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La Vida Locavore is the blog for anyone whose crazy life includes planting, growing, weeding, fertilizing, raising, picking, harvesting, processing, cooking, baking, making, serving, buying, selling, distributing, transporting, composting, organizing around, lobbying about, writing about, thinking about, talking about, playing with, and eating food!

Notable Diaries

- Recent Congressional Hearings
- 2008 By The Numbers
- The 2007 Ag Census
- Why I Oppose GMOs
- My Visit to Growing Power
- My Trip to a Hog Confinement
- Why We Grow So Much Corn and Soy
- How the Chicken Gets to Your Plate

Politicians To Know

USDA

Senate

Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)

Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Senate Hunger Caucus

House

Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
*=House Organic Caucus member
B=Blue Dog Democrat

Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA)
*=House Organic Caucus member

P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC)
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

House Organic Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus

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Scientists Prove Fructose-Diabetes Link

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 20:38:22 PM PST

Well, it turns out that there IS a link between fructose and obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Who would have guessed?

Over 10 weeks, 16 volunteers on a strictly controlled diet, including high levels of fructose, produced new fat cells around their heart, liver and other digestive organs. They also showed signs of food-processing abnormalities linked to diabetes and heart disease. Another group of volunteers on the same diet, but with glucose sugar replacing fructose, did not have these problems.
People in both groups put on a similar amount of weight. However, researchers at the University of California who conducted the trial, said the levels of weight gain among the fructose consumers would be greater over the long term.
Fructose bypasses the digestive process that breaks down other forms of sugar. It arrives intact in the liver where it causes a variety of abnormal reactions, including the disruption of mechanisms that instruct the body whether to burn or store fat.
"This is the first evidence we have that fructose increases diabetes and heart disease independently from causing simple weight gain," said Kimber Stanhope, a molecular biologist who led the study. "We didn't see any of these changes in the people eating glucose."

So I guess I have to quit making fun of people who proudly drink 100% cane sugar soda and act like it's a health food. Just an FYI - fruits are 5%-10% fructose by weight. I'm guessing there's more of it in fruit juice, which is why it's better to eat fruit than to chug lots of fruit juice.

Here's an article about this same topic by Fooducate. Their #1 recommendation is to skip the soda aisle at the store.

Jill Richardson :: Scientists Prove Fructose-Diabetes Link

Tags: fructose, diabetes, Obesity, HFCS, High Fructose Corn Syrup, (All Tags)

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Scientists Prove Fructose-Diabetes Link | 7 comments

just a thought (4.00 / 5)

wonder what impact THIS might have on that soda tax idea? Sadly, I'm guessing very little. Money talks, and the American Beverage Association has been spending like crazy on lobbying to make the soda tax idea go away.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 22:41:47 PM CST

by: you @ soon

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just two thoughts (4.00 / 5)

I wonder how much HFCS is in sweetened cold cereals and chocolate milk. Even supposedly non-sweetened cold cereals contain HFCS. Examples of "supposedly non-sweetened" cereals are Kellog's All-Bran Original, Kellog's All-Bran Bran Buds, and Kellog's Raisin Bran. (What idiot would add HFCS to a cereal containing raisins?)

Second thought - why was this study not done twenty years ago? Or perhaps a similar study was done, and the results were suppressed?

by: count @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 23:11:49 PM CST

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by: you @ soon

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those are ALL good questions (4.00 / 4)

GREAT questions, really.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 23:15:55 PM CST

[ Parent ]

soda tax idea (4.00 / 3)

The soda tax idea is good, but I would have queasy feelings about justifying support because the drinks contain HFCS, when I think HFCS should be banned outright. I think sodas should be taxed regardfless of whether they contain HFCS.

by: count @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 23:30:34 PM CST

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Beautiful tagline (4.00 / 2)

From the quoted article:

Rejecting the California research, a spokesman for the Food and Drink Federation, a UK industry trade group, said: "It makes no sense to highlight one single ingredient as a cause of obesity."

by: count @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 23:22:47 PM CST

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University of California (4.00 / 3)

Many organizations participated in the research, but UC-Davis clearly is the lead institution.

The original journal article:

Consuming fructose-sweetened, not glucose-sweetened, beverages increases visceral adiposity and lipids and decreases insulin sensitivity in overweight/obese humans

by: count @ Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 23:24:29 PM CST

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Makes me feel better about making my own simple syrups (4.00 / 4)

from granulated sugar (glucose) and using it to make things like my back sweetened vinegars. I used to use a lot of seasoned rice vinegar, I bought it by the gallon, which is back sweetened with HFC.

Now I buy brown cider vinegar and back sweeten it with syrup I produce, as well as using the syrup to sweeten lemonade and other things I make myself at home.

I was watching an infomertial on juicers once, and was surprised when the person pitching the machine said that while drinking fruit juice made at home was good, you really needed to not drink too much as you get way more fructose in the juice than you would if you were to eat the whole fruit itself. That was several years ago.

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

by: Joanne Rigutto @ Thu Dec 17, 2009 at 12:28:46 PM CST

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Scientists Prove Fructose-Diabetes Link | 7 comments