying, brother! I want to see you touch those toes!"
-- 1984
Posted by mojo  2004-1-18 2:35:16 AM||   2004-1-18 2:35:16 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 DIY?

Wonder what WHO has to say about France having wine at every meal,And Germany having beer with every meal?
Posted by raptor  2004-1-18 6:23:43 AM||   2004-1-18 6:23:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 sounds like the first drumbeat for a int'l sugar/obesity tax
Posted by Frank G  2004-1-18 7:41:49 AM||   2004-1-18 7:41:49 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 The sugar subsidy is all about the Cuban-American anti-Castro movement. Any donations Bush gets in that light is political and not about shoving sugar down our throats. I agree the subsidy should go but this is a foolish distortion.
Posted by ruprecht 2004-1-18 7:52:12 AM||   2004-1-18 7:52:12 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Latest dispatch from the front lines of the "global war on obesity:"

The 342nd Mechanized Liposuction Brigade launched a major offensive near the city of Bellybutton today. "We see a lot of big, fat targets," said a spokesman. . . .
Posted by Mike  2004-1-18 8:27:06 AM||   2004-1-18 8:27:06 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 "The President insists fighting fat is a matter for the individual, not the state."

The President doesn't have to "insist" any such thing: to most Americans, it is a matter for the individual, and the government should mind its own damned business and stay the hell out of our lives.

I don't fault Bush for opposing the UN and its multitude of meddlesome nanny-state busybody agencies- I fault him for not telling the UN to go to hell, outright.
Posted by Dave D.  2004-1-18 8:38:41 AM||   2004-1-18 8:38:41 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 The President insists fighting fat is a matter for the individual, not the state.

How dare he believe in individual liberty!

God, I wish we could vote to exile people from civilization. Busybodies like Norum deserve to be cast into the wilderness.
Posted by Robert Crawford  2004-1-18 9:24:15 AM|| [http://www.kloognome.com/]  2004-1-18 9:24:15 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 I'm sorry, guys, but I just don't feel confident or competent making decisions for myself. It's a big scary world and I think the government should protect me from it. I would feel much better paying in 80% or more of my income to support a bureaucracy that did all that for me.

This is a mantra I use to alleviate stress when faced with personal decisions or personal responsibility. Repeat after me: "It takes a village... It takes a village..."
Posted by Dar  2004-1-18 10:12:45 AM||   2004-1-18 10:12:45 AM|| Front Page Top

#14 Gardening? GARDENING??!?? Is she freakin' serious?

Get on your bike and ride!
Posted by Raj 2004-1-18 10:53:07 AM|| [http://angrycyclist.blogspot.com]  2004-1-18 10:53:07 AM|| Front Page Top

#15 I remember when this was a science fiction story by F. Paul Wilson (if you didn't know, "Lipidleggin'").
Posted by Phil Fraering 2004-1-18 11:55:39 AM|| [http://newsfromthefridge.typepad.com]  2004-1-18 11:55:39 AM|| Front Page Top

#16 Paul Wilson? Sure he was Golden Spike award winner at FSU. He's a writer now?
Posted by Shipman 2004-1-18 11:59:40 AM||   2004-1-18 11:59:40 AM|| Front Page Top

#17 Without Sugar There Can Be No BBQ.
Without BBQ There Can Be No Peace.

Free Lunch!
Free Lunch!
Free Lunch!
Posted by Shipman 2004-1-18 12:41:44 PM||   2004-1-18 12:41:44 PM|| Front Page Top

#18 Raj - well, heavy duty stuff like tree planting, you betcha. Putting in a couple petunias, well, no.....but either way, at least you would be doing something other than parking your butt on the sofa and eating junk food.
I just wish they would make up their minds at the UN.....first we're starving Iraqis with sanctions, next, we're plotting to make the world incredibly fat. What is it, guys?
Posted by Desert Blondie 2004-1-18 1:10:18 PM||   2004-1-18 1:10:18 PM|| Front Page Top

#19 Free the Fatty 5 Million!
Posted by anon radical  2004-1-18 1:54:54 PM||   2004-1-18 1:54:54 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 Once more, the rabid idiotarians of the world target the United States. Their agenda has nothing to do with what they say it is, it's all about forcing the United States to kowtow to the United Nations. I think it's time we declare these people "enemies of the people of the United States", and offer a bounty on their heads - say, $500 a pop. Since there's so many idiotarians, we need to set aside a couple of $billion for payouts.
Posted by Old Patriot  2004-1-18 2:59:58 PM|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm]  2004-1-18 2:59:58 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 Ya gotta love the Internet, guys. AMAZING facts and figures available at the click of a mouse...like the world's top ten sugar produxers at the end of 2002 (the last year for which full figures are available):

COUNTRY PRODUCTION (IN MILLIONS OF TONS)
Brazil 22,703
India 19,457
EU 18,341
China 9,783
USA 7,425
Thailand 6,895
Australia 5,569
SADC 5,467
Mexico 5,062
Cuba 2,400


I kinda think all those Brazilian, Indian, EU, and Chinese sugar barons got a LOT more to lose than we do.

Mike
Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2004-1-18 10:44:12 PM||   2004-1-18 10:44:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 OP (#20)
"...offer a bounty on their heads"

No, no, no! Sell hunting licenses.
You get rid of them and make money.
Might even pay for a trip to Mars.
Posted by lk 2004-1-19 12:16:44 AM||   2004-1-19 12:16:44 AM|| Front Page Top

11:35 gil
00:16 lk
00:04 Steve White
23:26 4thInfVet
23:11 4thInfVet
22:54 Scooter McGruder
22:52 CrazyFool
22:52 Scooter McGruder
22:44 Mike Kozlowski
22:38 Zhang Fei
22:31 whitecollar redneck
22:29 Old Patriot
22:24 CrazyFool
22:23 tipper
22:23 Old Patriot
22:20 11A5S
22:19 TS
22:18 phil_b
22:12 Old Patriot
22:10 TS
22:02 JP
21:56 Dan (not Darling)
21:50 PBMcL
21:40 Barbara Skolaut









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