“Natural” Sodas Made With GMO Sugar Scam Consumers
My level of distrust, disgust and
loathing of Big Food has reached a new high.
The reason?
While doing some research for a completely
unrelated article, I discovered the little known fact that food
manufacturers are not required to specify on a food label whether the
“sugar” or “sucrose” in their products is derived from cane sugar or
beet sugar.
Why is this a big deal? There’s nothing
wrong with beet sugar, right?
Wrong.
Since its introduction to the market in
2008, Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets have completely taken
over the market. At least 95% of the sugar beets grown in the United
States are now genetically modified and the FDA encouraged this trend to
continue with complete deregulation of GMO sugar beets in July 2012.
Here’s the critical point: approximately 50
percent of white sugar sold in the US is made from GMO sugar beets and
consumers don’t even know it – most erroneously assume it is nonGMO cane
sugar. Again, there is no requirement to distinguish on a food label
whether “sugar” or “sucrose” is derived from beet sugar, cane sugar, or
a mix of the two.
GMO sugar scamThe bottom line is that any
product you buy that says “sugar” or “sucrose” is almost certainly at
least partially if not completely GMO beet sugar unless it is certified
organic or labeled as 100% cane sugar.
What does this mean for those so
called “throwback” sodas that use “old
fashioned”, “real sugar” instead of high
fructose corn syrup?
Nothing more than a marketing ploy.
Throwback or “natural” sodas are not the healthier, old fashioned
choice that food manufacturers would have you believe.
PepsiCo, manufacturer
of Naked Juice and Sierra Mist has already been sued once for abusing
the “natural” label. The company recently settled a lawsuit for $9
million that alleged that some of the ingredients in Naked Juice, a
brand of fruit and veggie drinks, aren’t “natural” at all, with the
vitamins synthetic, an artificial fiber manufactured by Archer Daniels
Midland, and GMOs.
PepsiCo confirmed to me in a telephone
conversation that the sugar in its “natural” sodas are
in fact made with a mixture of cane sugar and GMO beet sugar.
In essence, if you are trying to avoid GMO
high fructose corn syrup at the supermarket, your choice of products
containing “sugar” are without a doubt GMO as well no matter what the
item may be – candy, breakfast cereal or even “healthy” granola bars.
Buying bags of white sugar for making
homemade kombucha? Better switch to organic sugar or nonorganic sugar
specifically labeled as 100% cane sugar or you’ve been brewing a GMO
drink for your family.
Use a pack of white sugar in your morning
tea or coffee at Starbucks? Yes, that’s almost certainly at least
partially GMO too.
Be careful when seeking out natural sodas
like Blue Sky Sodas from Hansen’s at the healthfood
store as this can be especially confusing. For example, the sugar used
in the Blue Sky Organic soda line is pure cane sugar. In addition, four
of the nonorganic sodas are listed on the Hansen’s Natural website as
containing pure cane sugar as well.
Blue Sky NaturalHowever, for the majority
of the Blue Sky sodas, the label does not say organic or pure cane
sugar. It simply says “real sugar” which when I inquired, does indeed
mean at least part of the sweetener is GMO beet sugar derived. Here is
the exact wording of the email response to my telephone inquiry to
customer service:
Thanks for taking the time to contact our
company directly with your inquiry.
The sugar in Blue Sky Sodas is either
sourced from cane and or beet and is refined as normal table top sugar
is. Real refers to the fact it is not a chemically derived
sweetener like High Fructose Corn Syrup, Glucose Syrup, etc.
Sugar from GMO beets is not considered
chemically derived? Not sure how that conclusion could be made given
that GMOs are created in a lab and are clearly not natural. Buyer beware
indeed!
Why Products Containing GMO Beet Sugar are
So Unhealthy
Besides the completely unknown effects
of consuming GMOs which have never been adequately tested, the activist
organization Citizens for Health reports that GMO sugar beets in the
food supply are of particular concern because the sugar is extracted
from the beet’s root rather than the part of the plant growing above the
ground with the result being more glyphosate pesticide residues in the
sugar.
Another problem is that the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) continues to increase the allowable levels of
glyphosate on sugar beet roots, seemingly ad infinitum as superweed
resistance continues to grow.
Inexplicably, the EPA continues to allow
ever higher levels of glyphosate on GMO crops despite the release of a
study showing that glyphosate inhibits the growth of beneficial gut
bacteria in humans and leads to the overgrowth of pathogenic intestinal
bacteria resulting in a slow, insidious increase in systemic
inflammation over months and years.
Sodas That Really ARE Natural
When I discovered this information, I made
a point to inform my children that what they had been doing at parties
and whatnot – seeking drinks with plain sugar instead of GMO high
fructose corn syrup – was no longer a safe strategy.
They must now choose water, 100% fruit
juice, or sodas like Virgil’s (see picture above) that use only cane
sugar and specify it as such on the label. These are the only “natural”
sodas you can trust to be truly GMO free.
What shopping habits will you change now
that you are aware of the sugar labeling scam that is causing even
health-conscious people to be lured into consuming GMO beet sugar? Will
you discuss this with your children to help them avoid these foods and
make wiser selections at parties and other events?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source(s):
thehealthyhomeeconomist.com
http://www.healthfreedoms.org/natural-sodas-made-with-gmo-sugar-scam-consumers/
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