Sugar Consumption and Plastic Bags

Posted by Robyn Harrison Jan 31, 2008

Natural Food Network is an industry publication whose mission is to provide a clear, compelling business case for selecting natural and organic products. The magazine is (understandably!) full of advertising, but there is also some great “food for thought.” This month’s issue deals with sweets: natural alternative sweeteners such as agave nectar, molasses and malt syrups from brown rice and barley, honey, and the herb stevia. The editor, Dan Bolton, cites the USDA statistic of Americans now consuming 20 teaspoons of sugar a day—more than 150 pounds a year! And, since this is an average, it means that for every person who consumes only 5 pounds, someone else eats 295 pounds!

Another article talks about using compostable disposables for packaging, especially alternatives to the ubiquitous plastic bag. China, which uses up to 3 billion plastic shopping bags A DAY has banned them and Whole Foods plans to phase them out by Earth Day.

You can read the whole magazine free online here.