"Sugar Coated": Big Tobacco & Big Oil, Meet Big Sugar

I just watched the documentary Sugar Coated. Its parallels to the War On Science-style campaigns funded by cigarette makers and climate polluters were staggering:

• Product is cheap & easy in the short term but expensive & deadly in the long run
• A complex problem that's hard for people to understand or respond to individually
• Industry pays scientists to manufacture doubt and uncertainty about the harm caused by its highly-profitable product
• Science advocates not only hopelessly underfunded, but often outgunned with only a scientific background against a multidisciplinary campaign using marketing, political and emotional tactics

As Mother Jones has extensively reported, the sugar industry has worked hard to make sure government policy doesn't reflect the truth that added sugar is toxic. In just the last few months, the Obama administration has taken the important step of including added sugar on nutrition labels, but that barely scratches the surface of what could be done if progressive Democrats took on Big Sugar like they took on Big Tobacco and industrial climate polluters.

Sugar Coated is now available on Netflix. Here's the trailer:

Sugar Coated Trailer from The Cutting Factory on Vimeo.

Don't Buy Antibacterial Soap

America has spent decades putting a chemical called triclosan in our soap to wage chemical warfare on every bit of bacteria within a five-mile radius of our skin. So what benefit are we getting? According to an extensive new Associated Press investigation, none:

The [U.S. Food and Drug Administration]'s website currently states that "the agency does not have evidence that triclosan in antibacterial soaps and body washes provides any benefit over washing with regular soap and water."

No benefit. None. But there's this:

Recent studies of triclosan in animals have led scientists to worry that it could increase the risk of infertility, early puberty and other hormone-related problems in humans.

Swell! Thanks for looking out for us, FDA!

Part of the problem is that chemicals like triclosan kill ALL bacteria - good and bad. And during the exact same time we've been massacring all bacteria, friend or foe, reports of food and skin allergies are increasing.

A little dirt is good for your kids. Maybe even a little dog slobber. Afterwards, wash 'em up with some Method, Seventh Generation, or any other old-fashioned, plain ol' soap.