Activism Change

Stevia seeds?

Question:

A lot of them on the lo-carb lists think that when they cant lose weight it is because they are allergic to some food they are eating.  A lot think it is the nutrasweet (aspartame) or saccharin.  Individual reactions may occur, but aspartame is two amino acids linked together, to make formaldehyde, they have to be processed thru the liver and all organic compounds we eat go thru toxic 1,2, 3 carbon stages before being completely broken down.  aspartame is a natural product.   Ingrid If you visit a low-carb NG, it’s "Stevia" about every third post-   Monsanto’s motive in this  is purely money. They own the rights to all forms of nutrisweet, which can break down into formaldihide,

List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List for care of goldfish go to http://puregold.aquaria.net/ Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who’s to blame

Response:

<sigh *Everything* has dozens of possible side effects, including death.

There are people whose health and even lives can be seriously compromised by: wheat, tomatoes, squash, corn, milk, sugar, shellfish, potatoes, yeast… aspertame is wonderful stuff for many, many diabetics, and has serious side effects for a very small handful of people.  It has not been shown to my satisfaction to be any more dangerous thatn *any* other substance people eat.  Both my parents – type II diabetics – use it with absolutely no side effects, as do millions of others.  (Whereas my mother has had difficulties with other sugar substitutes.) Thanks for your thoughts, Hawk.  Yes, you’re right!  All sorts of things are dangerous, even supposedly healthful, natural FOODS — when taken to extremes.  (Like the old axiom that ‘everything is poison — depending on the dose.’)  Still, all natural wheat, tomatoes, squash, corn, milk, sugar, shellfish, potatoes, and yeast do not have multi- million dollar marketing campaigns behind them and collusion between a corporation that stands to profit and a government that is happy to limit public debate and — therefore — public demand.  That’s what I dislike about the Stevia root situation. Hate to be so strident about it, but I have engaged in some violent

debate before with people who beat the "Nutrasweet is deadly poison" drum.  There are people who declare that any substance that kills even one person must be outlawed – which, I assure you, would result in starvation, since there is *no* substance that does not cause harm to *someone*. Boy, after spending a few years on the internet, I understand how hooray-boo debates can sour one.  Believe me, I’m not on the prohibitionist bandwagon.  What I’m upset about is that corporations like Monsanto crow about free markets, level playing fields, an objective FDA to approve useful compounds, free flow of information, and open competition; while simultaneously enlisting the help of the FDA to squash their competition, tilt the playing field, silence important information, and tighten their grip on the market. Before you buy.

Response:

Shepherd’s Garden Seeds has Stevia rebaudiana available as a potted plant (4") for $5.95. www.shepherdseeds.com

Response:

Ditto Nichol’s for $7.95 www.gardennursery.com Sean

Response:

Monsanto’s motive in this  is purely money. They own the rights to all forms of nutrisweet, which can break down into formaldihide, and is bad for you. Stevia is a non-caloric sweetener, 100’s-1000’s times sweeter than sugar with no side effects. you won’t find any nutrisweet in japan and most of asia, it is banned there and stevia is the sweetener of choice. LIKE I SAID EARLIER THOUGH, I READ THIS ON THE INTERNET. IT WAS ON AN INVESTMENT PAGE PROFILING ETHICAL AND NONETHICAL COMPANIES FOR THOSE WHO INVEST WITH A LITTLE CONSCIENCE.

Response:

Territorial Seed Co offers it as a plant  (www.territorial-seed.com) YHR1140 Why is it on Monsanto’s hitlist?  Even if it WERE toxic, there are plenty of toxic herbs you have every right to grow in your garden! I also saw a book on it called "The Stevia Cookbook" by Ray Sahelian and Donna Gates that describes the controversy in one of my other seed catalogues. Rebecca – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Newsgroups: rec.gardens I heard that plant is on Monsanto’s hitlist, that they were lobbying congress to make it a banned plant. I sure would like to know if you can get some because i would like to try it.

Response:

If you visit a low-carb NG, it’s "Stevia" about every third post- I wasn’t sure why everyone was so gung-ho about it and why it isn’t available in the US.  (actually it is, through mail order catalogs)  Well, now I know- that is pretty disgusting…  There is a Monsanto plant right down the street from me- maybe I should protest ? ;o)  Do you have that URL for the investment page, Robert?  I’m intrigued…  ~Bethany

Monsanto’s motive in this  is purely money. They own the rights to all forms of nutrisweet, which can break down into formaldihide, and is bad for you. Stevia is a non-caloric sweetener, 100’s-1000’s times sweeter than sugar with no side effects. you won’t find any nutrisweet in japan and most of asia, it is banned there and stevia is the sweetener of choice. LIKE I SAID EARLIER THOUGH, I READ THIS ON THE INTERNET. IT WAS ON AN INVESTMENT PAGE PROFILING ETHICAL AND NONETHICAL COMPANIES FOR THOSE WHO INVEST WITH A LITTLE CONSCIENCE.

Response:

Sorry, Ann – I’m a bit sensitive to some of this stuff.  Not your fault. Comes from A) defending it to people who think it should be banned B) fighting with all kinds of medical quackery when Teresa was sick C) generally being in a very bad mood at the moment.  (Some bad advice I got here on wreck.gardens has messed up my computer and is keeping me from uploading two websites I’ve built, as well as keeping me from getting MacAfee definition updates.  I usually ignore the security paranoids, but this time I listened to one – and of course it got me in trouble.) Oh – and I hate the stuff – nastiest-tasting "sweetener" in the world.  But that Coke – the sugared, not the diet – contains, let’s see, spices, at least two of which can cause severe allergic reactions – and has an astonishingly low pH, and some folks believe that drinks containing carbon dioxide dissolved in them are dangerous. Ha!  A little bug is going to get you someday… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hawk, I didn’t beat any drum, I just plain don’t like the stuff.  My choice.  I didn’t tell anyone to not eat it.  I don’t see the point of eating anything artificial when there’s a perfectly good, normal substance that we’ve been eating for thousands of years that doesn’t do much more than taste good and make you fat.  As for the fat part, a good walk with take care of the 14 calories per teaspoon. I realize these sweeteners are  necessary for diabetics, and I’m not saying they shouldn’t have them available. Go right ahead and drown yourself in diet coke for all I care. Sheesh. — Ann, Gardening in Zone 6a Just south of Boston, MA http://www.annzoid.com

Response:

But….I do want to know, what is the FDA’s justification?  I realize it’s probably horse manure, but I would really like to know the lame excuse they actually give.  Anyone know?

Well, I’m guessing it IS horse manure.  I’m guessing that the only reason for the FDA’s attitude toward Stevia is because it would offer serious competition for Monsanto.  Here is an extract from the FDA’s alert, which seem to suggest that Stevia is being stonewalled because "information…is inadequate" on it’s toxicity.  (I’m sure the FDA has put their top man on that toxicology research!)  Also note how the information here would be enough to excite any sugar substitute CONSUMER, if not PRODUCER.  This information is available in full on the FDA Web site (www.fda.gov): REASON FOR ALERT : Stevia leaves are a native product in Brazil and Paraguay. The extract, stevioside, has reportedly been approved for use in foods in Brazil and Japan. The product is used in these countries as a table-top sweetener in virtually all food commodities and as a flavor enhancer in such products as teas. Stevioside is reportedly 250-300 times sweeter than sugar and contributes no calories to the diet. With regard to its use in foods, stevia is not an approved food additive nor affirmed as GRAS in the United States. Available toxicological information on stevia is inadequate to demonstrate its safety as a food additive or to affirm its status as GRAS… Before you buy.

Response:

I heard that plant is on Monsanto’s hitlist, that they were lobbying congress to make it a banned plant.

Monsanto manufactures (and holds patents for) aspartame, which has dozens of possible side effects, including (no kidding) death.  It is marketed as a sugar substitute for diabetics.  Stevia root, on the other hand, has the similar sweetness with extremely low calories, and with no corresponding risky side effects.  It has been used by indigenous tribes for aeons. It is already against federal law to market stevia root as a sugar substitute.  This means you can write book after book about how stevia root is low calorie, very sweet, likely a less-risky sweetener than aspartame, etc.  But if you actually try to do some practical promotional literature for stevia, you can be fined by the U.S. gov’t and have your cookbooks and promo literature seized and destroyed. This happened to the Stevita Company of Texas a few years ago.  They were contacted by an FDA compliance officer and told that they would have to destroy all their marketing materials and stop marketing Stevia as a sweetener.  So much for freedom of speech. Before you buy.

Response:

Hate to be so strident about it, but I have engaged in some violent debate before with people who beat the "Nutrasweet is deadly poison" drum.  There are people who declare that any substance that kills even one person must be outlawed – which, I assure you, would result in starvation, since there is *no* substance that does not cause harm to *someone*.

Hawk, I didn’t beat any drum, I just plain don’t like the stuff.  My choice.  I didn’t tell anyone to not eat it.  I don’t see the point of eating anything artificial when there’s a perfectly good, normal substance that we’ve been eating for thousands of years that doesn’t do much more than taste good and make you fat.  As for the fat part, a good walk with take care of the 14 calories per teaspoon.   I realize these sweeteners are  necessary for diabetics, and I’m not saying they shouldn’t have them available. Go right ahead and drown yourself in diet coke for all I care. Sheesh. — Ann, Gardening in Zone 6a Just south of Boston, MA http://www.annzoid.com

Response:

I heard that plant is on Monsanto’s hitlist, that they were lobbying congress to make it a banned plant. Monsanto manufactures (and holds patents for) aspartame, which has dozens of possible side effects, including (no kidding) death.  

I call it nutra-death.  I’ve never liked the stuff, and won’t eat it in anything.  Just because.  Gimme pure, white and deadly real sugar. It is already against federal law to market stevia root as a sugar substitute.  This means you can write book after book about how stevia root is low calorie, very sweet, likely a less-risky sweetener than aspartame, etc.  But if you actually try to do some practical promotional literature for stevia, you can be fined by the U.S. gov’t and have your cookbooks and promo literature seized and destroyed. This happened to the Stevita Company of Texas a few years ago.  They were contacted by an FDA compliance officer and told that they would have to destroy all their marketing materials and stop marketing Stevia as a sweetener.  So much for freedom of speech.

But….I do want to know, what is the FDA’s justification?  I realize it’s probably horse manure, but I would really like to know the lame excuse they actually give.  Anyone know? — Ann, Gardening in Zone 6a Just south of Boston, MA http://www.annzoid.com

Response:

<sigh *Everything* has dozens of possible side effects, including death.  There are people whose health and even lives can be seriously compromised by: wheat, tomatoes, squash, corn, milk, sugar, shellfish, potatoes, yeast… aspertame is wonderful stuff for many, many diabetics, and has serious side effects for a very small handful of people.  It has not been shown to my satisfaction to be any more dangerous thatn *any* other substance people eat.  Both my parents – type II diabetics – use it with absolutely no side effects, as do millions of others.  (Whereas my mother has had difficulties with other sugar substitutes.) Hate to be so strident about it, but I have engaged in some violent debate before with people who beat the "Nutrasweet is deadly poison" drum.  There are people who declare that any substance that kills even one person must be outlawed – which, I assure you, would result in starvation, since there is *no* substance that does not cause harm to *someone*. Hawk http://home.att.net/~atwidner/ http://home.att.net/~atwidner/leifhome.html – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Monsanto manufactures (and holds patents for) aspartame, which has dozens of possible side effects, including (no kidding) death. I call it nutra-death.  I’ve never liked the stuff, and won’t eat it in anything.  Just because.  Gimme pure, white and deadly real sugar.

Response:

You can find stevia in the natural food stores *in the US*. It’s considered a dietary supplement, and cannot be touted as a sugar substitute. My crunchy-granola store still sells it next to the sweeteners. It’s an acquired taste, but so is aspartame. Theresa Mesa (who gets migraines-from-hell with aspartame!) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If you visit a low-carb NG, it’s "Stevia" about every third post- I wasn’t sure why everyone was so gung-ho about it and why it isn’t available in the US.  (actually it is, through mail order catalogs)  Well, now I know- that is pretty disgusting…  There is a Monsanto plant right down the street from me- maybe I should protest ? ;o)  Do you have that URL for the investment page, Robert?  I’m intrigued…  ~Bethany

Response:

1-800-852-5243  (Phone or Fax) Bluestone Perennials 7211 Middle Ridge Road Madison, OH   44057

Response:

Thanks, Dana and Theresa…  Mesa.  (Trying valiantly to not add her last name and failing ;o)  Theresa Mesa you shall always be, in my mind- your name rolls together too easily.  :o) ~Bethany

Response:

Last I looked Richters had plants. I got my cutting from a friend-ask around health food stores. Monsanto? didn’t they make agent orange? Tom There is an extra Bee in the Email address after the AOL.com

Response:

And if you live close to Westminster, California, Heard’s Country Gardens (call ‘em first–you’ll never find it on your own) carries stevia plants, as well as just about any other herb plant you’d want. Prices are a little high, but quality is excellent. Theresa Mesa – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Last I looked Richters had plants. I got my cutting from a friend-ask around health food stores. Monsanto? didn’t they make agent orange? Tom There is an extra Bee in the Email address after the AOL.com

Response:

I can buy stevia, both powdered and liquid concentrate, at my grocery store.  Of course, the cost is astronomical – $17 for about 2 oz

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If you visit a low-carb NG, it’s "Stevia" about every third post- I wasn’t sure why everyone was so gung-ho about it and why it isn’t available in the US.  (actually it is, through mail order catalogs)  Well, now I know- that is pretty disgusting…  There is a Monsanto plant right down the street from me- maybe I should protest ? ;o)  Do you have that URL for the investment page, Robert?  I’m intrigued…  ~Bethany Monsanto’s motive in this  is purely money. They own the rights to all forms of nutrisweet, which can break down into formaldihide, and is bad for you. Stevia is a non-caloric sweetener, 100’s-1000’s times sweeter than sugar with no side effects. you won’t find any nutrisweet in japan and most of asia, it is banned there and stevia is the sweetener of choice. LIKE I SAID EARLIER THOUGH, I READ THIS ON THE INTERNET. IT WAS ON AN INVESTMENT PAGE PROFILING ETHICAL AND NONETHICAL COMPANIES FOR THOSE WHO INVEST WITH A LITTLE CONSCIENCE.

Response:

https://www.orderprocessing.com/cgi-bin/Web_store/web_store.cgi?page=… http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/sweet.txt http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/stv-ej.txt INgrid I heard that plant is on Monsanto’s hitlist, that they were lobbying congress to make it a banned plant. I sure would like to know if you can get some because i would like to try it.

List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List for care of goldfish go to http://puregold.aquaria.net/ Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who’s to blame

Response:

Just did a search on amazon.com on stevia books and they got quite a list, so dont know if the hoopla is right or not. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-5377504-4420050 Ingrid I heard that plant is on Monsanto’s hitlist, that they were lobbying congress to make it a banned plant. I sure would like to know if you can get some because i would like to try it.

List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List for care of goldfish go to http://puregold.aquaria.net/ Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who’s to blame

Response:

Hi! I

Filed under: Lobbying

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