Stonyfield’s Killer (Literally) Smoothie
June 8th, 2011 · 5 Comments · Posted in kids, school food
Where's the skull and crossbones?
My wife and daughter came home from Whole Foods with what they thought was a healthful beverage: a 10 ounce container of Stonyfield strawberry-flavored “super smoothie.” In fact, it was on sale, so they bought two. And how could it not be good for you when it says “USDA Organic” and “Protein & Calcium Probiotic” on the label, with a rendering of cows leisurely grazing on green pastures?
But then I turned the bottle around, scanned the nutrition label and practically coughed up my breakfast. Thirty-eight grams–count ’em, 38–of sugar in that little 10-ounce bottle. That’s as much sugar as in Mountain Dew.
Look at all that sugar
Granted, some of the sugar in Stonyfield’s smoothie comes naturally in the form of lactose. But much of the lactose in milk is converted to lactic acid when it’s fermented. Twelve ounces of Helios plain kefir, for instance, would contain 12.5 ounces of sugar as lactose.
Unfortunately, federal law does not require manufacturers to disclose exactly how much sugar they add to their products. But we can certainly surmise that most of the sugar in Stonyfield’s strawberry smoothie is, in fact, added. It’s the second ingredient–after the milk–on the smoothie label. But I guess we’re supposed to feel better because it’s “naturally milled organic sugar,” or because this smoothie carries Stonyfield’s “organic guarantee.” It’s “made without the use of antibiotics , synthetic growth hormones, and toxic pesticides.”
Okay, so they don’t kill the kids with antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones or toxic pesticides. They kill them with sugar instead.
I’ve been having this same argument lately with the nutritionists in D.C. schools who say the Stonyfield yogurt they introduced this year is okay because it’s a source of calcium, even though it contains the same amount of sugar, ounce-for-ounce, as chocolate milk. Why can’t Stonyfield just make a yogurt for kids with less sugar?
Note to everyone drinking smoothies: the fructose in sugar, be it industrial beet sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or “organic” and “naturally milled,” is all identical as far as your body is concerned. It’s also Public Enemy No. 1 in our current obesity epidemic.
Shame on you, Stonyfield.
How about just promoting good old fashioned white milk in schools? Stoneyfield and the rest of Big Organic make huge profits off of the backs of the regular dairy farmers. The vast majority of American dairy farmers are in the average of 100 cow bracket. In some foodsheds, cows are extensively grazed. The food policy people usually recommend only “big organic” milk, while by-passing the average farmers who are doing a good job putting out good quality milk. Please, just talk with the commodity farmers and find out how the milk in your milkshed is produced before you decide to push only big organic .
When the dairy farmers ask for help, pointing to the massive losses in farm numbers, the local foods people tell us to go and set up our own bottling plants and sell to schools. Got Rebate?
Great post!!! It’s so true that many products which are advertised as “Organic” and “Natural” are still loaded with TONS of sugar. We have to be more conscious and spread the word about reading nutrition labels.
You should do at least an ounce of research before you start slamming something. Stonyfield DOES support all those small family farmers. They source from a cooperative called CROPP.org. Those farms have less than 100 cows each. The difference is they aren’t pumped with antibiotics and fed on grain that’s been sprayed to death with pesticides that are labeled as poisons. And the farmers get paid a much higher price for their milk than conventional dairy farmers get. Huge profit? Where is the huge profit on yogurt? Last time I checked yogurt isn’t exactly a millionaire’s business. Why do they put sugar in it? Because consumers demand it! The majority of the sugar in those products is from fruit and milk. The added – organic, sustainably farmed- sugar is done is a far lower amount than conventional yogurt. I dare you to eat Stonyfield for 10 days then go back and taste the regular yogurt again. I bet you will find the regular stuff is way to sweet and artificial tasting after you’ve gotten accustomed to it. Why don’t you think about the healthy choice you are making for the entire food chain as well as the sugar – you’d be doing a lot more harm eating some conventional yogurt with artificial sweeteners and all sorts of additives than by having 1 smoothie once in a while.
Gosh, Mary, I don’t see anywhere in this post where I brought up the issue of family farmers and whether or not Stonyfield does business with them. The post was solely about the sugar in yogurt served at school. And on that point, I’ve done more than an ounce of research. Thanks for your thoughts.
I might be in the majority/mass of idiots that needs the sugar to eat yogurt as frequently as I should for the live & active cultures i want in my system. I can’t fight every battle, but i hope this sums up how I feel:
A Spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down-wown
The medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way