Since I’m interested in food and ag issues, and since we’re covering the regulation of toxic substances in my environmental law course, my student sent me a link to the Times article, “Is Sugar Toxic?”. See http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html. From the article:

“It’s one thing to suggest, as most nutritionists will, that a healthful diet includes more fruits and vegetables, and maybe less fat, red meat and salt, or less of everything. It’s entirely different to claim that one particularly cherished aspect of our diet might not just be an unhealthful indulgence but actually be toxic, that when you bake your children a birthday cake or give them lemonade on a hot summer day, you may be doing them more harm than good, despite all the love that goes with it. Suggesting that sugar might kill us is what zealots do. But Lustig, who has genuine expertise, has accumulated and synthesized a mass of evidence, which he finds compelling enough to convict sugar.”

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