"Poison" butter

[jande2211]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4466728a11.html

Professor calls for tax on 'poison' butter
By DONNA CHISHOLM - Sunday Star Times | Sunday, 06 April 2008

A top public health expert is calling for a health tax on butter, saying it's "pure, natural poison" and as bad as cigarettes.

New Zealanders eat more butter per head than any other nationality and Auckland University epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson says that's why our cholesterol levels are also among the world's highest.

"We have a health tax on alcohol and cigarettes and there should be a health tax on butter. It's the most poisonous commonly consumed food in New Zealand. It's about the purest form of saturated fat you can eat and it has no protein and no calcium. Butter has had all the good things taken out and just left the poison."

Jackson was commenting ahead of this week's nationwide cholesterol testing programme being launched by the makers of Flora Pro-Activ cholesterol-lowering spread. Nurses in shopping malls will fingerprick test up to 10,000 people nationwide.

The scheme's critics say cholesterol can't be looked at in isolation as a risk factor and that the fingerprick test records only total cholesterol rather than its important components. But organisers say nurses will explain the importance of all risk factors and the aim is to get people to their GPs for a more comprehensive assessment.

New Zealanders get about 20 per cent of their saturated fat intake (and therefore bad cholesterol) from butter. We average around 8kg a year - three times as much as Australians and 16 times more than the Japanese.

Jackson says while the dairy industry had done some "fabulous" things to produce low-fat alternatives, "its one major weakness is butter". "If only they could find a nice effective process for turning butter into biofuel."

Jim Mann, professor in human nutrition at Otago University, said while a health tax on butter was a brilliant idea "it ain't going to happen - even a Labour government is never going to go there so it's not worth wasting emotional energy on."

Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor said a health tax on butter would be naive and impractical, but said butter should be eaten in moderation.

The Flora Pro-Activ programme starts tomorrow. Details of malls involved are at www.nztest.co.nz.

[kyrasdad]

Wow, what ignorance.

[mermaiden9]

I am speechless....

[LessLiz]

I never thought I'd say this but "Poison, YUM!"

[oakdryad]

So I'm wondering how much of his funding is sponsored by Flora Pro-Activ *spread.* Butter is ALWAYS better than those hydrogenated (read trans fats) vegetable oil spreads. I learned THAT at my mama's knee. :D

[bsheets]

I really hope this doesn't go any further than this article :(

[sveltecelt]

The people who have decided that butter is poison apparently ignored research that says butter is good for you>(assuming it is not full of artificial growth hormones and antibiotics).

My greatgrandfather was a farmer and lived to be 98 eating butter and fried foods (lard and butter as frying agents.) Both my grandparents lived into their 90's and were butter eaters and ate food fried in lard and butter.

That butter must be one of those slow-acting poisons! :lol:

[tom sawyer]

Nutritionists could smear butter on a chunk of lead, feed it to rats and when they died, conclude that butter was bad for the rats.

[mermaiden9]

Nutritionists could smear butter on a chunk of lead, feed it to rats and when they died, conclude that butter was bad for the rats.

LOL :lol: :lol: :lol:

[64dodger]

What rubbish.

[1000times]

New Zealanders eat more butter per head than any other nationality and Auckland University epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson says that's why our cholesterol levels are also among the world's highest.

"We have a health tax on alcohol and cigarettes and there should be a health tax on butter. It's the most poisonous commonly consumed food in New Zealand. It's about the purest form of saturated fat you can eat and it has no protein and no calcium. Butter has had all the good things taken out and just left the poison."

Jackson was commenting ahead of this week's nationwide cholesterol testing programme being launched by the makers of Flora Pro-Activ cholesterol-lowering spread.

I think Professor Jackson's statement is a most meretricious one. ;)

[Wifezilla]

:::wanders off to look up the word "meretricious":::

[1000times]

So I'm wondering how much of his funding is sponsored by Flora Pro-Activ *spread.* Butter is ALWAYS better than those hydrogenated (read trans fats) vegetable oil spreads. I learned THAT at my mama's knee. :D
FWIW, Flora Pro-Activ claims to be "virtually trans-fat free", which probably means it has about the same amount of naturally-occurring trans-fats as butter. It's probably mostly water, like most "lite" margarines, with added plant sterols to give it the cholesterol-lowering effect.

According to Wikipedia's trans-fat article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat#Australia), "margarine in Australia has been free of trans fat since 1996", so I can't see any profit-making company introducing a new hydrogenated spread with this kind of "healthful" fanfare.

[ReginaW]

...it was just a matter of time

[1000times]

:::wanders off to look up the word "meretricious":::
Great word, ain't it? Like Agent Zed telling the would-be Men In Black candidates that they're "...everything we've come to expect from years of government training."

[Squarecube]

Most New Zealand butter is made from pastured cows!!!! I go out of my way to buy when I can find it. Grrrrr.

[KvonM]

Jim Mann, professor in human nutrition at Otago University, said while a health tax on butter was a brilliant idea "it ain't going to happen - even a Labour government is never going to go there so it's not worth wasting emotional energy on."
does the word brilliant mean "absolutely ludicrous, insane, and utterly idiotic" in new zealand?

[Wifezilla]

It's not my fault I had to go to public school! LOL

(MIB rocks)

[Aynot]

:::wanders off to look up the word "meretricious":::

:lol: running to catch up to Wifezilla to hear the definition :D

I LOOOVE butter! It's my friend!

[M Levac]

Thanks jande2211


"...Auckland University epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson says..."

Eh.

Epidemiologist is the term we now use for statistical analyst. It's a technician that looks at statistics all day long. Then, he makes up hypotheses to explain the data he just looked at. Then, he provides the data, along with the hypotheses, to laboratory technicians. Those will, in turn, test the hypotheses by trying to refute them.

It seems our Professor Jackson hasn't provided the data to lab techs. If ever. Otherwise we wouldn't read about his stupidity in the papers.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics

[LessLiz]

It's butter. He doesn't feel the need to test. It's Butter!

He probably runs screaming from the room if he spies it on a table.

[Dodger]

Please ship me all the poison butter.

[daisyboo]

I think one of the happiest day's of my hubby's life was when i gave up my lowfat way of life forever and he found several blocks of the real deal butter in the fridge :lol: "flora" as in proactive is a dirty word in this house :D

[ReginaW]

New Zealanders eat more butter per head than any other nationality...

Couldn't be the 133-pounds per person each year from sugars (and sweetners) now could it?

[ruthla]

Nutritionists could smear butter on a chunk of lead, feed it to rats and when they died, conclude that butter was bad for the rats.
:lol:

Why don't they put a "health tax" on sugar and grains instead?

[64dodger]

Margarine is poison.


Do you think we will see that story?

[1000times]

Please ship me all the poison butter.
Tonight on Low-Carb Theatre:
A Far, Far Butter Thing...
"So there we were in the dairy section. There was a couple of kids, must of been no more'n 10 or 11, and they was foolin' around, the way kids will. Well, one of 'em picked up a pound of butter and lobbed it at the other one. The kid jumped, of course, an' the butter fell to the floor. We all looked at each other...except Dodger. He didn't hesitate a moment, no sir. Threw himself on the whole pound. Saved us all."

[OregonRose]

Tonight on Low-Carb Theatre:
A Far, Far Butter Thing...
"So there we were in the dairy section. There was a couple of kids, must of been no more'n 10 or 11, and they was foolin' around, the way kids will. Well, one of 'em picked up a pound of butter and lobbed it at the other one. The kid jumped, of course, an' the butter fell to the floor. We all looked at each other...except Dodger. He didn't hesitate a moment, no sir. Threw himself on the whole pound. Saved us all."

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Now that's what I call brilliant, not a health tax on butter. Sheesh.

[JAnn]

:::wanders off to look up the word "meretricious"::::lol::lol::lol: Me, too!:lol: running to catch up to Wifezilla to hear the definition :D
mer·e·tri·cious http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png
Pronunciation (http://Show%20Spelled%20Pronunciation)[mer-i-trish-uhhttp://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngs] –adjective
1.alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry.
2.based on pretense, deception, or insincerity.
3.pertaining to or characteristic of a prostitute.

Does the last definition fit? :lol: ;)

[Wifezilla]

Yes...very much :D

[renegadiab]

New Zealanders eat more butter per head than any other nationality and Auckland University epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson says that's why our cholesterol levels are also among the world's highest.


But where does NZ rank when it comes to heart disease? France & Switzerland have higher cholesterol levels than the US or UK, but lower rates of heart disease. High cholesterol doesn't equate with heart disease.

They should read Taubes' book and learn something from the Molaku islanders off NZ. As long as they stuck to their traditional diet of fish and coconut (high saturated fat) they were fine. They only started having problems when they adopted a western diet.

[Wifezilla]

Those were the Tokelau. I followed their diet for the entire month of March. It was awesome and I am still sticking pretty close to it :D

[jande2211]

Thanks jande2211


You're welcome. I'll be honest, I thought it was an April's Fool thing. :p

[jande2211]

Tonight on Low-Carb Theatre:
A Far, Far Butter Thing...
"So there we were in the dairy section. There was a couple of kids, must of been no more'n 10 or 11, and they was foolin' around, the way kids will. Well, one of 'em picked up a pound of butter and lobbed it at the other one. The kid jumped, of course, an' the butter fell to the floor. We all looked at each other...except Dodger. He didn't hesitate a moment, no sir. Threw himself on the whole pound. Saved us all."


A great American. *sniff*

[glennette]

Tonight on Low-Carb Theatre:
A Far, Far Butter Thing...
"So there we were in the dairy section. There was a couple of kids, must of been no more'n 10 or 11, and they was foolin' around, the way kids will. Well, one of 'em picked up a pound of butter and lobbed it at the other one. The kid jumped, of course, an' the butter fell to the floor. We all looked at each other...except Dodger. He didn't hesitate a moment, no sir. Threw himself on the whole pound. Saved us all."

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Thanks, best belly laugh in a long time!

[oakdryad]

FWIW, Flora Pro-Activ claims to be "virtually trans-fat free", which probably means it has about the same amount of naturally-occurring trans-fats as butter. It's probably mostly water, like most "lite" margarines, with added plant sterols to give it the cholesterol-lowering effect.

According to Wikipedia's trans-fat article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat#Australia), "margarine in Australia has been free of trans fat since 1996", so I can't see any profit-making company introducing a new hydrogenated spread with this kind of "healthful" fanfare.


I LOVE the word *virtually.* It's a total weasel word.

I've been searching the Flora Pro.activ site for actual information about the ingredients in their spreads and or the process of making them that makes them virtually trans fat free. And I can't find anything substantive.

There's a Flora Pro.activ Light, a Flora Pro.activ Extra Light and a Flora Pro.activ Olive Oil (which is the Light version *blended with olive oil*). They all claim to be enriched with plant sterols (whatever that means), but no information about WHICH oils (and which plant sterols) are used to produce them (well, except for the olive oil one...and even then, what's the percentage of OO vs other oils which may be used?). I can only assume hydrogenation, since almost no vegetable oils are sufficiently saturated to remain solid/spreadable at *room temp.*

In doing my google search, I discovered that one gentleman had issued a complaint against Flora because they claim the lowering of *bad* cholesterol within three weeks. Apparently it's against NZ's laws to do so, because the spread isn't classified as a medicine.

The company is definitely meretricious.

[oakdryad]

Tonight on Low-Carb Theatre:
A Far, Far Butter Thing...
"So there we were in the dairy section. There was a couple of kids, must of been no more'n 10 or 11, and they was foolin' around, the way kids will. Well, one of 'em picked up a pound of butter and lobbed it at the other one. The kid jumped, of course, an' the butter fell to the floor. We all looked at each other...except Dodger. He didn't hesitate a moment, no sir. Threw himself on the whole pound. Saved us all."

Dodger's my hero! Although if I'd been present, there would have been a fight for that butter. :lol: Uhuh! Don't mess with my butter!

[The Munch]

1000times --

Your posts on this thread just knocked off my [metaphorical] socks.

You know the meaning of meretricious (which definition I will not recall tomorrow -- do we get points for spelling this word correctly?).

You have mastered Ye Olde Time Radio Melodrama -- does one hear organ music in the background... or a voice over that sounds like Jack Webb.

And as a topper... your reference to Sydney Carton's last words as he goes off to sacrifice his life (sin and redemption). Talk about melodramatic denouements -- no one had anything on Dickens.

Totally off topic (but that I adore butter and will not have its virtues meretriciously maligned)... kudos to your cultural literacy and creativity. And yes... it WAS the evening's best belly laugh. Thanks!

[KiaKaha]

All I can say is this - NZ butter only comes from pastured cows and is in MHO - the yummiest tasting butter anywhere.

I think this poison story could be the best thing that has ever happenned to me - at a whopping $3.50 a pound - everyone will stop buying butter so our monopoly butter producer will have to lower the prices if they want to move their poison. I say - Bring it On!!!

PS: This Butter tax idea ranks right up there with that other very sensible suggestion, the Fart Tax!!!

Only in New Zealand ....

[Rose1942]

Tonight on Low-Carb Theatre:
A Far, Far Butter Thing...
"So there we were in the dairy section. There was a couple of kids, must of been no more'n 10 or 11, and they was foolin' around, the way kids will. Well, one of 'em picked up a pound of butter and lobbed it at the other one. The kid jumped, of course, an' the butter fell to the floor. We all looked at each other...except Dodger. He didn't hesitate a moment, no sir. Threw himself on the whole pound. Saved us all."

What an ..... Artful ...... Twist!

[Wifezilla]

"It's funny because it's poisonous!" - Dr. Zoidburg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/605/icantbelievebuttertonsjg3.jpg