Kellogg Cereals Jedi Mind Trick

June 26, 2007

From Jenny Thompson and the Health Science Institute Newsletter June 22, 2007

Dear Reader,

Remember in the very first Star Wars when Obi Wan Kenobi used his Jedi

mind trick? He waved his hand and told a storm trooper, "These are not

the droids you're looking for." To which the trooper replied, "These

are not the droids we're looking for." And of course, the droids in

question were exactly the droids they were looking for.

I think someone at Kellogg Cereal Company might be a Jedi master.

Kellogg recently avoided a lawsuit by agreeing to adjust the

nutritional standards of its cereals as well as its policies for

advertising to kids. In an Associated Press article, Kellogg CEO, David

Mackay, offered this take on the change: "We feel the Kellogg Nutrient

Criteria set a new standard for responsibility in the industry." (The

article didn't mention if he actually waved his hand when he said this.)

Another quote in the article comes from Michael F. Jacobson, executive

director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (one of the

parties that brought the lawsuit): "By committing to these nutrition

standards and marketing reforms, Kellogg has vaulted over the rest of

the food industry."

Vaulted over the rest of the food industry? He didn't add, "These are

not the droids we're looking for," but he might as well have.

-----------

The new zero

-----------

To avoid a lawsuit, Kellogg executives came up with a simple plan:

They'll reformulate their products according to this new set of

nutritional guidelines for each individual serving of each product:

* Maximum of 200 calories

* Zero trans fatty acids

* Maximum of 2 grams of saturated fats

* Maximum of 230 mg of sodium

* Maximum of 12 grams of sugar

Now...stand aside and make way for a festival of caveats.

Eggo frozen waffles will be exempt from the sodium requirement. Why?

Who knows? Maybe the powerful executives in Kellogg's Eggo Division

just won't budge on the sodium issue.

Any sugar that comes from fruit, vegetables, or dairy will not be factored into the sugar calculation.

Zero trans fatty acids? Riiiight. Except when the FDA is doing the

math. As I've noted in previous e-Alerts, the FDA allows food

manufacturers to claim zero trans fats if a product contains less than

0.5 grams of trans fats per serving. Zero point four - it's the new

zero!

And here's my favorite caveat: If Kellogg nutritionists are unable to

reformulate a product to meet these new guidelines, then the company

won't market the unchanged product to kids who are under the age of 12.

And there's a caveat to this caveat: If more than half of any Web, TV,

radio, or print audience is made up of kids over the age of 12, then

it's okay to market to that audience, even if a substantial percentage

of the audience is under 12.

Wow. That's some impressive vaulting all right.

-----------

Knee slappers

-----------

For some real humor, lets take a quick look at two of the "nutrition"

guidelines Kellogg has laid down, along with one glaring omission.

We'll start with 12 grams of sugar. That's about three teaspoons of

sugar. And Kellogg wants us to believe that's a "healthy" portion for

kids under the age of 12. Currently, a single 3/4-cup serving of

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes contains almost 12 grams. And if you've ever

seen a kid pour his own cereal, you know that 3/4 of a cup is a serving

size invented by an adult who doesn't have a clue.

The 2-gram limit for saturated fats is mostly irrelevant for cereals,

which already contain very small amounts. But of course, in mainstream

thinking, saturated fat is the boogieman. And when you're talking

Kellogg, you're talking seriously mainstream processed foods.

And carbs? Hellooo? The new guidelines completely ignore refined

carbohydrates - arguably the most harmful nutrition factor when it

comes to promoting childhood obesity. And does Kellogg deliver refined

carbs? DO they! Care to guess the carb content in a single strawberry

Pop-Tart? Thirty-seven grams. And that comes packed with 16 grams of

sugar. And that's a Pop-Tart with no frosting!

So here's how it's going to go... Kellogg will shrink serving sizes to

postage stamp sized portions to qualify for the per-serving nutrition

requirements (would you like a quarter of a Pop-Tart?), or they'll just

throw in the towel with products that don't conform to the new

guidelines and market them to kids who are 12 and older - along with

all those kids under the age of 12 who watch TV with their older

siblings.

Even Obi Wan's mind trick couldn't wave away the absurdity of this "new standard of responsibility."

June 26, 2007

The unfortunate part of all this is that it will put the true nutrition minded companies out of business. Would this also be a part of the plan, or a new avenue that may have surfaced? Kill two birds with one stone.

And by the way, they did wave their hands. Kellogg's is an illuminati family. Hmmmm.... It makes this all the more interesting.

May

The Best Years in Life (under construction).......

/

http://thecorner4women.com

"Empowering Women Throughout the World"

http://dipetanesoutheast.com

Tony oleander soup Sent: Monday, June 25, 2007 11:20:17 PM Kellogg Cereals Jedi Mind Trick

From Jenny Thompson and the Health Science Institute Newsletter June 22, 2007Dear Reader,Remember in the very first Star Wars when Obi Wan Kenobi used his Jedi mind trick? He waved his hand and told a storm trooper, "These are not the droids you're looking for." To which the trooper replied, "These are not the droids we're looking for." And of course, the droids in question were exactly the droids they were looking for.I think someone at Kellogg Cereal Company might be a Jedi master.Kellogg recently avoided a lawsuit by agreeing to adjust the nutritional standards of its cereals as well as its policies for advertising to kids. In an Associated Press article, Kellogg CEO, David Mackay, offered this take on the change: "We feel the Kellogg Nutrient Criteria set a new standard for responsibility in the

industry." (The article didn't mention if he actually waved his hand when he said this.)Another quote in the article comes from Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (one of the parties that brought the lawsuit): "By committing to these nutrition standards and marketing reforms, Kellogg has vaulted over the rest of the food industry."Vaulted over the rest of the food industry? He didn't add, "These are not the droids we're looking for," but he might as well have.------------ --------- --------- --------- -----The new zero------------ --------- --------- --------- -----To avoid a lawsuit, Kellogg executives came up with a simple plan: They'll reformulate their products according to this new set of nutritional guidelines for each individual serving of each product:* Maximum of 200 calories* Zero trans fatty acids* Maximum of 2 grams of saturated fats* Maximum of 230

mg of sodium* Maximum of 12 grams of sugarNow...stand aside and make way for a festival of caveats.Eggo frozen waffles will be exempt from the sodium requirement. Why? Who knows? Maybe the powerful executives in Kellogg's Eggo Division just won't budge on the sodium issue.Any sugar that comes from fruit, vegetables, or dairy will not be factored into the sugar calculation.Zero trans fatty acids? Riiiight. Except when the FDA is doing the math. As I've noted in previous e-Alerts, the FDA allows food manufacturers to claim zero trans fats if a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving. Zero point four - it's the new zero!And here's my favorite caveat: If Kellogg nutritionists are unable to reformulate a product to meet these new guidelines, then the company won't market the unchanged product to kids who are under the age of 12. And there's a caveat to this caveat: If more than half of any Web, TV, radio, or

print audience is made up of kids over the age of 12, then it's okay to market to that audience, even if a substantial percentage of the audience is under 12.Wow. That's some impressive vaulting all right.------------ --------- --------- --------- -----Knee slappers------------ --------- --------- --------- -----For some real humor, lets take a quick look at two of the "nutrition" guidelines Kellogg has laid down, along with one glaring omission.We'll start with 12 grams of sugar. That's about three teaspoons of sugar. And Kellogg wants us to believe that's a "healthy" portion for kids under the age of 12. Currently, a single 3/4-cup serving of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes contains almost 12 grams. And if you've ever seen a kid pour his own cereal, you know that 3/4 of a cup is a serving size invented by an adult who doesn't have a clue.The 2-gram limit for saturated fats is mostly irrelevant for cereals, which already contain

very small amounts. But of course, in mainstream thinking, saturated fat is the boogieman. And when you're talking Kellogg, you're talking seriously mainstream processed foods.And carbs? Hellooo? The new guidelines completely ignore refined carbohydrates - arguably the most harmful nutrition factor when it comes to promoting childhood obesity. And does Kellogg deliver refined carbs? DO they! Care to guess the carb content in a single strawberry Pop-Tart? Thirty-seven grams. And that comes packed with 16 grams of sugar. And that's a Pop-Tart with no frosting!So here's how it's going to go... Kellogg will shrink serving sizes to postage stamp sized portions to qualify for the per-serving nutrition requirements (would you like a quarter of a Pop-Tart?), or they'll just throw in the towel with products that don't conform to the new guidelines and market them to kids who are 12 and older - along with all those kids under the age of 12 who watch TV with their

older siblings.Even Obi Wan's mind trick couldn't wave away the absurdity of this "new standard of responsibility. "