Carrot & stick - Canada rejects olestra in snack foods - this and other items are discussed - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Nov, 2000 by Abigail Chipley

A CARROT to Canada's Health Protection Branch for rejecting the use of olestra in snack foods sold in that country. The fake fat, developed by Procter & Gamble (P&G) and approved for use here in 1996 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is designed to pass through the body undigested, making it possible to chow down on all the chips you want without worrying about gaining a pound. But there's one major hitch: Eating foods containing olestra-like Frito-Lay's Wow! Chips and P&G's Pringles chips-can cause embarrassing and serious gastrointestinal effects, including diarrhea and severe cramping. Even more troubling, studies show that olestra can actually rob the body of nutrients that require fat to be properly absorbed, including vitamins A, D and E and beta-carotene. Apparently, our northern neighbors are more concerned with safety and nutrition than we are. The Canadian health agency quietly rejected olestra last year, a fact that was only brought to light this year by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based public health group. Despite the 18,000 "adverse reaction" reports the FDA has received about olestra, the agency continues to maintain that olestra is safe, making the United States the only country to approve this dubious ingredient for human consumption.

A STICK to AquaBabies for marketing live animals as novelty items. Sold over the Internet and alongside chewing gum and toothpaste in national chain stores like Walgreen's and Target, AquaBabies are tiny plastic cubes (4 inches square) containing various types of live fish, crabs and frogs. If left alone on store shelves without food or temperature regulation, the creatures almost always die from starvation or lack of oxygen. Even if they're lucky enough to make it home with a customer, they usually don't live long. The company claims that these miniscule boxes, which contain no reliable filtration system and far less than a gallon of water, are the "perfect ecosystem." But outraged pet store owners and marine biologists point out that even a 10-gallon tank doesn't provide enough space to support most species of fish. In fact, the size of an Aquababy cube barely leaves room for minimal movement of one full-grown fish. As a result, these babies remain baby-size--In other words, stunted and deformed--for the duration of their very short lives. Contact the company at www.aqua@aquababies.com to let them know how you feel about marketing live animals as an impulse buy.

A CARROT to several of the nation's top wood retailers, including the Home Depot, Lowe's and 84 Lumber Ltd., for pledging to stop using lumber cut from old-growth forests. Every year, millions of acres of these woodlands-made up of trees hundreds of years old and home to endangered wildlife--are felled for everything from lawn furniture to office supplies to toilet paper. In fact, nearly half of the planet's old-growth forests are in immediate danger of destruction, with only 20 percent remaining intact worldwide. In the United States, the situation is particularly dire: More than 96 percent of old-growth trees have already been chopped down. But as a result of pressure by several environmental groups, these home improvement companies have agreed to sell only wood that is certified as coming from forests managed in an environmentally responsible way and to phase out the use of wood from old-growth forests within the next few years. Let's hope this move comes in time to save what's left.