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TechnoratiPopular Cereal Is a Drug, US Food Watchdog Says
WASHINGTON - Popular US breakfast cereal Cheerios is a drug, at least if the claims made on the label by its manufacturer General Mills are anything to go by, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said.
"Based on claims made on your product's label, we have determined that your Cheerios Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug," the FDA said in a letter to General Mills which was posted on the federal agency's website Tuesday.
![[Boxes of Cheerios cereal are displayed on a shelf at a market in California. Popular US breakfast cereal Cheerios is a drug, at least if the claims made on the label by its manufacturer General Mills are anything to go by, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said. (AFP)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/cheerios_drug.jpg "cheerios_drug.jpg")
Cheerios labels claim that eating the cereal can help lower bad cholesterol, a risk factor for coronary heart disease, by four percent in six weeks.
Citing a clinical study, the product labels also claim that eating two servings a day of Cheerios helps to reduce bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, the FDA letter says.
Those claims indicate that Cheerios -- said by General Mills to be the best-selling cereal in the United States -- is intended to be used to lower cholesterol and prevent, lessen or treat the disease hypercholesterolemia, and to treat and prevent coronary heart disease.
"Because of these intended uses, the product is a drug," the FDA concluded in its letter.
Not only that, but Cheerios is a new drug because it has not been "recognized as safe and effective for use in preventing or treating hypercholesterolemia or coronary heart disease," the FDA said.
That means General Mills may not legally market Cheerios unless it applies for approval as a new drug or changes the way it labels the small, doughnut-shaped cereal, the FDA said.
General Mills defended the claims on Cheerios packaging, saying in a statement that Cheerios' soluble fiber heart health claim has been FDA-approved for 12 years, and that its "lower your cholesterol four percent in six weeks" message has been featured on the box for more than two years.
The FDA's quibble is not about whether Cheerios cereal is good for you but over "how the Cheerios cholesterol-lowering information is presented on the Cheerios package and website," said General Mills.
"We look forward to discussing this with FDA and to reaching a resolution."
Meanwhile, the FDA warned in its letter that if General Mills fails to "correct the violations" on its labels, boxes of Cheerios could disappear from supermarket and wholesaler shelves around the United States and the company could face legal action.
According to General Mills, one in eight boxes of cereal sold in the United States is a box of Cheerios. The cereal debuted on the US market in 1941.
80 Comments so far
Show AllI, like some other commentators, am surprised to read so many people defending Cheerios. Just because lots of people grew up eating it and associate it with, hopefully, childhood and home does not presto-magico! turn it into good food. It's crap food.
Does anyone seriously believe that any meaningful volume of people who buy Cheerios follow the eating guidelines that promise a 4% reduction in cholesterol? Did everyone read the whole article?!! The Cheerios label says you have to eat two servings a day. Is that healthy, two servings? So if you want to MAYBE achieve an incremental reduction in cholesterol, change your whole diet (the label tells you to watch your fats, follow diet guidelines all day long), are disciplined in the change then maybe you get a tiny reduction in cholesterol. And this claim does not address the damage done to the human body eating the crap junk cereal, two servings.
Sugar costs the body more energy for the body to digest it than any nutritive value of the sugar. What Cheerios very marginally achieves in fiber benefit (remember you have to change all your food choices to get the 4% and eat two servings, which, gee, might sell more junk cereal. . .could the company be motivated to sell MORE with this advice?!!). . .
I think the FDA does a lousy job but this is a rare instance of FDA doing something right. It is high time we stopped feeding humans expensive, manufacturer, highly-packaged food with goddess knows how many carbon miles in every bowl. . .
For once, FDA doing something good.
They can still sell Cheerios. Just stop the carney hokum and stop advertising medical/health benefits that are not, not realistically, possible.
Has Cheerios ever funded a rigorous, random-access, controlled scientific study to measure the benefits they claim? If so, the FDA would let them put the claim on the box. Obviously they protest because there is no scientific 'proof' of their scientific claims. And for anyone still reading, guess what folks, the Cheerios health claims are scientific statements, misleading.
Yeah, sure, there are lots more bad guys, lots more junk to get off the shelves. But stop the romantic, old-days fantasy that Cheerios is good for you because your mom gave it to you when you were six.
This type of stuff is just more fodder for the 'get Guv-mint off our backs' folks. Way to go FDA.
TV- The plug in Drug. The line between food/drugs has always been a fuzzy one. Foods have physiological effects. The big bullies at FDA are just pissed that GM is muscling in on a little piece of their Big Pharma action.
Michael Pollan is pleased that the FDA is cracking down on unsubstantiated health claims made by big companies like Cheerios/General Mills:
http://www.alternet.org/environment/140029
That was my take on this story as well. I thought it was a good thing that the FDA was hassling Cheerios. Unless there has been a controlled study, they shouldn't be able to make the claim that their product reduces cholesterol. That's a different statement than, "I am glad people take pills to combat cholesterol rather than doing it with changes in diet" which is not what I am saying.
The Pollan article is well worth reading. It is not focused on the Cheerios issue.
The FDA makes no claim that these advertising claims are accurate or inaccurate. Certainly it does not claim that oats -- the "
active ingredient" here -- are not a food.
So the claim seems to be that anyone who claims that a food treats any medical condition must treat the food as a drug, regardless of the accuracy of its claims.
It's time to strangle this pharmacy lobby.
Jeevee
THE FDA ITSELF IS SO CORRUPT THAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THROWN OUT OF GOVERNMENT MANY DECADES AGO.
Hahahahahahahaha!!!!
I know everyone is mad about their Cheerios, but SaboCat is right! It's the labeling folks. I remember a few years ago, a guy developed a fabulous, nutritious bread with all top grains and whole food ingredients, no short-cuts. the FDA made life hell for him because he advertised his bread as being able to cure various disorders....which was proven by people who ate his bread for years before he went public with it. He was finally forced to take his bread off the market. The FDA is all about regulation and money. They are not about health and truth and taste and all that other good stuff.
If you claim your simple cereal reduces cholesterol, then you're competing with drugs like Lipitor and Big Pharma will stop you. That simple. FDA is in the pockets of Big Pharma.
And by the way SaboCat....EPA is not that sacrosanct. EPA doesn't protect the environment, they sell out to BigLumber, Developers, BigCorporations, etc. Otherwise, why do we have whole towns dying of cancer from some big Corps. run-off.
Don't eat anythng you've seen advertizing for, or has a fancy labeling with health claims, or has more than 5 ingredients - especially if thoes ingredents can't be found on a store shelf.
The FDA is paid to protect the corporate pharmaceutical market.
We all know this is about selling more cholesterol reducing pills.
Lets move on please.
No, it is about deceptive corporate advertizing.
The FDA indees lags in a lot of things when corporate interests are affected, but in this case they are doing the right thing for once.
TV is a drug to make you stupid but its not posted on the box? Why is everyone here arguing? TV?
GET OUT OF THE BOX!!!
FDA is crazy and US government is being run by morons who are "Faute de lecture"
Samuel Johnson referred, disparagingly, to this in his dictionary definition for oats:
A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
To which his biographer, James Boswell is said to have retorted
Which is why England is known for its horses and Scotland for its men.
This is all supremely stupid. What the ads say is, in fact, correct -- that Cheerios, as part of a healthy, balanced diet, will result in lower cholesterol and thereby reduced risks to one's heart. This isn't so hard to understand. We are stuck with having to actually use common sense when it comes to our diets. If you eat a bowl of Cheerios with lowfat milk, it is much healthier for your heart than eating a couple slices of buttered toast or a danish. If you want to lose weight, you will have to consume fewer calories. If you want to improve your general health, you will have to get up out of your chair and start exercising.
Kellogg's Corn Flakes were first marketed as a cure for masturbation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg#Views_on_sexuality
There's my immature and semi-relevant comment for today.
Oh noes! I'll never be able to slice a banana over my Corn Flakes again!
· Yr Obd't Servant
Actually read the link, actually.
The man was a nut ... a flake, and a physician to boot whose adult patients and their children must have suffered terribly with his insane ideas on sexuality [acid on the clitoris and circumcision on boys without anesthesia?]. Yet those views about onism/masturbation and what were considered unhealthy sexual "perversions" were held by many. My own Dad, who was very liberal on many things, referred to Kraft-Ebbing's studies on sexuality and its various "perversions." My mother was disgusted with the thought of French kissing. Tongues? Yech!
Likely between the guilt laid on by religions and the physicians or psychiatrists of the day, a lot of folks likely never got past the missionary position.
Sex and Violence ... the constant components of the major stories of humankind since time began.
Cheerio!
/cm
Um... did you think I was actually subscribing to the notion that Corn Flakes actually prevent masturbation??
That might be the silliest debate anyone has ever picked with me.
No, actually. Don't know how you read that from what I wrote.
You just provided a link which I found fascinating and horrifying all at once. It's Kellogg, M.D., who was nutzed up, and that's why I thought you supplied the link about corn flakes.
No debate.
peace, cm
Ok. My apologies, I thought you were accusing me of posting something I had not bothered to read.
That was just background info into WHY the man created cereal that would "cure masturbation". Sylvester Graham of Graham Cracker fame invented his product for the same reason. Google "graham cracker masturbation" and you'll find something about it.
The FDA was ever so corrupt ever since they approved of aspartame and yet partially banned stevia. Cassandra and Ailith are correct. We need to get rid of the FDA. I would add that we really need to rebuild it and bring back the good food regulations and throw out the bad ones.
**********
""""Food Item: GENERAL MILLS, Cheerios
Food Quantity: 1 cup
Carbs: 22g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7g
Net Carbs: 19.3g
Cheerios, Diet & Weight Loss
Although many cereals have vitamins added, many cereal-brands typically contain refined carbohydrates. These refined carbs are digested quite fast and may contribute to spikes in blood sugar levels, causing appetite swings and food cravings. The negative effects of these "refined carbs" are one reason why so many obesity patients are turning to low carb diets for improved health and weight control. (A low carb weight loss plan is a ketogenic type diet which puts the body into ketosis, and burns fat by a process known as gluconeogenesis.)
For more details about carbs in cereal, see below.
Cheerios, Blood Glucose, Glycemic Index
With the exception of bran-based and wholegrain cereal, most breakfast cereals (like Cheerios) are typically quite high on the glycemic index. Which means they raise blood glucose levels quite fast. The health risks of high glycemic food - when eaten to excess over time - include a higher risk of Hyperinsulimia, and Insulin Resistance, leading to Diabetes. Note also the twin phenomena: Diabesity & Metabolic Syndrome (also called Insulin Resistance Syndrome).
For best glucose metabolism and to reduce the risk of insulin resistance and obesity from refined carbs, increase your intake of wholegrain cereal (eg. oat-based brands) or any bran-type breakfast cereal.""""
************************************
That was from:
http://www.carbs-information.com/cereal/carbs-cheerios.htm
Cherrios is a carbohydrate based cereal that everytime some one eats it the blood glucose spikes, then the pancreas starts dumping insulin into the body. Insulin in the effort to control blood sugar in the body creates all sorts of bad accumulative effects on the body. Besides what is listed in the above segment insulin stores sugar as fat, fat as fat all through the body making is that sneaky little thing that keeps a lot of people on the road of obesity and vascular problems.
What this governmental announcement really is is a government approval of cherrios as a 'healthy' food which in turn will be done for other cereal 'manufacturer's' products. But hey, do you have a gage or meter to determine what this american corporation is really putting in that box? I would have to be starving and eaten all the dirt around me before I would eat cherrios.
Milk is considered a 'perfect' food even though it has been pasturized, homogenized and stripped down to 2% fat. I really would like to see someone perform a test with milk by only allowing a person to drink it for their meals 3 times a day, say 12oz., for 6 months. I bet they won't make it.
General Mills switched all their cereals to whole grain a couple years ago, so they're not longer the same kind of 'refined' carbohydrate. But I prefer Kashi...always has been whole grain, and always will.
Can we please have Universal Healthcare HR676? This Cheerios story is all just more government filler. We need to focus on just a few issues at a time. We really need to make sure HR676 or something similar is made policy. It is more important to more Amerikans than closing Gitmo, bailing out banks and auto manufactures at this stage of the game, and more important than whether or not Israel grants a two state solution, or whether Korea or Iran has nukes. The healthcare debate is at front and center, and won't be for long, and won't be for a long time to come. We have to do it right THIS time@!!!!
Heaven forbid that we should actually eat FOOD to improve our health.
Just Say No... To Cheerio
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
I didn't read all the comments, but I'm thinking that maybe this 'healthy diet' stuff - including eating high-fibre diets - is cutting into Big PHarma's profits, and that they're the ones who complained to the FDA...
armybrat - I think you've hit the nail on the head.
can it cure porcluenza?
oh, vdb, lmao!!! good one, thanks for that!
OK, I've long thought that Lucky Charms are a gateway drug.
Not so much the toasty little "o"s of oats.
However, I absolutely loathe and detest Cheerios teevee ads, which pop up about every ten minutes; they have about nineteen different varieties, each with its own annoying commercial.
They're pitched to the target demographic who apparently identifes with Bob 'n Betty Schlub, a warm 'n wonderful bantering Amerikan couple just like you and me-- including their obsession with health and nutrition.
When I see Mr. Schlub sitting on the porch saying crap like, "My doctor wants me to control my cholesterol-- but I wasn't ready to give up good taste!" I grab the remote control lest my gagging and retching reach a point of no return.
Talk about toxic! There's such a thing as MENTAL health too, after all.
And don't get me started on that creepy Nasonex "bee"!
· Yr Obd't Servant
My doctor tells me I have borderline cholesterol levels with very low HDL (the good cholesterol).
I tell him I don't want to take drugs for the rest of my life.
He tells me to loose weight, do aerobic exercise and drink 4 ounces of red wine every day.
Is wine a drug?
The FDA needs to work for the people not corporations.
And eat scrambled eggs on whole wheat toast.
Over the last several decades, there have been only two dry cereals that are healthy to eat: grape nut flakes, and post shredded wheat. These are the only dry cereals that don't contain any sugar and that are not highly processed. Go ahead and cherish your Cheerios, but don't call it healthy.
When will the FDA do the necessary studies on marihuana to, "recognize as safe and effective for use in..."??
Screw the FDA; Cheerios is a healthy food that taste good and has been around almost as long as the FDA. The basic ingredients have been around since the dawn of time; can't have the drug reps competing with that! Cheerios is far superior to using Zocor, Lipitor, etc to help with lowering cholesterol, which is why I eat the cereal. The FDA is overstepping it boundries and not helping the general public at all. Leave my Cheerios alone!
Their problem isn't the product, it is the sensationalist labeling. That's all.
smipypr
I love the diet pill fine print - not evaluated by the FDA. One way to start the switch from label watchdog to standards enforcement would be to giver the FDA a budget that would enable the agency to actually run the tests needed to evaluate the label claims. Public perception also needs a tune-up - and that may be impossible, given the fact that basic science education is so screwed up. People will buy anything that says Fast, Now, Sexy, New (and or) Improved, Clinical....and never read the fine print. Big Agriculture has already perverted the meaning of organic. The FDA requires rBST-free cheese to have a label indicating "there is no difference" between juiced-up cheese or dairy products, and the non-juiced products. Yikes!
Texas, and possibly other states, have laws on the books forbidding "food disparagement". Even Saint Oprah got sued for having a show about hamburgers.
"The FDA requires rBST-free cheese to have a label indicating "there is no difference" between juiced-up cheese or dairy products, and the non-juiced products."
Yikes!
Their research show that. Can you show the opposite is true?
If you think we would be better off without an FDA, then I assume you believe that we will also be better off abolishing the EPA and State environmental agencies too, right?
A re-reading of Sinclair's "The Jungle" may be on order.
Isn't the requirement "there is no noticeable difference?"
According to nutritionists, the following foods help lower cholesterol: cereals with oat or flaxseed; wholegrain cereals; fruits such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, citrus fruits and apples; pecans, walnuts, and olives; beans, peas, and lentils; foods made from soy; and olive oil. I'm sure there are others, but when are we going to see commercials that discuss high cholesterol, then say, "Ask your doctor about..." and name the foods that can lower your cholesterol naturally? Is the FDA going to target these foods, too, calling them 'drugs'?
Hell, I eat 4 of those pretty much daily. Know any other people over 400 lbs. with a cholesterol level of 170?
Oatbran cereal is particularly effective; FDA, leave my natural, good tasting food alone. I don't want you to screw those up too!
Does this mean Cheerios will be forced to place 2-page ads in magazines and newspapers, warning the public of possible side effects?
Sounds like leftovers from the Am-Bushed Administration. The claim that Cheerios is a drug is of couse absurd. What ingredients are in a Cherrio? A little wheat, some sugar, and water? How can you make a drug out of that? What makes a drug a drug is not what it does but what it is made of, primarily unnatural substances. If Cheerios is a drug, then so is water. They're up to something very, very devious.
One of my daughters works for GM in Minneapolis as do her two sisters' husbands. GM is an excellent and progressive company. They offer advancement opportunities, good wages and benefits, on-site daycare and preschool, sponsor 5k runs, community activities, etc. The list is too long to mention. All three of them love working there.
Now you don't suppose someone has a childish grudge against a corporation like this, do you? Or maybe I'm just a paranoid lefty.
I am stunned that so many people are siding with a junk-cereal manufacturer!
All the FDA is stating is that if General Mills is going to make the open claim that the cereal it manufactures will specifically lower you chloesterol 4 percent in 6 weeks, then it is in fact a "drug" for the treatment of a condition Therefore, they need to provide the evidence of it's safety and efficacy. Or, more easily, they simply need to change their labeling to something less misleading.
Everyone recognizes that oat bran helps reduce chlosterol, but there are better sources than processed junk cereal made by a big corporation.
As far as drug regulation, while I don't think anything harmless should be banned, it does need to be labeled that there is no evidence of benefit for a lot or "alternative" drugs and practices. There are a lot of quacks and charlatians out there. I am unfortunately married to a vitamin ahd "alternative" medecine addict. Between the expensive vitimins, herbal drugs, herbal teas, the chirporacters, chinese herbalists, accupuncturists, 100% organic raw-food diet, 100% pure reverse-osmosis water, vast amounts of kombucha tea... our home finances are in shambles, and her vague, non-specific health complaints - aches, pains, digestive problems (which are probably largely a somataform disorder which she is in denial of) get no better.
sabocat, perhaps your wife feels truly unwell and is trying to find answers from those who would do her much less harm (if any at all) than would conventional medicine with their drug poisons. the fact that your finances are in shambles indicates that perhaps you should take over the bill-paying or that she might be buying things to fill an empty void within; clearly she lacks your support from the tone of your post. don't be so quick to write her off as a nutjob with your psycho-babble.
there are quacks and charlatans in every field. and there are excellent practitioners in every field as well. i suppose you think only allopathic physicians should be given credence.
re: labeling. the fda already mandates what you suggest. go take a look at one of your wife's herbal medicines (not "drugs," more like food in most cases) to prove so.
traditional medicine has been with us for a lot longer than conventional doctors, the AMA, the FDA, the EPA, and all their shady politicization of our health freedoms. check out the german monographs to see how many studies have been done on herbs and their healing qualities. and we think we're the superpower. bs, for sure.
I was trinking along the same lines....
First, in an overly litigeous society, if someone binged on Cheerios, or was even recommended to by a doctor, then when something goes wrong, all sorts of people can get sued.
Second, I always cynically get the feeling that depts like the FDA like this kind of control. They regulate drugs, whatever that means. And this is a big loophole, and must have motivated at least a few key people in the dept.
Third, and most importantly, what would this precedent do for the (non-BigPharma) homeopathic treatments? Of course, there is a lot of crap out there that people can consume... but there are also natural cures for all sorts of things, do we want them regulated in the same way? do we want the FDA to reclassify zinc, make it as expensive as arthritis medicine, and only sold by the drug companies? Do we want hospitals to push drugs over healthy food? If a pickle will cure heartburn better then zantac, but the hospital is under contract with merk, how would anyone find out that they can spend $3 on a jar of pickles rather than $12 on a bottle of pills...
I rather agree with the angry old fellow. While General Mills promotes more than their share of true junk, I have no problem with them advertising the proven health benefits of whatever good things they sell. If only we could also depend on them to be equally forthcoming with any known risks or deficiencies of their product! It is truly tragic how capitalism forever drives people to bad faith actions.
After many years of sincere-amatuer-level study and observation, a skeptical approach, and substantial formal training in the sciences, I would like to offer advice to your sweetie.
1)Unless you binge on poisons, it is daily habits that matter, and not the teensy particulars.
2) An unsatisfying (and probably shorter!) life is guaranteed for someone who insists on eating perfectly.
3) Continuously but gently promote items that you know are nutritious into your daily diet, and give yourself time and repeated opportunity to prepare and enjoy them. Do the reverse for known bad items.
4) Don't worry at all about the occasional meal at the home of a less enlightened friend, or at any venue where you cannot control the menu. If the social situation somehow demands it, take polite-sized samples of things you nutritionally eschew, and do your best to enjoy them. It's no biggie if you normally eat well!
5) Substitute oatmeal cookies for shortbreads as a rule; but really, is it not worth something to enjoy mom's holiday shortbreads once more before she dies?
6) Buy 'organic' if all else is equal, and even if it is a small fraction unequal, but don't think that all the 'traditionally grown' lettuce is junk.
7) Nutritional supplements are required for optimum health, but their is a lot of misinformation. Consider that NOBODY who has money at stake keeps livestock without deliberate supplementation to their diet. Nutrition has grown very complicated, with many proven nutrients available only through supplements. Largely because of the AMA's profit-laden traditional hatred for nutrtional therapy and disease prevention, the science of nutrition remains an area of massive misinformation.
8) Blood tests are a must for optimum health, interpreted by a reputable nutritionist or a group like the Life Extension Foundation. Unfortunately, these professionals almost always have a financial stake in you buying supplements, so one must be skeptical and do a lot of personal research to really be on top of things.
Just my opinions...
Of all the name brand cereals out there, Cheerios has fewer junk ingredients than most. AND, the store brands have even less. Take a look at the side effects of most cholesterol lowering drugs. I'll take Cheerios or Newman's "Sweet Enough" honey oats cereal anytime. Want to load your body with manufactured chemicals...enjoy yourself.
Incidentally, sounds like your mate is a bit overboard. I'm a vegetarian, but not a fanatic about much, except the poisons of hydrogenated oil and HFCS. Organic?.....who the hell knows any longer....
Yes, and it is fine for the package to state that it contains oats which are part of a healthy diet to lower chlosterol, but they are mking a specific claim.
Me, I havent had any kind of box cereal in my home for years. Oatmeal porrige is tastier, healthier and cheaper.
Isn't it nice how that works! Even on a dark January morning, hours from an open store, one can toss in some fruit or nuts to their oatmeal, and start the day with a delicious, inexpensive and satisfying dietary foundation that require only simple storage techniques. Sometimes, all the technical complexities really do reduce to what Grandma already told us. ...Not always, though.
But if the oats lower Cholesterol , then it a drug and the FDA needs to regulate it.
Whatever is in Cheerios, this is the Basis of the claims by the FDA.
No, read the article again. It is the label that is the issue.
This is a logical extension of our drug-based approach to health. If it helps you, then it MUST BE a drug.
Joe
The FDA is so far out of line that I find myself supporting reactionary policies to strangle its money supply. They never quit on trying to make vitamins obtainable only by prescription (the AMA surely loves that one!), and it appears they want to make anyone who claims that their product contains vitamins also be subject to their tightening noose. So, I suppose if I say that the vitamin C in my oranges cures scurvy, my oranges are a drug? This is so ridiculous that it does not even merit debate!
Like everything in capitalist society, the FDA cannot help but be polluted, despite their stated noble aims. If you want a society marked by universal peace, sustainability, equality and affluence - including quality medical care unsoiled by profit motives, you want communism. To get there, we must build the party that can lead organized labor in revolution against imperialist rule. There is no other formula to get there, and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.
The FDA needs to be done away with...who do they work for? Not for me, that is for sure...all of this bueracracy is out of hand...the government needs to be greatly reduced...we need to stand up and fire the jackals. I want to be a freeman...not a slave.
Repent.Unite.Resist.
Yup, let the forces of free enterprise decide what is good for us!
OMG! I've been on drugs ALL MY LIFE!! And it was my own mother who pushed me through that gateway onto the slippery slope! Oh, I've done it all: rice, wheat, beans... For a while, I even cooked my own granola. But I always--ALWAYS!--come back to Cheerios. In fact, I think it's time for another spoonful, spoonful, spoonful...
Any guesses on how long before we'll see a study of the "safety and effectiveness" of high-fructose corn syrup??
If Cheerios is now a drug, does that mean that people can go to jail for possession?
Nah, Cheerios is just another "gateway drug" - like white sugar and Television.
That's why they put those little trays on high-chairs so kids can start early.
Perhaps we can classify all foods with high nutritional value as "performance enhancing" drugs and treat them like steroids.
don't give them any ideas.
Anyone who thinks the FDA can be reformed is probably suffering from Mad Cow disease.
Yep, and we need to abolish the EPA too!
Unless you've taken some of their favorite brain tweeking antidepressants - then you are just Mad as a Hatter.
Incredible that Cheerios is under the microscope but Tylenol and Claritin are sold over the counter with the plethora of side effects. It’s no wonder that Pfizer and other such pharmaceutical giants are next in line to control the U.S, move over banking industry, auto industry, credit card industry and oil industry make way for the super giant of drugs.
Because the FDA has nothing more significant to focus on...
Uh huh, and they STILL won't regulate tobacco.
Think inside the box, inside the pill, the drug...
Be safely tucked into the corporate womb.
'Hush little baby don't you cry...'
Mama's here now.
or perhaps they did finally send the check, and are getting an advertising boost.
We watch and listen to BIG PHARMA push drugs on TV 24/7 with side effects that would choke a horse, but, basically, Cheerios says that's it's good for you on it's label and the FDA (bought and paid for by BIG PHARMA) calls it a drug. Someone at Cheerios forgot to send the check, eh?
Sioux Rose
ANGRY: I nominate you for the "Howard Biel Award," right-on satirical analysis!
I watched and listened to BIG PHARMA push drugs on TV 24/7 and that's why I unpluged the corporate propaganda box years ago.
Why do our elected officials 'protect' us from rolled oats but coverup the killing of entire towns like Libby Montana (or Bhopal)?
They don't. The DOJ was the prosecutor, not defendant, in the Libby case.
And they aren't against the cereal, just the misleading labeling.
The only technical justification for calling Cheerios a drug is the refined sugar that it contains is a drug. Perhaps the manufacturer should discontinue sugaring the mix and tell the FDA to take a hike.
I think their "justification" is in the way it's marketed. It's BS, but if Cheerios says it cures something, that makes it a drug. I agree, refined sugar is poison. They could easily replace it with raw sugar or real honey, but then they would piss off the sugar lobby, eh?