Bakers furious at 'mass medication' of NZ's bread

Bakers furious at 'mass medication' of NZ's bread

www.nzherald.co.nz

In four months, bakers will be forced to begin putting a synthetic form of folic acid into almost every loaf made in New Zealand.

This is despite a market research survey carried out by the Government that shows 87 per cent of New Zealanders oppose the move

(visit the link for the full news article)

this is yet again, another shocking move to force food nasties onto a population. Bread, my god. everyone eats bread.

as soon as i read it, it reminded me of the whole fluoride thing. In Hampshire, England, over 70% of people voted against fluoride with their local council, but they still went ahead with it anyway. Great democracy.

hampshireagainstfluoridation.blogspot.com...

I cant believe a government can even think of making this mandatory with 87% against it. its terrible.

www.boston.com...

what a great world we live in.



www.nzherald.co.nz
(visit the link for the full news article)

I thought folic acid was commonly added to grains and has a significant contribution to the maintenance of good health.

No?

I'm not for making people take things they don't want to, but is't Folic Acid good for you?

Folic Acid

It helps promote healthy blood cells and prevents anemia.

Addition of B9 (folic acid) to flour was made mandatory in the USA in 1998. This is known as "fortification".

Calling it "mass medication" is an overstatement, but the results have had some unforeseen effects and NZ is certainly correct in giving the issue careful consideration.

Age- and race-adjusted mean percentage of cells positive for Dnmt 1 or the Dnmt 1 score was significantly higher in all lesion types (i.e., normal cervical epithelium, reactive cervical epithelium, metaplastic cervical epithelium, CIN or carcinoma in situ) detected in the post-fortification period compared to pre-fortification period (P < 0.05, all comparisons). The degree of Dnmt 1 was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) in ≥ CIN 2 lesions compared to ≤ CIN 1 lesions, regardless of the fortification group.

Source

We put iodine in almost all of our salt...

Are we "mass medicating" our salt?

No, we just need iodine. So they put it in salt.

Kind of the same thing.

EDIT- I think everyone here uses iodized salt...

[edit on 5/16/2009 by ravenshadow13]

i agree that it has been proven to help with specific doses, especially in pregnant women, but there are alarm bells ringing with this when it comes to prostate cancer.

www.theglobeandmail.com...

www.babygooroo.com...

health.dailynewscentral.com...

they said a similar thing about fluoride when they introduced it too, and now the bad things are outweighing the good points.

what annoys me the most is that the whole population are forced to take this without question. we dont get a say, we dont get informed. we just get our food laced with whatever the government want to give us are we are stuck with it.

great so we will save a few babies from brain damage, but we will wipe out thousands of adults with prostate cancer at the same time.

I am very sceptical of governments and this sort of thing. whenevr a population is forced to take these additives, it makes alarm bells ring in my head.

we should all have the choice,.

[edit on 16-5-2009 by grantbeed]

[edit on 16-5-2009 by grantbeed]

I don't think the issue is whether or not it is good for you. I think the issue comes down to freedom of choice and government impositions upon our rights and freedoms (which, I realise, are an illusion).
Compare it, say, to the introduction of fluoride in drinking water. some people say it's good for you. does that mean that it should be imposed, or should we have the choice ?

It's a lovely day in Christchurch, Grant.
I think I might bake some bread, and I'll be baking my own bread from now!

Yeast
water
Herbs
Flour
Oil
Salt
Beer

= profit

[edit on 16-5-2009 by aorAki]

reply to post by aorAki


yes it is a lovely day!! a good day to buy a bread maker!! haha

reply to post by aorAki


Make sure you don't use iodized salt, then.

Sounds like the American democracy...none of us wanted a bailout . We are all in the same boat no matter where on the Blue Planet you live. I can't beleive that they would even consider putting a synthetic into food. The main point is just like here in the states, is that our elected ones are not listing to the people and only care about a small group "of were better than you" !

Originally posted by ravenshadow13
reply to post by aorAki

 

Make sure you don't use iodized salt, then.

Sea salt all the way

You make a good point though. There are numerous additions to our foodstuffs, from melamine to charcoal.

I would prefer to have the choice about what I ingest. I am lucky living in a resource-rich place that 'allows' that choice, though it seems from the OP that our choices are being managed carefully.

[edit on 16-5-2009 by aorAki]

Pregnant women are supposed to take folic acid supplements, which are usually only of benefit from time of conception until about the 4th month when it's advisable to stop (I know I was given that advice when I was pregnant years ago).

I take mega vitamins everyday of which folic acid is already in it.
If I'm now getting extra in bread and in other foods like breakfast cereals, it could be too much.

Too much of anything is a bad thing.

If it causes health problems in some people in the population then why do it?
Answer, because they don't care about peoples health.
So this begs the question, why add it to begin with?

Pregnant women can get supplements from their doctors and pre natal clinics for FREE in a lot of places. I assume that N.Z has a social health care system similiar to Australias.

BTW here we do have a choice between fortified and unfortified bread.
So long as you still have a choice, then it's up to individual preference.
However, if this is a blanket addition to ALL breads, then I don't agree with this at all.



[edit on 16-5-2009 by Flighty]

reply to post by dooper

Yes. Folic ascie is one of the many vitamins and minerals routinely added to flour, regardless of it's designatged use. In the US, it is standard practice. It is one of the few things I support on a worldwide basis. (I don't support the additition flouride to water supplies.)

surely when 87% of a countries population are against something, then government should listen.

it doesnt matter whether its 87% against going to war, against nuclear power or whatever....

this should be seriously discussed before it happens. what is the point of living in a democratic society where the peoples vote is not even considered one bit.

reply to post by Flighty

People in the US have a choice. We can always go to a healthfood store and purchase flour with no additives. I too, take multivitimins. B vitamins are water soluble, and thus, excreted in urine. In other words, if your kidneys are okay, then you are too.

How many items of food are they going to keep adding Folic Acid to?

Personally, I think they shouldn't add Folic Acid at all unless the addition has been CLEARLY marked on the bag because pregnant mothers may think they are not getting enough Folic Acid and consequently take Folic Acid supplements, exposing themselves to excessive levels of Folic Acid.

Through educational/advertisement programs They should make it aware to women that they need Folic Acid but that they have to take it in supplements or know how much Folic Acid there is in natural foods so they can control the levels and not risk having their young children potentially developing cancer because they were exposed to too much of the good stuff.

The problem with Folic Acid is that while appropriate amounts of it are absolutely essential in healthy fetal development, too much of it may cause cancer in the exposed children, or as the latest research states.

Unless... 'They' want to cause more cancers.



[edit on 16-5-2009 by star in a jar]

reply to post by Flighty
Interesting, thanks for the info, I didn't know it was only good for around 4 months from the time of conception.

The government needs to get its act together and widely disseminate this information so women who are not as fortunate to receive professional medical care know how best to go around it.

If every baby had tailored health care and proper 'nutes' it would save hundreds of billions in health care costs as the saying goes:

'A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!'

The situation that should be addressed is that there was an 87% vote against the addition of folic acid, not the addition itself.
As previously mentioned, this is a heavy reminder of the Hampshire council putting fluoride in Southampton water, despite heavy opposition from the public.
This is just another case of government turning a blind eye to the public in favour of an agenda we are kept from.

In my opinion, it matters not whether folic acid or iodine are good forms of fortification or are harmful. The only, and I mean only thing that matters here is that the government acted against the wishes of 87% of the voters.

The implications of a government acting unilaterally like this are far reaching and very serious. Who gave them the authority to make that decision? It wasn't the people, then who made that decision? And is he allergic to the hangman's noose? If I'm not mistaken, the penalty for treason is death. This is nothing short of treasonous. The benefits or harms caused by folic acid are of absolutely no relevance here.