(18-12-10) General Mills cuts sugar content in children's cereals but still uses GMOs

by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) Breakfast cereal giant General Mills recently announced plans to
slightly cut the sugar content in its children's cereals in accordance with
overall pressures on major food producers to fight childhood obesity and its
related diseases by making healthier products. However the company continues to
use genetically-modified (GM) ingredients in its cereal products, as well as
corn syrup, artificial flavors, and artificial colorings -- all of which wreak
havoc on health.

Jeff Harmening, president of General Mills' Big G cereal division, told
Reuters Health in an interview that as of December 31, 2010, all General Mills
cereals marketed to children under 12 will contain ten grams of sugar or less
per serving, a one-gram drop from the 11 grams per serving they currently
contain. And although the company hopes to keep lowering the overall sugar
content over time, it says the reductions must take place incrementally in
order to keep customers from noticing the changes and switching to other
brands.

Now, this may sound like a worthy effort on behalf of General Mills, but upon
closer look, it becomes obvious that the company's cereals are still loaded
with so much other garbage that buying even the reduced-sugar varieties will
still threaten your health and the health of your children.

General Mills uses highly-refined sugars and GMOs
The types of sugars used in General Mills cereals are highly processed and
represent a significant health threat, even at reduced levels. These sugars
include refined white sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, and maltodextrin, all of
which likely come from GM sources. Most refined white sugar now used in U.S.
food products comes from sugar beets, 95 percent of which are now GM. And corn
syrup, dextrose, and maltodextrin, all come from corn, for which the vast
majority is also GM.

Does General Mills have any plans to remove these GMOs from its food products?
Hardly. Back in 2000, General Mills shareholders nearly unanimously rejected a
proposal petitioning the company to avoid using GMOs in its products until they
were proven safe. Not only did the company reject the proposal and decide to
use GMOs anyway, but it even rejected GMO labeling proposals that would have
given consumers the information they need to make informed food-buying
decisions for their children (http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financ...).

Research into the effects of GMOs has linked their consumption to sterility,
organ damage, birth defects, disruption of healthy intestinal flora, allergies,
cancer, and even genetic changes in human DNA (http://www.naturalnews.com/GMO.
html). And these are just the tip of the iceberg, as nobody truly knows the
long-term consequences of consuming these "Frankenfoods".

General Mills uses artificial food colorings and additives linked to
neurological disorders, ADHD, and cancer
Many General Mills cereals are loaded with artificial colors like yellow #5,
red #40, and blue #1. These petroleum-based coloring chemicals have been linked
to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), nervous system disorders,
and even cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/022870_a...).

The cereals also contain various artificial flavors and food preservatives
like butylhydroxytoluene (BHT), a synthetic chemical preservative linked to
allergies, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and cancer (http://www.
cosmeticsdatabase.com/in...).

General Mills cereals generally contain very little nutritional value
To be fair, General Mills was one of the first companies to adopt whole
grains, switching its entire cereal line to whole grain ingredients back in
2005 (http://www.naturalnews.com/007572_w...). But other than that, practically
every other ingredient is some sort of processed or GMO additive that does
nothing to provide the body with the nutrients it needs to maintain strength
and health. Even the added vitamins and minerals are largely synthetic, so the
body gets very little benefit from them.

This is not to say that the other mainstream cereal brands are any better.
Most of them use the same ingredients. But the point is, most mainstream
breakfast cereals -- especially those marketed to children -- contain very
unhealthy ingredients, are very highly processed, and provide very little
nutritional benefits. In conclusion, General Mills' efforts to make small
changes in sugar content are really more of a marketing ploy than an actual
concern over improving the nutritional value of its cereals.

If General Mills was really concerned about curbing obesity and improving
childhood nutrition, it would immediately remove all GMO ingredients from its
cereals. It would also cut out the artificial colors, flavors, additives, and
preservatives. It would replace the refined sugar with unprocessed sugar from
organic sources, and in significantly lower amounts than those currently used.
And it might even integrate some truly healthful superfood ingredients as well.

So before you run out and buy some General Mills cereal for its reduced sugar
content thinking that it will be healthier for your children, you might want to
think twice about the myriad of other poisons lurking in every box.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS...

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