Friday morning
The morning was beautiful and I was responsible for baby-sitting granddaughter Sophie (21 months). We set out on my walk to town (see a recent post) chatting about what we could see ("bus", "button", etc) or just drinking in the freshness of the almost windless day.
It was also Daffodil Day and Sophie was given a yellow balloon (she knows her colours, especially yellow) and we also found a toy bear for a small donation to the Cancer Society. So a good time was had by all.
After we met Granny and handed over Sophie, I walked on to a U3A meeting where we were swapping books, among other activities, and I picked up a copy of "New Scientist" which contained an article about sugar.
I was encouraged to do some investigation of my own, so when I called at the supermarket on my way home I looked at some packaged products which listed the percentages of protein, fat, sugars and fibre. I was puzzled to find that some products, like cheese, only cover 20% or less of the contents. So what is the other 80%?
Are we supposed to assume that all the rest is water? Does that make the truth that we are paying $20 per kg for a product, but $16 of that is for water?
On Sunday mornings we regularly Watch Q&A, and are impressed by the professionalism of the presenters such as Corin Dann, and of the panellists they recruit for the programme. This week Bernard Hickey was arguing that our dairy industry is being subsidised by the taxpayers of New Zealand, because in the absence of a tax on capital gain, most farmers are dependent on inflation of the land value for most of their income, as are most property-owners in Auckland.
In the same way it seems to me the irresponsible food processors who add sugar to their products are being subsidised by the taxpayers. The argument runs like this: the "New Scientist" article says our bodies need protein, fat and fibre to operate normally, but sugar is not needed, because we make sugar from other forms of carbohydrate, like bread or potato, for instance.
So the costs of health care for people who are suffering from life-threatening diseases of heart or liver or some types of diabetes--these costs are caused partly by unnecessary sugar in processed food and should really be borne by the food producers.
Since I had cancer 35 years ago, I have tried to eat less salt, because of its part in aggravating causes of cancer and other diseases. So I have made my porridge without any salt. But the porridge still tastes salty, even without extra salt, presumably because of the salt naturally in the other ingredients.
I guess the same would be true of sugar. Must try that anyway!
Are we supposed to assume that all the rest is water? Does that make the truth that we are paying $20 per kg for a product, but $16 of that is for water?
On Sunday mornings we regularly Watch Q&A, and are impressed by the professionalism of the presenters such as Corin Dann, and of the panellists they recruit for the programme. This week Bernard Hickey was arguing that our dairy industry is being subsidised by the taxpayers of New Zealand, because in the absence of a tax on capital gain, most farmers are dependent on inflation of the land value for most of their income, as are most property-owners in Auckland.
In the same way it seems to me the irresponsible food processors who add sugar to their products are being subsidised by the taxpayers. The argument runs like this: the "New Scientist" article says our bodies need protein, fat and fibre to operate normally, but sugar is not needed, because we make sugar from other forms of carbohydrate, like bread or potato, for instance.
So the costs of health care for people who are suffering from life-threatening diseases of heart or liver or some types of diabetes--these costs are caused partly by unnecessary sugar in processed food and should really be borne by the food producers.
Since I had cancer 35 years ago, I have tried to eat less salt, because of its part in aggravating causes of cancer and other diseases. So I have made my porridge without any salt. But the porridge still tastes salty, even without extra salt, presumably because of the salt naturally in the other ingredients.
I guess the same would be true of sugar. Must try that anyway!
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