Yoplait's Double Conspiracy-Killing Small Wildlife and Human's, One Cup At A Time

A few weeks ago, my sister and I made a commitment to begin to integrate healthier food choices into our diets, while phasing out junk food.

One of the obvious choices was yogurt, as women it is great for your calcium intake, and overall, yogurt has a healthy reputation, and can replace bad for you ice creams, and other junky snacks.

So we go to the store and choose about twenty little cups to start out with.

We get home, and a few days pass as we are eating our healthier foods.

My sister comes in and informs me that the yoplait cups kill wildlife.

What?

Right on the side of the container, sure enough, it says,

"Protect Wildlife, crush cup before disposal."




Right then, for that reason, we decided to immediately quit buying Yoplait.




It should be a crime to design a killer plastic cup for yogurt. How dare this corporation sluff off responsibility for their Peta unfriendly design to consumers. I refuse to give my hard earned money to such a company that cares so little about life.

But if that werent bad enough, we soon discovered that they apparently would like to kill off the consumers as well, which doesnt make sense because without consumers they have no business.

Check out this label!






Any good conspiracy theorist knows exactly which ingredients are the killers in this line up.

But for those new to the killer label phenomenon, we have HFCS, Aspartame, acetate, and good old migraine inducing red#40. Please read a little about these killer ingredients.

whatilearnd.com...

"cultured pasteurized grade A low fat milk: It’s cultured, which means bacteria has been added to it to ferment the lactose and galactose (milk sugars) and convert them into lactic acid. Milk is fermented in order to increase the shelf-life, add taste, and increase digestibility. It’s pasteurized, which means it’s been heated to destroy some viable pathogens. It’s Grade A, meaning it complies with the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments “Grade A” milk program, which is based on the FDA’s Pasteurized Milk Ordinance requirements to be shipped interstate. It’s low fat which mean it’s gone through a centrifuge which separates the fat from the the rest of the product.

sugar: This either comes from the sugarcane or the sugar beet.

strawberries: Strawberries.

modified corn starch: This is made by removing the starch from the corn through a fermentation process and a centrifuge. The starch is dried and modified, typically with inorganic acids, to become a fat substitute and to act as a thickener for the yogurt.

high fructose corn syrup: High fructose corn syrup is a sweetener that’s included in many foods. In fact, it’s in most processed foods that you eat. HFCS extends the shelf-life of food and is a cheaper sweetener than sugar. It’s made by turning the sugar that’s in cornstarch into fructose.

I recently saw the documentary King Corn, where the filmmakers asked the syrup makers in the Corn Belt if they could film the HFCS making process. There are about 16 chemical plants that produce the syrup and none allowed it! So the filmmakers dug up a recipe and made it themselves. It was disturbing – a vat of murky fermented liquid with much chemical tweaking. Although there are not conclusive human studies that indicate HFCS has detrimental health effects, there are animal studies that link HFCS with diabetes and high cholesterol. HFCS can also leave you hungry or make you eat more. Consuming HFCS raises your insulin and blood sugar levels less than does consuming glucose (regular sugar). Thus, your body does not think it’s as full as it does when you consume calories from other foods. Thus, you eat more.

nonfat milk: Same as low fat milk, just with less fat.

kosher gelatin: Gelatin. That’s horse byproduct! It’s made from the prolonged boiling of animal skin, tissue, and bones. But it’s kosher, meaning, well, it’s still made form fish bones and beef skins.

citric acid: This is an organic acid that exists in citrus fruits and is a natural preservative and flavor additive.

tricalcium phosphate: It’s a calcium salt. I’ve read that it is added to reduced fat foods to develop smoothness and opaqueness, as well as increase calcium content.

natural flavor: A bit nebulous, right? But if you recall from Fast Food Nation, natural flavor isn’t natural at all - it’s an additive concocted by flavorists. The exact definition of natural flavor from the Code of Federal Regulation is “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

pectin: Pectin is a gelling agent much like gelatin. Except pectin is derived from the cell walls of plants instead of cows or fish bones.

colored with carmines: That’s Red No. 40, made of carminic acid, which is produced by the cochineal insect. Yes, that’s right. Small red bugs make my yogurt pink.

vitamin A acetate: This is a one of the primary forms of Vitamin A nutritional supplement

vitamin D3: It’s the same vitamin your skin gets when exposed to the sun."

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So why is yoplait doing this? I feel frauded by them. They harp on about being healthy and they support breast cancer research, etc. Yoplait has the Pink Lid campaign where they bank on women gobbling up their killer yogurt, yet they fail to mention that only in August of last year did they quit using milk from cows injected with rbst, a bovine hormone linked to you guessed it, Breast Cancer. Talk about hand holding in the world of big corporations!

Here is a link to an article about this:

www.inspire.com...

So Yoplait takes this step TEN yrs into the Pink Lids for Breast cancer campaign. Way to go, now we just have to get rid of the other ingredients on your label.

I found many other brands ingredients and cup design to be perfectly acceptable. The problem is yoplait has the consumers share of this market, and some stores around here carry mostly yoplait, with tiny selections of other brands.

Why would yoplait do this? How hard is it to change a daggum cup design? And how manipulative to support breast cancer research while feeding mainly women (yogurts biggest consumer) cancer causing food?

I am not the only one to notice the yoplait conspiracy.

In closing I leave you these links, from others who notice something wrong with yoplait.

whatilearnd.com...

www.rodaleinstitute.org...

How About An Excerpt From This One?

"The Forum on Public Health consisted of a panelists of individuals focusing on Breast Cancer, what we can do to prevent this disease, and the blind eye that corporations want us to have when it comes to their so-called efforts in fighting this disease. Barbara Brenner of Breast Cancer Action in California, Laura Weinberg of the Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition, and Karen Joy Miller of Prevention is the Cure were all very organized, knowledgeable, and thorough in the presentations. There are so many organizations and corporations who paint such a beautiful picture of their efforts in helping the fight against Breast Cancer, but, underneath the façade of lies, there lies the truth that the majority of funds donated to the cause are recycled right back into their organization. Let’s take Yoplait Yogurt for example; they offer to all their consumers that for every label of yogurt sent back to their corporation, the corporation will donate “X” amount of cents to the Breast Cancer Coalition. This is a not so obvious gimmick that touches the hearts of sincere consumers who in turn does this to “do their part” and expect Yoplait to fulfill their end of the bargain. Yoplait does their part and donates cents on the dollar, for every label returned, to the Breast Cancer Coalition. But here’s how they get you; the amount of Yoplait a consumer needs to eat, the number of labels that are sent back to Yoplait, and the postage used to send out the labels directly relates to Yoplait’s profits. Yoplait still makes out with the upper hand. The money they donate does not come close to the profit they make on their increased sales of their yogurt. An even larger contradiction with Yoplait’s gimmick is that some of the ingredients used to make their yogurt…are cancer causing. This alone defeats the entire purpose of the Yoplait organization. Again, we see that even though the primary objective is a little more subtle than Monsanto and their super spuds, Yoplait’s number one goal is still their income. "

collections.lopolis.com...

So, in conclusion for the moment, as I am almost out of characters, is buyer beware. I now look at my labels more closely than ever. Dont assume everything labeled healthy is healthy.

I hope others can share their food conspiracy findings, comment on yoplait and the miriad of conspiracies here, or just comment on the post itself.

Wow, a lot of work went into this post..ty OP!

I myself have been trying to buy healthier food products..and I would have assumed as you did..TY for opening my eyes on this.

Whole foods are the healthiest, but also the most expensive, so if going to the grocery stores and reading every label is the way we have to do it, so be it

I also found that buying frozen berries, such as blueberries, and adding them to plain yogurt, is more yummy and hopefully more nutritious than buying the already flavored

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Honey , flagged and starred..you single handedly proved my point from another thread that big companies are putting cancer causing agents in our food, while kicking back into the health industry supposedly to fight it.

I have known for years that milk products are a cause of cancer in women...
THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!!!!

Youre welcome, both of you.

I am still trying to figure out why they would do this. (money?)

I wanted to comment on reading the labels. How many of us have time to do this?

I know once I go full time at work, the last place I want to spend extra time is the store shopping. I hate going to the store as it is, and to have to waste time reading every single label seems like a conspiracy in itself too. Reading labels=more time in store=hopefully more money spent.

It seems like we cannot win!

AD, which thread are you discussing? I dont mind you linking it in your post if it is related to this topic.

I used to not believe in this big food is trying to kill us conspiracy. After all if we all die, who consumes?

But when the kill is a softkill, it begins to make more sense.

From a Time Magazine Article, four years ago:

www.time.com...

"Unlike nearly every other grocery product, yogurt has charged ahead, having grown 10% annually for the past three decades, meaning that consumption has doubled every 7.2 years. What's the appeal? Like spackle for the diet, marketed to the soul, it increasingly fills the holes in our nutritional and daily eating habits. Yogurt is shape-shifting into ever more unlikely forms and flavors--squeezable, drinkable, chai, cappuccino and black currant--while nailing three major food trends: convenience, portion control and health. "Give it a few more generations, and this could be the No. 1 food," says Harry Balzer, vice president of the NPD Group, a firm that tracks America's eating habits. "This is where the country is heading."

And it's being led by kids, who, having picked up the habit from Mom, are taking it with them as they grow up--the way boomers did soda for breakfast. In the driver's seat is the French brand Yoplait, which has gone from $3 million in sales to more than $1.1 billion since General Mills acquired the U.S. licensing rights to the brand in 1977. Over 10 years, Yoplait, with sister brand Colombo, has jumped from 23% of the $3 billion U.S. yogurt market to about 38%. A powerhouse for General Mills, based in Minneapolis, Minn., Yoplait is rivaled only by the cereal unit (22% of Big G's $11 billion in sales, with such brands as Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs), but yogurt is growing faster. Sales of Yoplait's Whips! line alone are up 30% and will exceed $100 million this year.

Read more: www.time.com..."

Well, this is a long article, there are four pages, and it is very interesting. Yogurt is big business. We all know big corporations only care about the bottom line.

I may agree with your premise, but think of the alternative that most parents stuff in their kids mouth's.

Processed Tyson chicken nuggets and McDonalds.

I will be awaiting your next thread on the real dangers of this culture. If you are looking at this yogurt cup from the "hippie / green" view then yes, I would agree, but IMO to label Yoplait (sp?) as a danger to kids growing up etc.. well I think you are pushing it a bit.

But I do love to play devils advocate.

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
I may agree with your premise, but think of the alternative that most parents stuff in their kids mouth's.

Processed Tyson chicken nuggets and McDonalds.

I will be awaiting your next thread on the real dangers of this culture. If you are looking at this yogurt cup from the "hippie / green" view then yes, I would agree, but IMO to label Yoplait (sp?) as a danger to kids growing up etc.. well I think you are pushing it a bit.

But I do love to play devils advocate.

Thank you for your response.

I would like to hope parents only feed their kids healthy foods, but we all know better, this is America, Fast food Nation.

This is a good place to bring up the term softkill, and define it for everyone. It is pertinent to both your reply, and the thread itself.

encarta.msn.com...

"soft-kill


adjective
Definition:

U.S. causing inability to retaliate: intended to disable, not kill, an enemy"

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Now why would Yoplait or any big corporation want to soft kill us?

I dont know why, thats one of the biggest questions I would like to figure out. I suspect it has to do with a cross promotion or marriage of businesses, and profiting for each other. Does Yoplait grow their own cultures for the yogurt, or does it get them from a pharmaceutical supplier?



Anyway, Yoplait is owned by General Mills, a profitable large corporation. For some financial news on GM, here is a link:

www.wikinvest.com...

It is just sad so many socalled healthy products are being geared to children.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


The thread is here...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by hotbakedtater


None of the foods you buy at a grocery store are healthy foods. There is some sort of additive or process that makes them somewhat harmful. Even the produce has been sprayed many times with pesticides and preservatives. All in which have been biologically and genetically engineered to produce a bigger product with less work and meats are laced with preservatives and hormones. The real only way to get healthy natural foods is to grow it yourself and herd your own cattle. Or try visiting a local farmers market to get fresher foods. If your paranoid enough, ask the local farmer how is food is prepared and grown. Thats my best advice to everyone on food awareness.

[edit on 13-4-2010 by AzoriaCorp]

Heres what I eat instead of yogurt and ice cream. I take bananas and whip those up into a mad frenzy in my blender. Drop some strawberries or such in there and then pour that mixture into a bowl and pop it in the freezer. You get an ice cream texture out of that.

If your wanting something more pudding/yogurt like in consistency I can help you with that if you can stand the texture of tapioca. You just need some chia seeds. If you soak them in water for like 30 min. they turn into the consistency of tapioca. Then you can add your seasoning. I like vanilla and ginger. I eat raw food and these are some of the snacks I eat.

Thanks for posting this!

I have bought my last container of Yoplait.

Yoplait Suggestion Box

Thanks for this. Guess it's back to Stonybrook Farms ... please, no one post about how bad their stuff is, too ... unless it's true

Check out your local health food store for some really good yoghurt! I don't know if it is just because I live in hippieville, but my local little health food shop has lots of yoghurt from local farmers. If you are used to the larger brands, it might taste or feel a bit different at first, but I have to say, after you get used to it, you can't figure out why you ate the other stuff at all!

Nice substantial post btw!

It's not really a conspiracy more than it is just plain corporatism. I choose not to purchase the biggest brands from the biggest retailers, try your best to eat natural and organic foods, especially whole foods. I buy my yogurt from trader joe's, definitely not yoplait. I'm going to stay away from red 40 and gelatin now though...

THanks for the thread!

Here is a 12 yr old article about Yoplait's still dangerous redesign. I was wondering what wildlife get killed by these things. Now I feel like crying, thinking about the poor animals who get trapped in a piece of plastic looking for food. Totally preventable death. So sad. If the company doesnt care about small forest creatures, why should it care about small children eating their products?

www.allbusiness.com...

"According to the Animal Protection Institute, the lip acts as a locking device on animals who have become trapped while pursuing yogurt left at the bottom of discarded containers. Skunks, with short legs, lack the dexterity to reach behind their ears to push off the container, and often die as a result. "

Even sadder?

The article goes on to say GM conducted a wildlife study and knew about the container problem.....over twenty years ago. (thirty now).

"General Mills' own correspondence contradicts the company's claim that it was informed of the issue only "10 months ago." A letter dated February 9, 1998 from Larry Sawyer, Director of Government Relations for General Mills, to API stated, "This is an old issue" and referred to a study on wildlife entrapment conducted for General Mills in 1978. "

I love those yogurts, but I have also read all of the labeling on them...

No I do not crush the things. Yes, I still OCCASIONALLY eat them.

Use to be one a day, but I try to stay away.

I am sure there are many more products which "kill wildlife", but I am more concerned with the ingredients than that personally.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


Excellent opening post and kudos for having the presence of mind to stop and question something that a lot of us don't give a second thought to.

If per chance you are looking for a yogurt alternative, allow me to suggest the only yogurt I have been eating for the last twenty or so years and contains only: Grade A Pasteurized Skimmed Milk, Live Active Yogurt Cultures (L. Bulgaricus, S. Thermophilus) for the 0% fat version. (the last two are probiotics)

www.zeer.com...

Yum yum!

$ $ $ $ $ $ that is all big companies are worried about, not your health, not the environment....it all comes down to how many products they can stuff down our necks and how much they can make!

I try to stick to whole natural foods that are locally grown, and things I can grow myself.

check out the 100 mile diet ( it is not a diet ) you might find some intresting things

cheers

I wouldn't even consider Yoplait to be real yogurt. There is so much sweetening and additives in it that anything made by Yoplait simply grosses me out and I have to struggle to get down an entire container.

Please, trying to "eat healthier" doesn't mean buying the nearest "yogurt," "low calorie," "high grains" food, or anything for that matter. Look at the companies! Look at the ingredients! Compare with other brands! PLEASE!

In fact, any product or box that seams to scream "healthy for you!" type exclamations, please run the other way!

For instance, I was looking for a healthy alternative to hamburger helper, and I came across something delicious: "FARMHOUSE: Four Cheese Pasta" there is maybe only one thing on the label that didn't appeal to me "Soybean Oil," but better than compared to everything hamburgerhelper has right?

So I tried it, and it was amazing. Sure it's not meant to be mixed with hamburger but there's nothing stopping me from improvising

You can find all kinds of amazing background brands when you look past all the mainstream ones.

Originally posted by FritosBBQTwist
I love those yogurts, but I have also read all of the labeling on them...

No I do not crush the things. Yes, I still OCCASIONALLY eat them.

Use to be one a day, but I try to stay away.

I am sure there are many more products which "kill wildlife", but I am more concerned with the ingredients than that personally.

I definitely want to address the please crush this container issue.

Why should we be guilted into crushing the containers, when it is 110 percent Yoplaits fault the containers are lethal to wildlife?

I didnt crush mine either, but I disposed of them I am hoping properly, but I forgot that once the trash gets to the landfill, the cups could be free to kill again.

The only solution I see is to never buy their product again.

And how hard would it be to make a design that didnt kill off our wildlife?