Fooducate Blog - Dear Chick-Fil-A, Straight or Gay, this Ingredient List is NOT OK

Dear Chick-Fil-A, Straight or Gay, this Ingredient List is NOT OK

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 11:19 AM PDT

Chick-fil-A Ingredients Trump Sexual Preference Issues

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The recent Chick-fil-A controversy has overlooked an important matter. Though chicken is slightly healthier than beef, fast food chicken is no health food.

Here’s the ingredient list for the no frills standard Chick-fil-A® Chicken Sandwich:

Chicken (100% natural whole breast filet, seasoning [salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika], seasoned coater [enriched bleached flour {bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid}, sugar, salt, monosodium glutamate, nonfat milk, leavening {baking soda, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate}, spice, soybean oil, color {paprika}], milk wash [water, whole powdered egg and nonfat milk solids], peanut oil [fully refined peanut oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness and dimethylpolysiloxane an anti-foaming agent added]), bun (enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, riboflavin {Vitamin B2}, folic acid], water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, contains 2% or less of each of the following: liquid yeast, soybean oil, nonfat milk, salt, wheat gluten, soy flour, dough conditioners [may contain one or more of the following: mono- and diglycerides, calcium and sodium stearoyl lactylates, calcium peroxide], soy flour, amylase, yeast nutrients [monocalcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate], calcium propionate added to retard spoilage, soy lecithin, cornstarch, butter oil [soybean oil, palm kernel oil, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, TBHQ and citric acid added as preservatives, and artificial color]), pickle (cucumbers, water, vinegar, salt, lactic acid, calcium chloride, alum, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate [preservatives], natural flavors, polysorbate 80, yellow 5, blue 1).

Seriously?

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Obesity as an Investing Megatrend

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 05:41 AM PDT

fat-world

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Merrill Lynch, a subsidiary of Bank of America, released a new report – Globesity — The Global Fight Against Obesity – looking at the growing problem through the eyes of Wall Street.

There are 4 growth areas according to the report:

Pharmaceuticals and Health Care – Companies listed are developing drugs for diabetes, procedures for knee and hip implants and manufacturing equipment such as patient lifts, bigger beds and wider ambulance doors.
Food – There’s a $663 billion "health and wellness" market, with manufacturers reformulating their portfolios to respond to increasing pressure such as "fat taxes" to reduce sugar and fat levels.
Commercial Weight Loss, Diet Management and Nutrition – a $4 billion market in the U.S. and growing globally. Half of Americans are on some sort of plan on any given day.
Sports Apparel and Equipment

Let’s focus on food for the sake of discussion. Some of the companies listed include PepsiCo and Kraft whose connection to health is mostly through marketing, not nutrient rich foods. That said, the report is forward looking, and it’s clear that these companies are looking to sell products to health conscious consumers.

Our biggest beef with the investing approach is that reducing obesity is not about a capitalistic opportunity for smart investors to make more money. It’s about a total re-framing of the issue of private vs. corporate responsibility. It’s rethinking about the real cost of a hamburger, including all the externalized fees our bodies, our land, and our farm workers are paying for a 99 cent burger. It’s about strong public policy and regulation that won’t allow marketing of junk foods to kids. It’s about truth in marketing and nutrition labeling. It’s about removing the silly subsidies for corn and soy that then move up the supply chain to become cheap drinks and fast food entrees. It’s about REDUCING calorie intake, not increasing it. The food industry needs to sell us less, not more.

How can we invest in that?