Evaporated cane juice: Sugar by any other name…

This question came in from Lourdes, a reader:

Would you please comment on these cases and the decisions regarding the issue [evaporated cane juice, apparently].

• http://ift.tt/1qlrdHM.
• http://ift.tt/1eeG5Ih.
• http://ift.tt/1knxt4v. 

Happy to.
Evaporated cane juice is the food industry's latest attempt to convince you that crystallizing sugar by this particular method will make you think it is:

• Natural and healthy.
• Better for you than table sugar.
• Much better for you than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Maybe, but it's still sugar.
Pushed by food companies to let "evaporated cane juice" be used on food labels, the FDA in 2009 issued one of those non-binding guidance documents it loves to do.

Over the past few years the term "evaporated cane juice" has started to appear as an ingredient on food labels, most commonly to declare the presence of sweeteners derived from sugar cane syrup. However, FDA's current policy is that sweeteners derived from sugar cane syrup should not be declared as "evaporated cane juice" because that term falsely suggests that the sweeteners are juice…. FDA considers such representations to be false and misleading…because they fail to reveal the basic nature of the food and its characterizing properties (i.e., that the ingredients are sugars or syrups) as required by 21 CFR 102.5.

The FDA opened the matter up to public comment last month.  In the meantime, evaporated cane juice is in the courts, where more and more food regulation seems to be taking place days except that judges are balking.
It's a perfect Catch 22: The courts won't rule until the FDA issues regulations.  The FDA won't issue regulations while the matter is in the courts.
The bottom line?  As NPR puts it, "Sugar by any other name tastes just as sweet — and has just as many calories."
To repeat: Evaporated cane juice is sugar.  Cane sugar is sugar.  All forms of sugar have calories, even when Kale flavored (thanks to Jill Richardson for sending this along).



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Indoor Fish Farms – America’s Next Big Green Industry?

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization produced a new study that says the United States has the greatest potential for fish farming. While oceanic agriculture has become popular overseas, it still hasn't taken hold in North America. In a recent interview with NPR, Michael Rubino, the director of aquaculture at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said this could be because the industry faces heavy opposition from environmentalists and coastal residents, who aren't willing to give up their unobstructed views.

Read the rest of Indoor Fish Farms – America's Next Big Green Industry?


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6 Awesome (and Unexpected) International Cities That are Great for Cyclists

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Green Space Keeps You From Feeling Blue

If you start feeling better as spring begins pushing up its tender shoots, you might be living proof of a trend discovered in data from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin: The more green space in the neighborhood, the happier people reported feeling.

"Across neighborhoods of Wisconsin, from the North Woods to the cities, the results are striking," says Dr. Kristen Malecki, assistant professor of population health sciences at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. "Higher levels of green space were associated with lower symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress."

The study, published recently in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, combines mental-health data from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) and Landsat 5 satellite data from July 2009 that analyzed how much vegetation was present in each of the SHOW census blocks.

About 2,500 Wisconsin residents from 229 neighborhoods answered an assessment that asked them to rate their symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The research team, which was also led by Dr. Kirsten Beyer of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, adjusted the results to make sure they weren't confounded by race, age, income level, education, marital status, employment and other factors.

They found that across all strata of society, people who lived in a neighborhood with less than 10 percent tree canopy were much more likely to report symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety. So, for example, a poor person living on a logging road in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest was more likely to be happy than a wealthier person living on a treeless block in Milwaukee.

Malecki notes that the study gives credence to the "attention restoration theory," which holds that more time in nature restores the ability to concentrate and reduces mental fatigue. This idea is also the theme of the book "Last Child in the Woods," which suggested that indoor lifestyle and more screen time hurt children's attention spans. It also suggests a relatively simple solution to improving the mental health of poor urban neighborhoods: Plant trees and grass.

"The greening of neighborhoods could be a simple solution to reducing stress," says Malecki. "If you want to feel better, go outside."

Research Support

The SHOW project is supported by grants from the Wisconsin Partnership Program, the National Institutes of Health (IRC2HL101468-01), and the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (KL2-RR025012). This research was also supported by the Clinical and Translational Research Institute of Southeast Wisconsin (NIH UL1RR031973.)

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by University of Wisconsin-Madison. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

1.     Kirsten Beyer, Andrea Kaltenbach, Aniko Szabo, Sandra Bogar, F. Nieto, Kristen Malecki. Exposure to Neighborhood Green Space and Mental Health: Evidence from the Survey of the Health of Wisconsin. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2014; 11 (3): 3453 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph110303453

VIDEO: 6 Smart Home Products Which Will Cut Your Energy Bill

Feeling the pinch when it comes time to pay your monthly bills? Lucky for you there are a few simple steps you can take to cut down your energy costs. With just a few simple and inexpensive products – some of which you probably even already have in your home – you can potentially to knock hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off your annual energy bill. On top of that, a home that is energy efficient can also dramatically transform how you and your family live by creating a comfortable space that promotes both health and well-being. Watch our video guide above and learn about these 6 smart, simple and affordable home products that will leave you with lower heating bills, a pocket full of cash saved, and a house full of happy inhabitants!


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Operation: Monsanto Stock Plunge and Panic

Do you invest in Mutual Funds? Then, watch this:



http://youtu.be/ovCrpTcfF3M

Lower Your Cholesterol with Beans, Lentils, & Peas

Black bean quesadillas, lentil stew, hummus, and split pea soup: Add these recipes to your cooking rotation if you are at risk for heart disease. A systematic analysis of 26 studies, covering over 1,000 subjects from America and Canada revealed that just one serving—that's 3/4 cup—per day of beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas can lower LDL cholesterol levels by 5 percent. LDL cholesterol levels, the "bad" kind, are known to be one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas, all of which fall into the category of legumes, lower cholesterol in two ways. First, because they are high in protein, they often displace red meat, which can be high in cholesterol raising saturated fat and trans fat. Also, they are high in fiber and in minerals like magnesium and potassium—all components that are individually associated with lowering cholesterol.

Currently, on average, Americans eat only 20 percent of a serving of these particular legumes daily. This study suggests that bumping that up to a full serving could have big effects. "Research has shown that the 5 percent decrease in cholesterol translates to a 5 percent decrease in risk for cardiovascular diseases, like heart attack or stroke," said study author Vanessa Ha, MSc, with St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.

If you still think that these heart-healthy powerfoods aren't worth a hill of beans when compared to pharmaceuticals like statins, you may want to talk to your doctor. "Statins lower LDL cholesterol by 20 to 60 percent," explains Ha, "But research has found that if you add multiple foods with cholesterol-lowering properties to your portfolio of foods, their combined cholesterol-lowering ability can add up to that of a first generation statin, 20 percent." While 5 percent may seem small on its own, Ha points out adding more cholesterol-lowering foods has an additive effect comparable to a low dose statin. She recommends also adding oats and barley to your diet.

Need more ways to lower cholesterol with food? Check out these tips for a low-cholesterol diet.

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Alert! Fraudulent Organic Certifications!

Fraudulent organic certificates listing the following businesses are in use and have recently been reported to the NOP: 

Distribuidra Fruta Frescatica SRL, Costa Rica

Tardo Filipinas, Inc., (aka Tardo Group of Companies)

Tam Herb

These certificates falsely represent agricultural products as certified organic under the USDA organic regulations, violating the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. 

The vigilance of the organic community is a vital force in ensuring organic integrity.  Organic handlers should continue to review certificates carefully, validate with their certifying agents where needed, and send any suspicious certificates to the NOP Compliance and Enforcement team.

Any use of this certificate or other fraudulent documents to market, label, or sell non-organic agricultural products as organic can result in a civil penalty of up to $11,000 per violation. 

Persons with information regarding the production or use of this or other fraudulent NOP certificates are asked to send information to the NOP Compliance and Enforcement Division.

About the Agricultural Marketing Service
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) facilitates the competitive and efficient marketing of agricultural products. Through its National Organic Program, AMS facilitates trade and ensures the integrity of organic agricultural products by consistently implementing organic standards and enforcing compliance with the regulations throughout the world. Learn more.

     

New Anti-GMO-Labeling Bill Would Deny You Your Right to Know

For anyone who wants to know whether there are GMOs in the food supply, a new bill introduced by Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-KS) is essentially a "slap in the face of all average citizens," as former Stonyfield Farms CEO Gary Hirschberg called it.
The bill is titled "The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act" but groups outraged by what it's proposing have dubbed it the "Deny Americans the Right to Know" or DARK Act. And here's why: If passed, the bill would prohibit any state or locality from passing a law requiring genetically engineered (GE) foods to be labeled, and it prevents the FDA from passing any requirements for GE foods. It allows foods labeled as "natural" to contain GE ingredients, and it would permit meat, milk, eggs and dairy from animals fed GE-based food to be labeled GMO-free.

The bill comes straight out of the playbook of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), the food industry's lobbying arm. The GMA has been hinting at this type of strategy since last November, when a state GMO-labeling initiative in Washington was defeated thanks to heavy spending by food and biotech firms. In December, the group petitioned the FDA asking them to define "natural" once and for all, specifying that the definition should include foods made with GE ingredients.

The FDA denied that petition in March, so it appears the GMA and biotech companies have taken their fight to Congress. The new bill falls in lock step with legislative language that the GMA proposed earlier in 2014.

In a press call, Rep. Pompeo said that GE foods were "safe," "equally healthy" to non-GE foods and required no special labeling. He also called GE foods "an enormous boon to all humanity."

"It is reprehensible that Representative Pompeo has allowed himself to be goat-roped into this dead-on-arrival legislation," says Scott Faber, senior vice president for government affairs for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which is fighting the bill. "Preempting states from giving consumers the right to know has about as much chance passing through the Senate as a snowball in Sarasota."

Currently, 27 state legislatures are debating bills or ballot initiatives that would require the labeling of GE foods. Connecticut and Maine have both passed GE labeling laws, but both include trigger clauses that prevent the laws from going into effect until neighboring states do the same. Vermont, on the other hand, is very close to passing the first "no strings attached" GE labeling law in the country, says Colin O'Neil, director of government affairs for another pro-labeling group, the Center for Food Safety. "We're not surprised that the food industry is moving with such urgency to block states and consumers from knowing what's in their food," he says. "They're afraid of state action and now they're trying to steal away consumer choice in Congress."

Despite the fact that surveys consistently show that over 90 percent of Americans want GE
foods labeled, the groups opposing Rep. Pompeo's bill are concerned that the massive coffers and lobbying clout of the food and biotech industries will overpower the public's will—so they're trying to get the word out now to get people involved.

Contact your representatives in Congress and demand that they vote against this pro-GMO bill, and then contact the bill's sponsors—Rep. Pompeo, Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC)—and express your outrage at their support!

You can also submit a letter to your representatives on the Center for Food Safety's website.

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