I Think

Got a poem into the next month's contest just now.

74 here in my area today - huh? I like it, 74 is a favorite temp number of mine, but... a tad unusual.

On Thursday, General Mills tweeted to concerned consumers, informing them that they are in the process of removing a preservative from their foods that has been banned in other parts of the world.

This came in response to actions by influential blogger Vani Hari of Foodbabe.com, who launched a petition crusade against General Mills and Kellogg’s for their use of Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) in many of their cereals. Within a few hours, the petition gained over 17,000 signatures (the figure is now more than 32,000) demanding the companies remove the controversial chemical from their breakfast foods.

Some petitioners tweeted at General Mills to prompt action, and soon they received responses:

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While allowed by the US Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA), BHT has raised some red flags in the food industry. The European Food Safety Authority reported multiple concerns with the preservative that were found during animal testing, including adverse developmental effects and toxicity.


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The New York Observer reported that Ms. Hari reached out to General Mills a few weeks ago regarding the presence of BHT in their American-marketed cereals. She told the Observer that the company informed her “not to sweat it” since it was FDA-approved. However, following the petition’s success, they claimed to have been in the process of removing the chemical for over a year.

“BHT is an FDA-approved food ingredient, but we’re already well down the path of removing it from our cereals. This change is not for safety reasons, but because we think consumers will embrace it ... Many of our US Cereals do not contain BHT including: Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Trix, Kix and Lucky Charms. Our removal of BHT from cereals is well underway and has been for more than a year,” General Mills said in a statement, according to the New York Observer.

Kellogg’s has yet to respond.

BHT is already banned in European countries and Japan, which Hari said shows that the US should follow suit and make more strides for getting the preservative out of its own foods. She believes that the petition and General Mills’ response is a huge step, but is now wondering when it will be fully implemented.

“Now, I must ask this: Why is it taking so long for General Mills to remove a chemical they already don't use in Europe? When will children get to stop eating this unnecessary but potentially harmful additive like kids overseas?” Hari said on her Facebook page.

This is not the first time Hari has used her “Food Babe Army” to instigate change in America’s food industry.

After publishing a post titled “Chick-fil-A or Chemical-fil-A?” in 2012, she met with Chick-fil-A executives to advocate for antibiotic-free products. After a year of follow-ups, the company started to remove a controversial ingredient, TBHQ (a chemical made from butane), from their products and committed to going antibiotic-free in 5 years.

In February of 2014, she spearheaded the efforts to remove a “chemical found in yoga mats” from bread at Subway, which they successfully did in April of the same year after the petition gained 68,000 signatures.

While Hari has led effective campaigns in the food industry, her efforts have not been without criticism. Some critics say she is a "fearmonger," and that her tactics take advantage of the public's scientific ignorance and growing distrust of food producers and retailers. Companies would rather bend to her demands—whether or not they are scientifically sound—than risk a negative public perception, NPR recently reported.

"Unfortunately, the Web is cluttered with people who really have no idea what they are talking about giving advice as if it were authoritative, and often that advice is colored by either an ideological agenda or a commercial interest," Yale's Steven Novella writes on his blog. "The Food Babe is now the poster child for this phenomenon."

Hari has gotten results. Major food companies – such as Whole Foods, Starbucks, Lean Cuisine, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Chipotle, Yoforia, and Moe’s South West Grill – have been prompted to act after her impassioned activism. Hari hopes that General Mills and Kellogg's respond appropriately to the 32,000 people in support of removing BHT from their products.

In the post on her Facebook page, Hari added, "We are going to hold the [two] largest cereal manufacturers in the United States accountable for their hypocrisy and double standards. American children are given no other choice than to eat this very controversial additive, when the same product is sold in other countries without it. It’s time for this to stop

I suggest we boycott Samsung TVs. Some of their new models record conversations of viewers and allow a third party to hear them.

First of all, I was interested in food and books and articles on it before foodie was a word.

Call me food associated.

(back after I look at the quiz)

Ick, I think. I'd need to know more, re oks by participants, but I probably don't like this.

I don't like a lot of what I've read about intrusive tech things, for example, face reading tech for commercial matters. (I think I posted that NYer article, or maybe I just mentioned it to a friend at length.)

On second thought, trying to find the link, I looked at food.babe.

Too sensational, no way I'd click on it further.

Following a three-month hiatus, John Oliver has returned with a brilliant takedown against pharmaceutical companies and the billions of dollars executives pump into peddling drugs to doctors around the country.

"Drug companies are a bit like high school boyfriends," Oliver explained on Last Week Tonight. "They're much more concerned with getting inside of you than being effective once they're in there."

According to one report referenced on Sunday's show, nine out of ten drug companies allocate significantly more on marketing than actual scientific research–a practice Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently announced she is working to reverse. Much of the money is spent on attractive representatives, many of whom are clueless to the products they're selling, to push the drugs. Some reps even dangle complimentary meals to persuade doctors into cashing in.

"If Charlie Manson brought me a free lunch everyday, I'd at least listen to his sales pitch on forehead swastikas."

I had been buying walnuts every week. Then the price jumped so much higher that I substituted cheaper almonds - reluctantly. Sure, both are good for you. But I consider walnuts second to none in the nut family. (Yeah, I know almonds are not technically nuts) But after I read that it takes huge amounts of water to produce a single almond, I began rethinking my choice. The other day I found some walnuts in Kroger and have been happily adding them in my morning bowl of cereal. I mean, you only live once. Might as well eat walnuts.

I understand that it's an option that is easily turned off in settings.

That being said, I'm appalled that the corporation allowed it as an option in the first place. I know it's connected to voice activation but seriously...how stupid do they think we are?

I think the thought of it will be enough to sink their sales. But I might be overestimating buyers' intelligence.

Yes. The public tastes show deaf dumb and blindness (...sure plays a mean pinball) .

Just look how long certain TV programs like Survivor have been on the air? Then there's the elections that gave Dubyah The Prez office 2 x...

Monday, I helped the new lead man reorganize the storage shed. Lots of trash, lots of boxes to stack and restack. I had a hard time walking by quitting time. Tuesday we began striping the parking lot. Not with a striping machine. 4" rollers. I had a hard time walking by quitting time. But it created a momentum within me that had me working compulsively all day long today. Aside from other things, I cleaned and polished my truck, inside and out. It was in bad shape and hard to get a shine on it. But it sparkles now. Tomorrow, back to my wood crafts. Shifting from the Indian on a horse to just a horse - eight feet tall. If it fails I will simply find another idea to pursue. Sooner or later I will hit on a winner.

I read about juicing cleanses yesterday. I am not into that, although I juice five to seven times weekly, drinking about twelve ounces in a day.
http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/11/juice_cleanses_not_healthy_not_virtuous_just_expensive.html
The man in the article has an attitude.:
Stop Juicing
It’s not healthy, it’s not virtuous, and it makes you seem like a jerk.

But that's between him and the people about whom he wrote. I use a great variety of veggies when juicing, but always leave room to allow for carrots to be the dominating taste. I like to make sure spinach and broccoli are in there too.

I bought some of the copper infused knee wraps today. I am a bit skeptical, but silver is so wonderful for the body, thought copper worth checking out.

It's hard to find a market for a novelette, of the kind I recently finished writing. Still looking.

Bought netting to protect the moringa tree. Believe it or don't, it has managed to hang onto some tufts of leaves throughout the winter. The other day, it had new growth. The next day birds or something had eaten it back. The fig tree was doing very well, until this past fall. I saw that the leaves began dying in a way which was uncharacteristic for that tree. Didn't realize until yesterday it was because boring insects killed it in the main trunk. I cut it down today.

Let me know if you feel any improvement. I've been looking at those too.

I bought one in XL size that was too tight on my leg. The two I have now are a different brand. Same size, but comfortable. If you decide to buy any I will let you know which they are. The comfortable ones came from Target. The others were from Academy.

Rain and cold today. It will briefly freeze in the morning. But it will be back around seventy soon. I pity the eastern part of the country.