The Chocolate War

korby

yes i been trying to change my diet, but its addictive. iwish i could quit smokes

redrock

If it's not just cocoa, cocoa butter, a bit of sugar and maybe cream, it is NOT chocolate.... OK.. you can add some nuts if you want too...

This is a subject close to my heart (and tummy!! )

Scubascott

catefrances wrote:

i know scott. that was the most difficult thing to give up.

I didn't know Kraft was owned by a tobacco company. Which one? And why does it matter? I don't really think that buying vegemite could help to sell smokes. Could it?

Jeanie

Scubascott wrote:

I didn't know Kraft was owned by a tobacco company. Which one? And why does it matter? I don't really think that buying vegemite could help to sell smokes. Could it?

Phillip Morris owns Kraft to the best of my knowledge Scott.

They tell you all about it on the Aussie Might jar.

And I gave up Vegemite for a time because of it.

But seeing as how I'm back smoking, and seeing as how most of the big supermarket chains are paid premium for product placement, Aussie Might is really hard to get around me, and Phillip Morris are getting my dollars anyway.

It's worth getting the Buy Aussie booklet and finding out who owns what.

You'd be surprised just who you are funding with a simple trip to the supermarket.

catefrances

Scubascott wrote:

I didn't know Kraft was owned by a tobacco company. Which one? And why does it matter? I don't really think that buying vegemite could help to sell smokes. Could it?

it doesn't help sell smokes scott. but i will not support the tobacco industry by giving a tobacco company my money. fuck them. smoking kills. they know it. the governments know it. where is the duty of care? nothing is done aside from a few public health notices. as if that makes a difference. they diversify so people don't know that they're supporting a tobacco company. sneaky bastards. my children are now adept at spotting brands owned by tobacco companies. sometimes they grumble but overall they miss nothing. it's a personal choice.

Ahnimus

chocolate companies should be taxed for causing obesity.

It should cost you addicts $9/bar.

korby

enough about quitting smoking. i aint doin it. haha. as far as these corporations feedus garbage in the food. well... lol, dont support thier products i guess and they will have to change practices. when these ceo;s doing whatever they want with no regard to harming others, they should be held accountable for thier actions .

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

chocolate companies should be taxed for causing obesity.

It should cost you addicts $9/bar.

well ryan that is stupid. i love chocolate and i can give it up if i so please, so i am not an addict. and i am not obese, so screw that idea.

Jeanie

I'm quite sure there has been huge amounts of research done into obesity and the obesity gene these last few years.

Not to mention all the reasearch done on the health benefits of chocolate.

Saying that chocolate should be taxed to ward off obesity is uninformed an oversimplification of the situation and pandering to stereotypes.

As to fake chocolate, well I think we have more than enough "fake food" in this world. I'd never want fake chocolate.

I also think we should all be more aware of the way in which the cocao bean is harvested by child slave labor.

Scubascott

catefrances wrote:

it doesn't help sell smokes scott. but i will not support the tobacco industry by giving a tobacco company my money. fuck them. smoking kills. they know it. the governments know it. where is the duty of care? nothing is done aside from a few public health notices. as if that makes a difference. they diversify so people don't know that they're supporting a tobacco company. sneaky bastards. my children are now adept at spotting brands owned by tobacco companies. sometimes they grumble but overall they miss nothing. it's a personal choice.

I don't know about that. To be honest it sounds a bit illogical to me. Ok, fair enough if you're opposed to tobacco smoking and the companies that distribute tobacco. Regardless of how you feel about smoking being a choice that people make, and the fact that most smokers actually quite enjoy smoking, I don't understand how it makes a difference to boycott food brands that are owned by the same corporation. Its not like the profits from the food sales are used to promote smoking, because its illegal to advertise tobacco products. So how does it help? (I don't smoke by the way)

catefrances

Scubascott wrote:

I don't know about that. To be honest it sounds a bit illogical to me. Ok, fair enough if you're opposed to tobacco smoking and the companies that distribute tobacco. Regardless of how you feel about smoking being a choice that people make, and the fact that most smokers actually quite enjoy smoking, I don't understand how it makes a difference to boycott food brands that are owned by the same corporation. Its not like the profits from the food sales are used to promote smoking, because its illegal to advertise tobacco products. So how does it help? (I don't smoke by the way)

buying products owned by tobacco companies IS supporting the tobacco industry.the parent company is a tobacco company. it's not a difficult concept to understand.

redrock

Jeanie wrote:

I also think we should all be more aware of the way in which the cocao bean is harvested by child slave labor.

Not all.. but yes, be aware... not only that, but also that mega corporations are giving a fair salary/price for the work/products. By Fair Trade when you can, whether it's chocolate, fruit, coffee, sugar, etc. Ethical buying is not always easy but do what you can...

Jeanie

Scubascott wrote:

I don't know about that. To be honest it sounds a bit illogical to me. Ok, fair enough if you're opposed to tobacco smoking and the companies that distribute tobacco. Regardless of how you feel about smoking being a choice that people make, and the fact that most smokers actually quite enjoy smoking, I don't understand how it makes a difference to boycott food brands that are owned by the same corporation. Its not like the profits from the food sales are used to promote smoking, because its illegal to advertise tobacco products. So how does it help? (I don't smoke by the way)

Sorry scott, I know this wasn't directed at me, but I did just want to tell you about me.
I quit smoking in 2000. One of the motivating factors for me, aside from the health ones, was that I was really mad at myself for giving money to big business organizations that have lied and connived. I wanted to not be supporting them financially. I also wanted to improve my health. And I wanted to not be contributing to the environmental nightmare that is smoking.
Not funding them was a very big motivator for me.

When I discovered that by buying cheese slices or Vegemite I was still funding the very organizations that I had opposed, I was really pissed off.
And I stopped buying all Kraft products.

I confess to purchasing Vegemite since I started smoking again, but believe me, when I quit smoking the Vegemite is going too.

Ahnimus

catefrances wrote:

well ryan that is stupid. i love chocolate and i can give it up if i so please, so i am not an addict. and i am not obese, so screw that idea.

Health and medical information for consumers, quality assured by the Victorian government (Australia).

Chocolate has a long history as a favoured food of many cultures, including Aztec and Mayan. Today, chocolate is considered a luxury food that should be eaten sparingly as it can contribute to migraines, acne and obesity.

Fat - varies, but generally about 30 per cent fat, of which about 50 per cent is saturated fat.
Sugars - varies, but often about 50 per cent.

Obesity
Specific foods do not cause obesity. Overeating in general, along with inactivity, are the main culprits. If a person regularly eats more food than their body needs, they will store the excess energy as body fat. Chocolate is energy dense, which means it contains high levels of kilojoules for its weight - approximately 2,200kJ per 100g.

Regularly eating energy-dense foods can be a fast way to gain excess weight, but it would be wrong to say that regularly eating chocolate will lead to obesity.

A person with a healthy diet and lifestyle can safely eat chocolate in moderation without fear of weight gain. Traditional Mexican cuisine uses dark chocolate in savoury white meat and vegetable dishes. Chocolate eaten this way has a lower energy density (which is desirable if watching your weight) because it is being ‘diluted’ by the less energy-dense vegetables and meat.
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Chocolate?OpenDocument

ok, now, the addiction

Chocolate contains a variety of substances, some of which are addictive . These include:

Sugar: Chocolate bars (as opposed to cocoa) contain large amounts of sugar.

Theobromine: This is the primary alkaloid found in cocoa and chocolate[22], and is one of the causes for chocolate's mood-elevating effects. This mild stimulant belongs to the methylxanthine family, which also includes the similar compound caffeine, with which theobromine is frequently confused.

Anandamide: An endogenous cannabinoid.

Tryptophan: An essential amino acid that is a precursor to serotonin, an important neurotransmitter involved in regulating moods.

Phenethylamine: An endogenous amphetamine. Often described as a 'love chemical'. However, it is quickly metabolized by the enzyme MAO-B, preventing significant concentrations from reaching the brain. It can cause endorphin releases in the brain.[14]

Caffeine: This stimulant is present mainly in coffee and tea. Exists in chocolate in very small amounts[22].
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate#As_an_addiction

ClimberInOz

Random chocolate fact of the day: Did you know that you can calculate the speed of light using chocolate and your microwave?

Simply take a very big slab of chocolate and trim to the size of your microwave. Remove turntable and place choc in microwave. Hit it with a few blasts for 10 seconds until it just begins to melt. The melting will occur in bands, hot spots where the microwave 'peaks' overlap. The distance between these will be 1/4 of the wavelength. So multiply the distance between the melted bands by 4, and then multiply that mumber by the frequency (written on the back of the microwave) to get the speed of light.

Then lick the microwave clean- unless of course you have the waxy imitation style chocolate...

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

ok, now, the addiction

thanks for the info ryan. but did you read my thread? i said I am not an addict and that I am not obese. i never said chocolate wasn't addictive or that it didnt cause obesity.
what was stupid is attaching such a high price to a chocolate bar. i admit i wasn't too clear on that. but now you know. and so i repeat, screw that idea.

Jeanie

redrock wrote:

Not all.. but yes, be aware... not only that, but also that mega corporations are giving a fair salary/price for the work/products. By Fair Trade when you can, whether it's chocolate, fruit, coffee, sugar, etc.

Yes, I only found out about this recently redrock. Much to my shame.
I have had Fair Trade coffee before. But I'm thinking that I'm not doing nearly enough personally to be aware of the ramifications of my purchases.
I guess I've been caught up in the environmental and health factors with regards to food as well as trying to support local manufacturing. It's a mine field each and everytime I go to the supermarket.

But I am intending very soon, to get organized a wee bit more and get myself supporting all of these things to the very best of my ability.

Ahnimus

catefrances wrote:

thanks for the info ryan. but did you read my thread? i said I am not an addict and that I am not obese. i never said chocolate wasn't addictive or that it didnt cause obesity.
what was stupid is attaching such a high price to a chocolate bar. i admit i wasn't too clear on that. but now you know. and so i repeat, screw that idea.

I know that, and I'm not addicted to smoking and my lungs are fine. Smokes shouldn't be $9/pack either.

Ahnimus

By the way a chocolate 'craving' is chocolate withdrawal.

catefrances

Ahnimus wrote:

I know that, and I'm not addicted to smoking and my lungs are fine. Smokes shouldn't be $9/pack either.

disagree. smoking kills people. there is a direct correlation betweeen the two. true not everyone who smokes dies but the numbers are enough to warrant the high price.
and as to the high price of cigarettes. it's more profits for the tobacco companies so no one will ever lower it.