Why a post about high fructose corn sweeteners on a blog about water? Because drinking water and your ever present quest to quench your thirst competes with a multitude of flavored beverages containing ...guess what?
This lengthy article gives a fascinating portrayal of the political might and public relations clout behind the industries whose self serving objectives have no interest in steering the average citizen toward healthier food and beverage choices.
The analogy the author makes to the tobacco controversies of a generation ago are spot on.
"Fructose has nothing to do with obesity" is looking like the "cigarettes don't cause cancer" debate for the 21st Century. Battle lines have been drawn; the fighting has started; the idea of a sugar tax has been getting more and more attention (in CA, NY, MA, MS, among others); and now that the First Lady has made obesity a national issue (calling out high-fructose corn syrup [HFCS] by name), the fighting will only get more intense.
Step Four: AstroTurf The Beverage folks are spearheading an effort called Americans Against Food Taxes, at the charmingly named URL "nofoodtaxes.com." According to the group's profile on the site:
"A coalition of concerned citizens." Doesn't that sound so ... grassrootsy? And if that's not enough, check out these background images lifted from the site:
Not a fat kid in the bunch. All beautiful white teeth. Great skin. Presumably they guzzle soda all day, and still they all look like the pretty, carefree, all-American teenager we all want to be.
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