Happy Harvest

Rush and the CPSIA

Rush spent some time on his show yesterday talking about the CPSIA and the threat it poses to the economy. If Rush starts talking about it, maybe others will follow suit ... and our chances of getting the law changed might just increase a little bit more. Keep the pressure on the Congress persons!

Why limit sugar?

So what is so bad about sugar anyway? We are talking about refined sugar, white or brown sugar or powdered sugar. Well, we should start with what is good about sugar - it adds more properties to food than just sweetness. It tenderizes the crumb of baked goods and adds body to batters that sugar substitutes cannot mimic. It enhances the other flavors in the food to which it is added. It reduces food acidity, balancing overall taste. It can undergo a specific chemical reaction called caramelization, which adds a pleasing flavor, crispness, and texture to food. It enables yeast to act as a leavening agent in bread. It acts on eggs used in baked goods in two ways: in beaten egg whites, sugar stabilizes the whipped foam, and in custards, sugar delays the coagulation of egg proteins, allowing for a smoother finished product. Sugar stabilizes the gelling and retards the spoiling of fruit preserves. Because of sugar's unique chemical composition and crystalline structure, it makes a wide variety of candy possible.

But here is the down side: in 1900, Americans consumed an average of five pounds of sugar per year. Today, Americans consume an average of 120+ pounds of sugar per year, and some estimates are much higher (Americans hit an all time high in 1999 with 158 pounds per person!). In 1900, about 4% of the population could be considered obese (BMI of 30% or more); today the figure is at about 33%. In 1900, less than 1/2% of Americans contracted diabetes, today the figure is at 8%. While the consumption of refined sugar has increased, so have obesity and diabetes, and other related health problems. The statistics show the body can handle a bit of added sugar in the diet - to the tune of about five pounds per year! It is our insane levels of sugar consumption that have fueled the disease train.

So, there are a few reasons we should limit added sugar in the diet, to about five pounds per person per year:

1) Added sugar is implicated in the general rise of obesity, diabetes, and other heath problems.

2) Added sugar feeds cancer.

3) Added sugar depresses the immune system.

4) Added sugar causes tooth decay.

5) Sugar may be an addictive substance.

6) Added sugar may contribute to calcium loss and/ or headache, joint, or muscle pain, as well as fatigue.

7) Added sugar may contribute to depression, hyperactivity, or other mental or emotional imbalances.

Next we will have to talk about sugar substitutes or natural sugars, and how they stack up health wise, and how they can be used to convert recipes.

CPSIA update

Here is the link on Etsy that compiles the information on the current state of the CPSIA that I was talking about. A quick overview of the exemptions:

Items made out of natural products which are inherently lead free are exempt (such as cotton or wood).

Yippee! That covers my daughter's business. And something I was happy to see:

Children's books manufactured after 1985 that are meant to be read and not played with or otherwise chewed on are exempt.

Yippee! That covers our business! But let's keep the pressure on our Congress persons duing this year and see if we can't get the law repealed altogether, or at least have it apply to things manufactured in China, not here.

Bonnie Blue Malachi ~ Sire to this years Nubian Kids 2009

Leah ~ Unregistered Purebred Nubian Doe

The Up River " Happy New Year "

Millcreek Farms Kendra

Health care changes in the stimulus bill

The stimulus bill which just passed the Senate yesterday includes new health rules which will drastically restructure the way we receive our health care in America. It will create a National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, which boils down to a government bureaucracy telling doctors and patients what can and cannot be treated, and how it can and cannot be treated. Some of the right wing bloggers and radio talkers are on this story. However, the bill has passed the House. It has passed the Senate. It is in conference right now, and the Democrats have excluded Republicans from the conference process (bipartisan only applies when the Democrats are in the minority, I guess. I knew stuff like this was going to happen, it just is shocking at how fast things have devolved). You can bet the health changes will not be cut unless we raise a huge stink. But we have been raising a huge stink all along about the stimulus bill itself, and where has that gotten us? But we have to try, because when the bill hits the president's desk, he is going to sign it. We don't know yet how the new rules will change alternative health care in this country -- I'll try to stay on top of it and let you all know what is happening.

Amend the CPSIA

Today was dubbed National Bankruptcy Day because it was the day the new rules for testing and certification for children's products were to come into force. National Bankruptcy Day refers to all the myriads of family- owned business which specialize in handmade and artisan items, which would be absolutely put out of business because the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) required draconian testing of every product made for children, not just those imported from China or abroad (whose sometimes toxic raw materials necessitated the need for legislation in the first place).

 I am sure most of you already know this, but 10 days ago the CSPC granted a one year stay of testing and certification requirements while it seeks to discover what amendments will be required to the law. The Handmade Toy Alliance has a great blog keeping all of us informed on the ins and outs and twists and turns regarding this legislation.

My daughter, who sells handcrafted items on Etsy, was telling me she thought she read that small businesses making small numbers of handcrafted items had also been made exempt from the CPSIA, and she is going to email me the link when and if she finds where she was reading it.

Update: Here is the link on Etsy that compiles the information on the current state of the CPSIA. A quick overview of the exemptions: items made out of natural products which are inherently lead free are exempt (such as cotton or wood). Yippee! That covers my daughter's business. And something I was happy to see: Children's books manufactured after 1985 that are meant to be read and not played with or otherwise chewed on are exempt. Yippee! That covers our business!;

Just when they thought things were getting better ...

Have you seen the new ads pushing high fructose corn syrup as a perfectly fine, natural sweetener just like sugar (well, I wouldn't call sugar perfectly fine and natural). The embattled high fructose corn syrup industry now has another nail in its coffin: in nearly half of the samples tested, HFCS was tainted with mercury, one of the most toxic toxins known to man. Stick to your guns and stay away from HFCS and processed foods!