THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Everyone has heard about all the fast food chains, amusement parks, Starbucks, etc., switching to trans-fat free oil. This in theory is a good idea. But I wanted to point out a disturbing fact that is left out of most reports, and offer a brief meditation on the evils of Monsanto.
The new trans-fat free oil that is being used by most chains is a genetically engineered soybean product of Monsanto, possibly the world's most evil corporation.
(This is the only mainstream media article I could find on the switch to trans-fat free oil that mentions Monsanto. And they don't even mention genetic engineering by name, but call them "special soybeans.")
SPOILERS! (Click to view)KFC Drops Trans Fats As NYC Probes Ban
By DAVID B. CARUSO (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
October 30, 2006 11:06 PM EST
NEW YORK - After two years of secret taste tests, KFC said Monday it would stop frying chicken in artery-clogging trans fats, but New York City restaurants being urged to do the same say it's not so easy.
KFC's announcement, which won praise from consumer advocates, came an hour ahead of a public hearing on a proposal that would make New York the first U.S. city to ban the unhealthy artificial fats.
Industry leaders dished up a plateful of reasons why such a plan shouldn't be adopted in the nation's restaurant capital.
The move would be a "recipe for disaster that could be devastating to New York City's restaurant industry," said E. Charles Hunt, executive vice president of the New York State Restaurant Association.
The shift by KFC and a handful of other fast food chains - and the effort by New York health officials - mark an aggressive crackdown on an ingredient that is consumed in large doses around the country.
An average American eats 4.7 pounds of trans fats a year, and the oil is used as a shortening in baked goods like cookies, crackers and doughnuts, as well as in deep frying. Experts say a ban in New York would reverberate across the country because the city's food industry is so large.
The ban initially would have been a harsh one for KFC. But the company now says that by next April, all 5,500 of its U.S. restaurants will have switched from trans fat-rich partially hydrogenated vegetable oil to a new soybean oil believed to be less likely to cause heart disease.
Some KFC sites have already made the switch in secret trials to see if customers would notice a difference. They did not, and KFC President Gregg Dedrick said he was confident the switch won't prompt complaints about taste.
"There is no compromise," he said at a Manhattan news conference. "Nothing is more important to us than the quality of our food and preserving the terrific taste of our product."
Health advocates applauded the company's switch. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, which sued KFC last spring over the trans fat content of its food, announced Monday that it was withdrawing from the lawsuit.
"Colonel Sanders deserves a bucket full of praise," said CSPI executive director Michael Jacobson. "If KFC, which deep-fries almost everything, can get the artificial trans fat out of its frying oil, anyone can."
Burger King also said Monday that it hopes to begin testing trans fat-free cooking in some restaurants within 90 days. Wendy's has already switched to a zero-trans fat oil. McDonald's had announced that it intended to do so as well in 2003, but has yet to follow through.
The New York hearing on the proposed trans fat ban was packed with doctors and paid industry spokesmen. Long lines at the building's security checkpoint and an overflowing hearing room might have deterred ordinary citizens or restaurant owners from speaking.
But industry representatives like Hunt spoke out.
"This ban threatens popular dishes and affordable menus," he said. "The city needs to get serious about working with, not against, our restaurant owners."
He and others said a ban would leave cooks unable to find proper replacement ingredients, and force some to switch to bad alternatives.
Sheila Cohn Weiss, director of nutrition policy for the National Restaurant Association, suggested that restaurant owners in need of a quick fix would simply switch to another unhealthy substance like palm oil, which contains unhealthy amounts of saturated fat.
"This is a switch that cannot happen immediately," she said.
KFC has concerns about supply, too.
Dedrick said KFC and the creator of the new oil, the Monsanto Corp., had to work with seed oil processors to persuade farmers to grow more of the special soybeans used in the product. Among other things, farmers were offered a price premium to grow the new soybeans.
Monsanto spokesman Chris Horner said he expected the farmland devoted to the company's new seed to triple next year to 1.5 million acres, up from 500,000 acres this year and 100,000 in 2005.
Still, he added, demand for trans-fat-free oils has the potential to outpace supply.
New York's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas Frieden, said officials have heard the supply argument before and rejected it as unsupported.
"We're confident that there is ample supply of healthy trans fat alternatives," Frieden said, although he added that officials might consider giving restaurants more time. The New York City Board of Health is expected to vote for the ban in December with an 18-month period for a full phase-in.
Louis Nunez, president of New York's Latino Restaurant Association, said a quick survey by his group shows at least 980 of its members don't know what trans fats are.
"If this goes in with no education, there is going to be an avalanche of fines," Nunez said.
Even with the development of new oils, finding replacements for every recipe may be tough.
KFC said that even after its changeover, some menu items will continue to contain artificial trans fats, including its popular biscuits.
Although not fried, the biscuits contain a trans fat shortening that has proven difficult to replace. Dedrick said the company would continue trying to develop a substitute.
Please take a moment to think about how many fast food restaurants there are in your city. Then in your state. Then in the United States. Now please consider how much farmland will be devoted, the world over, to producing all the GMO soybeans necessary to supply the oil. It is mindboggling.
So, Monsanto. I could go on for days. Please Google them. But in short:
They produce Roundup herbicides, which are widespread throughout the world, and are used by the US Government in enormous quantities in both North and South America. Wikipedia entry on Roundup
They produce the hormones given to milk cows.
They are the largest producer of genetically engineered crops, and hold the patents for the majority of genetically engineered crops worldwide.
They are responsible for the development of Terminator technology, which produces sterile seeds. These seeds cannot be regrown but must instead be purchased year after year. This has devastated farming communities in India and other countries. They have prosecuted many people, including poor farmers, over saving seeds. They call it "fraud" and "patent infringement."
Article here on Monsanto & US Government cooperation on Terminator technology
Their engineered crops are Roundup Ready. This means that the crops are resistant to their Roundup herbicide. The farmers can then apply the herbicide liberally and directly to the soil, and kill all other plant life except the crops.
Roundup Ready implications (super weeds, among other horrible things)
Scariest of all, Monsanto recently acquired Seminis, the world's largest vegetable seed bank, for $1.4 billion.
The Seminis motto is this: IF YOU'VE EATEN A SALAD, YOU'VE HAD A SEMINIS PRODUCT.
In short, the world food supply is in absolute jeopardy.
For further information, I highly recommend the wonderful Vandana Shiva's website (with many articles), and book Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply.
Stay informed and do what you can!
Great to see that not everyone is prepared to bury their heads in the sand