In a press release last week, America's biggest retail chain, Walmart, has announced that it is going to stop selling certain unhealthy foods by 2015. Manufacturers will be forced to reformulate, or their products will be removed from all Walmart stores. At a time when governmental agencies like the Food and Drug Administration are unwilling to take any action concerning the poisonous foods that line grocery store shelves, it is refreshing to see a company filling the void.
One of Walmart's key plans is to remove all foods that contain trans fats. Trans fats are the menace that were presented as the healthy alternative to natural saturated fats, such as butter. The chemical industry has been killing us with their hydrogenated oils for too many decades to count. There are still some questions, however. For instance, the government tells us that if a product contains less than 1 gram of trans fat per serving, it doesn't exist (on labeling). Thus, if a serving size was listed as 1/4 of a teaspoon on a package of peanut butter, and it contained 0.5 grams of trans fat, it could be labeled "No Trans Fats", which is fully blessed by both the F.D.A. and its equally perverse twin, the F.T.C.. This is how the consumer manipulation game is played. With only two teaspoons, 2 grams of trans fat would be consumed, which suddenly does exist again under government regulations, if only the 'serving size' had been honest. We will have to wait and see if Walmart makes a better regulator than the government.
Another concern is that when partially hydrogenated oils are removed from products, they could be replaced with Canola oil. Canola is already being found in a large portion of foods, even those that are supposed to be healthy, and such a rule would likely lead to an unfortunate increase of its use.
Walmart also plans to reduce the sodium by 25% in some processed foods, including luncheon meats, salad dressings, and frozen meals. It is no secret that people who eat the American diet get too much sodium. While mineral-rich sea salt is needed, excessive sodium in processed foods comes in the form of monosodium glutamate, bisodium sulphate, table salt, and a range of other chemicals. These chemical industry variants of sodium are toxic because they are stripped of the buffering minerals that natural salts have.
Walmart also plans to reduce added sugar by 10 percent in dairy products and fruit drinks. Hopefully, their plans will extend to include high fructose corn syrup, rather than just sugar. It is not uncommon for parents to purchase juice under the impression that it is a healthy beverage, when in fact they are providing their children with something that is laden with chemically-processed sugars and high fructose corn syrup. The latter leads to hardening of the arteries in even the young, and it is why many of our young have worse arteries than our grandparents.
We applaud Walmart's efforts to create a healthier America. While this is only a small step in the right direction, it is something that the U.S. Government has repeatedly failed (or refused) to do. While Walmart has a bad reputation for toxic Chinese-made products, and poor employee care; they are nevertheless doing something so undeniably right in this case. Other news sites have been unwilling to report this story, because it has become politically incorrect to report anything positive about the gigantic retailer. However, they are doing more for people's health than any other large retailer that we know of. Without doubt, they are going to be taking lots of flack from powerful corporate partners and their own stock holders, for doing the right thing. We should support them, and spread the news. This is big... really big. Walmart has the power to take us a long way toward shutting down the poison companies. It is health wyze to make Walmart an ally whilst we have this monumental opportunity.
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