#Sugar Beets are #GMO too? I had no idea and I think I've been had...

So much for me switching to sugar-based soda instead of corn-syrup to be a tiny bit healthier... But no, GMO (genetically modified organism) foods are not labeled - in fact CANNOT be labeled. (Unethical law in my estimation.) I knew that most corn and soy is now genetically engineered, but not beet sugar. And I do research. If I don't know, do you?
I wish there was a way to know if it was made from cane sugar instead of sugar beets.  Pepsi Throwback (my poison of choice) uses both, so I'll never know. Wish I could quit!

"...the latest USDA data shows that 95 percent of the sugar beets, 93 percent of the soybeans and 88 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. are genetically engineered. They mixed in federal data revealing that 79 percent of the salad oil consumed in the U.S. is soybean oil, and 55 percent of the sugar comes from sugar beets. The grand total? Americans are eating an average of 193 pounds of genetically engineered food per year."

http://healthfreedoms.org/2012/10/17/new-report-americans-eating-their-weight-in-genetically-engineered-food/

Heather J. Kirk

Sugar in my soda...

Sugar in my soda…

I have always been a Pepsi girl. First, Coke is too fizzy. I remember watching my niece blowing into the top of a Coke can while I was visiting my brother and family. I laughed when I realized she was imitating me! I habitually attempted to blow off some of the excess carbonation in order to tolerate it.

Next, Coca Cola (in the U.S) is too bitter. Yet I noticed that last June, at the all-inclusive resort my friend and I stayed at, that even though all they had was Coke (not Pepsi), I didn't mind it. I thought it was that it was 'on tap' and therefore not as fizzy, and that they always stuffed a few lime wedges in the glass, changing the flavor.

Everyday I carry a tray of cooking supplies (and sometimes a Coke)

from my room to the kitchen.

Though Pepsi is available here in grocery stores, it is rarely found in restaurants and colmados (corner stores). Yet I drink Coke readily - still blowing off the steam before drinking, but not finding the taste bitter. Why? Well, most sodas bottled in the Caribbean (this Coke bottled right here in Dominican Republic) are made with sugar. What's the big deal, you ask? Check your label. It will not say sugar but corn syrup.

Because of more and more negative reports about corn syrup, I had been bothered by my personal addiction to sweet, carbonated, cold caffeine.

Of course the sugar/corn syrup issue doesn't explain why I liked Pepsi. In the States it too is made with corn syrup. So it's a secret recipe issue.

Last year PepsiCo tested a "Pepsi Throwback" in a small test market to great results. The throwback aspect had to do with making it the "old fashioned way." Any guesses? Yep. Sugar! I waited and waited and waited for them to release it nationwide - excited that sugar could somehow be justified in my mind as healthy! (Okay, healthier...)

It showed up in my Walgreens store the day before I moved to the Dominican Republic. No problem, the Pepsi here is made with sugar also.

A few interesting links on the case against corn syrup:

The Death of High Fructose Corn Syrup, http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/04/19/the-death-of-high-fructose-corn-syrup/

A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain; http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/03/26/a-sweet-problem-princeton-researchers-find-that-high-fructose-corn-syrup-prompts-considerably-more-weight-gain/

Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html


Heather J. Kirk, Photographer, Author, Graphic Designer
"We...a spirit seeking harmony for a world that's out of sync" - purchase an e-book at: photographicartistry.citymax.com/Books
Find her art at: Fine Art America
and HeatherJKirk.com