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Sunday, July 6, 2014

Sugar is definitely Un-Paleo

On Sugar

Honey ... I trust honey and honey works in every recipe I need sweetness ... molasses is from cane sugar ... not the same ... honey


Sugar is now 20 percent of the American diet, but it's not just our health that suffers from its pervasiveness. July 23, 2012, Alternet

Excerpts:

" ...  how often do Americans think about where sugar actually comes from or the people who produce it? As a tropical crop, sugarcane cannot grow in most U.S. states. Most of us do not smell the foul odors coming from sugar refineries, look out over vast expanses of nothing but sugarcane, or speak to those who perform the hard labor required to grow and harvest sugarcane.
 Of course, sugar can be made from beets, a temperate crop, and more than half of sugar produced in the United States is. But globally, most of the story of sugar, past and present, centers around sugarcane, not beets, and as biofuels become more common, it is sugarcane that is cultivated for ethanol. What's more, some conscious eaters avoid beet sugar as most of it is now made from genetically modified sugar beets.While I do not fool myself that sugar is "healthy," if I am going to satisfy my sweet tooth, I prefer cane sugar, maple syrup, agave nectar, or honey over the other choices: beet sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners. Of the bunch, most Americans can find only honey and perhaps maple syrup sustainably and locally produced, but cane sugar is often the most versatile product for baking."
America Gets Its FixAn overwhelming percent of world sugar production occurs in Brazil and India, but if you are an American, your sugar fix is likely satisfied by U.S. sugar, whether cane or beet. The U.S. has long had policies that limit sugar imports, keeping the U.S. price of sugar well above the world price -- often double or more. By setting a high tariff on all sugar imports over a set quota, the U.S. protects its own sugar industry (both cane sugar and beet sugar). Producers of high fructose corn syrup also support this system as it allows them to price their product below the cost of sugar, making it attractive as a cheaper alternative."

Lost in the "on-line-ness" of it all

Retirement:

 No employment duties, just dog-walking, thinking about gardening, house cleaning, no rush no hassle, just me and my beauty.

Quiet and side by side reading and writing Internet stuff.

"hey, look what I found!"

"Look Honey, what you can get on Firefox."

"Does it upload pictures?"

" I have too many blogs."

"Now this one is a catchall for whining, it's titled THE WAILING.

"If that dog tries to poop under the pergola one more time ....."

"Did my grandson download that thing to my computer?"

"It's going to get hot today. Glad I'm not working."

"We/ll keep the miniblinds closed, turn on the A/C stay calm and quiet all day."


"That means it's too hot to go garage-sale-ing, right? Oh all right, let me get a cap."

It doesn't get any better than this.