Cheerios Are a Drug? FDA's Surprising Letter to General Mills

But at least the FDA is doing the bidding of Pharmaceuticals, like a good dog. Will this make soap companies advertise differently, since they're selling aphrodisiacs?
These kind of shenanigans I'd have expected under Bush, oh wait, his third term came in different packaging. It's so easy to forget that different packaging changes everything, and thankfully the FDA hasn't forgotten this.

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I would have to be on druge to eat the rotten tasting crap.

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to freebase them. But if you're looking for quick and easy you can also grind them up and snort them.

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The Food and Drug Administration said that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists.

Some scientists and legislators said the agency's statement about marijuana demonstrated that politics had trumped science.

FDA: watchdog or lapdog?

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on a nice long piece of string, interspersed with some colorful fruit loops, as a take-along. easiest way to remember to take your drugs! (does anyone eat two bowls of any cereal a day on a regular basis? i've noticed that several different cereals, including quaker oats, which makes similar heart-healthy claims, actually requires a larger-than-suggested serving to achieve the advertised effect.)

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What are they on at FDA?
Next? The high Potassium in Bananas?
Yikes!

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a "consumer alert" about this story. i'm gobsmacked. is there any reason for them to try to alarm us about cheerios? has there ever been any sort of health problem associated with cheerios? this is so bogus, it makes me wonder what they're trying to divert our attention from - "oooh, look! something shiny!!! (quick, hide the anthrax...)"

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The FDA has gone just plain nuts. I have eaten this cereal for years and do not consider it a drug. I see no reason that its makers can not post facts related to the nutritional value of its products.

Iris89

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All Cheerios drug jokes aside, the important thing in this story is that the FDA, presumably at the behest of the pharmaceutical companies, is policing food for doing what food is supposed to do: provide health & nutrition. The FDA has cited cherry farmers for touting the health benefits of cherries as well. Since when can the only products or substances allowed to provide health or healing benefits be drugs?? This is a very serious issue as it will only continue to happen & get worse. The FDA is dangerous to our health & must be reformed to protect us, not the pharmaceutical companies.

http://www.reformfda.org/FDA_Reform

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The FDA is charged under law with protecting the public from manufacturers who make false medical claims. That's a bad thing? Don't forget that we got ripped off for years by the folks at Listerine who claimed that their product prevented people from catching a cold.

We just got through with eight years of laissez-faire crap. Back off!

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Despite the general scorn here, this looks to me like the opening shot in a war against false or misleading health claims for products by corporate America.

I'm all for it.

The fact is, you'd have to eat massive enough amounts of cheerios to cause yourself other health problems in order to benefit significantly from the product in the manner claimed. And no study anywhere has demonstrated that identical diets plus or minus cheerios has any health difference whatsoever.

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The top men at the FDA should be proud! Finally they have shown some guts and tromped on a major drug producing and distributing corporation.
Perhaps they finally figured out that by legal definition set by the FDA itself, a drug has to contain controlled substances and have an internal effect, for example THE NICOTINE CONTAINED IN CIGARETTES is an addictive narcotic drug, taken internally, and has a physical effect internally on all body systems,
which is why the FDA has uh, refused to legislate control over that product for decades?
You mean they dumped on breakfast cereal and not tobacco? What kind of wimps are they?
I wonder if cereal makers have secret memos showing a conspiracy to grow grains that are more potent at lowering our cholesterol or are somehow habit forming to keep us coming back for more each morning?
Maybe they will show they target our youth with specially designed advertising?

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Why not tell the FDA to go F### themselves and worry about what they're really supposed to be doing??!!!
Dakotahgeo

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Sorry uberliberals......but this is what big government gets you! People are still people. Yes they are overreaching..... EPA too...they cleaned up our rivers from point source pollution...just as was needed and intended...now topreserve their jobs...they have to find new work. So they now are going after non-point source, cow farts and belches, etc. etc.,---greatly increasing the scope of their "mission".

Think of the time that was wasted with our tax money, and will be wasted with the meetings, perhaps court hearings, etc., over "Cheerios".

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This is what the FDA is spending time on? What's next the claims of Quaker oatmeal? How about the claims of the orange juice industry and the amount of vitamin c in oj? Come on!!!

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but part of the FDA's job is to prevent food manufactures from making outrageous claims.

This is a good thing. Food manufactures are the ones who push this by making claims they really should not be making. Do you remember oat bran beer? Now there was a miracle elixer that would keep you living forever!

Food companies love to pull this crap and they should not be allowed to get away with it. Food manufactures would be telling us cookies are healthy if they could get away with it.

The FDA is not really saying the cheerios is a drug, they are saying the packaging by general mills is over the line and making unreasonable claims that go beyond what any food should claim.

Cheerios needs to scale back some of the BS on the package and then the FDA will be happy.

Granny's crazy videos Go get a chuckle!

Luv,
Granny

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The Feds will lose this one if it goes to court. In "44 liqourmart" the supreme court ruled that true claims made about legal products are protected under the 1st amendment.

General Mills can easily prove that their claims are true. Likewise, obviously Chereos is a legal product. Here's hoping that they don't wimp out. Anyway, a court case would publicise the "healthy" aspects of their product.

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Thanks for nothing Washington! Maybe General Mills can ask for a bailout so you can pimp them out too or better yet, maybe a Wall Street bankster can make us breakfast in the morning (or afternoon for us late risers). Lets see how many "Bots" go out to there Whole Foods and look for the organic box of Obama-Wheaties as there sips of the Koolaid helps them cope with the facts that the American way of life is falling right in front of there faces.

this is typical from the "Privilege" Coast

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Maybe I'm naive, but every nueron in my brain is screaming 'hoax!' right now.

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It seems all those 1 year olds eating their cheerios are deemed to be on drugs by the FDA. It just goes to show how a team of lobbysists can accomplish anything through our government in the name of corporate profits. I think Cheerios should reconsider their health claims.

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I am not sure which 3 letter agency is the bigger Joke, the FDA or the TSA. Boy this one makes the choice hard! What a joke.

RT
Is your ISP watching?

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are the similar, non-General Mills "toasted oats" cereals going to be classified as "generics" - or must they advertise the same health claims to be labelled so?

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wake up fda... all food and liquids are a 'drug'... everything that goes into our mouths is turned into glucose (except water, but water does have an effect) with hopefully, health or healing properties...

this is way overboard... get out of my kitchen!!!

back to coffee

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Hey, I've heard adding milk and sugar turns it into a hallucinogen.

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All the FDA is saying is that they need to change to the descriptive language because they are making health improvement claims in advertising their product.

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Get them addicted early, say at the toddler stage, then they will be so busy munching that drug to have room for Probiotic Yogurt, iron-rich green leafy veggies and milk to "grow stong healthy bones."

Get them drugged-up on Cheerios, or the generic equivalent; the Fast Food Nation, to paraphrase Huey Lewis and the News, "We need a new drug. . ."

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With that agency then out of the way, we can enjoy our foods and more tax cuts !

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Oh, yeah, so milk helps you lose weight; Quaker and Cheerios lower your cholestrol; orange juice does whatever it does; and the FDA decides to go to war with our food.

Bear in mind that our taxpayer-funded FDA is owned and operated by Big Pharma. So, the FDA is concerned about Cheerios, but where are they when poison peanut butter, or melanin in our pet food, or salmonella tainted lettuce, etc., make their way into our grocery carts? Not to mention that the FDA also doesn't concern itself with real drug trials, either; ergo, today's new wonder drug is tomorrow's class-action lawsuit. I personally won't take ANY drug that is less than 15-20 years old, with a proven safety record, and I recommend that everyone else do the same!

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...that actually thinks about their decisions?

About how making a joke out of an agency that should be doing more important things diminishes its function and makes its existence easier to be disbanded or weakened by the Repukes? They are playing right into their hands.

In the meantime, I am going to go smoke some Os.

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Fruits and vegetables. I can see the FDA going after the, orange juice industry because they point out the fact oranges have vitamin C. The FDA has lost any creditability when they moved into their new building, payed for and shared with private interests. Wait that made it sound like they had some creditability before. Damn all of the toilets in DC need to get flushed to get rid of the sh*t being dumped on the public as facts(?).

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The FDA is merely requesting General Mills to tone down the health claims made in Cheerios advertising.

No big deal.

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Does this mean, that I have to get it from some guy on a corner? Will this become the new front in the war on drugs?

Maybe I should go buy up a lot boxes, forgot those folks getting ammo, I need me some cheerio.

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You said we could do this one thing that is kinda related for 12 years and we've been getting away with this shit for 2 years now.

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I do not know why anyone eats these cerals. They are full of sugar and fructose (BAD).
Why don't they make them without sweetener
and you can add your own if you wish? War
on Drugs is a farce anyhow. Doesn't this
prove it?

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Glad to know the FDA is on the job. It has missed the killing drugs of Phen Fenn, Vioxx, post menopausal use of estrogen, but it's on the case with Cheerios. Congratulations FDA, now we know there's hope for all of us.

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I was a Cheerios fan long before the health claims. We've gotten so hung up on "healthy livng" that eating something beause it tastes good is a sign of weakness. General Mills should just go back to the old package design. Cheerios have been around for a very long time. I don't believe this will put a dent in their sales. Nobody buys them because they benefit the heart. It's because they've been an American staple for ages. ANNA

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good for the FDA now it is doing its job. I am sure that the big pharma made them do it to protect their statins drug usage. Any food that lowers cholesterol, is a threat to the statin makers worldwide. .

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The best diet a person can have is one full of healthy doses of cynicism and mistrust for cooperations , bankers and the congress. Believe absolutely nothing you hear from any of them and your health will improve..........
Star your day with a bowl of lies, with low fat
credulity topped with a spoon full of disbelief.

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mad cow disease or even the swine flu. The FDA is so busy with cherrios that they can't take care of other business! Some here say that this is a good thing, but I say bull shit. I too smell the BigPharma's reasons. Fill the idiotic population of the U.S. with total crap and most of them will believe it. I was raised on Cherrios and Quaker Oat Meal and Wheaties etc. The FDA should stay out of my back pocket, because that's where they ultimately seem to be going!

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when you read stories like this it makes you wonder what the FDA thinks they're doing. No one needs to be told their cereal is a drug When they know it isn't. Why doesn't the FDA stick to their job, deal with aspartame for instance or get the show on the road with the approval of new life saving drugs. Stop the stupidity and the intimidation. Right now they are blackmailing General Mills or trying to and at the same time telling millions of Americans that their favorite cereal is about to become a prohibited recreational drug. Nonsensical and frankly, stupid!

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Sorry FDA, but to put it crudely you can suck my dick. This mass stupidity is overwhelming at times. It amazes me people can be 40, 50, 60 years old and be borderline retarded.

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http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s7188c.htm

Just read the short notice there and you'll see it all in black and white.

The FDA has made & approved various statements on higher fiber, low saturated fat diets along with regulations about how to put that info on the package. General Mills isn't following those regulations and is sometimes rewording them to make it sound like Cheerios alone will help your cholesterol.

FDA is just trying to make sure that the labels aren't misleading. You know, like the old snake oil hucksters that sold a product to cure everything from the common cold to old age. Cheerios labeling isn't too bad, but it does need to be modified to come within guidelines.

Then again if they want to make the claims they are currently making they can of course apply to become a new medicine, pay for the medical trials and see what happens. Wouldn't it be interesting if they did!

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is full of holes.

FDA=-Fucking Deranged Analists.

I am now going to go do some drugs with blueberries, strawberries and a banana.

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Yeah, Cheerios is a drug; I'm glad that finally came out. Twitter is a drug, too, incidentally. Cellphones and text-messaging--drugs. Triple-X-rated sites on the Internet are about as addictive as Cheerios, and I heard that General Mills, along with Disney, are big players in the Internet porn industry.

Hey, it's a global jungle out there. I'm staying in my cubicle and eating breakfast cereal.

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Of COURSE it's not a drug. But god forbid that a claim should be made that there might...just MIGHT be a connection between what you eat and the state of your health.

The morons who run this worst of government agencies haven't a clue!!!

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My kids eat the generic "brand"... I'm a fan of drugging my kids.

If you have Celiac disease, Cheerios just give you reflux and/or intestinal difficulties. Cholesterol schmolesterol... all means more time on the can.

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We have salmonella in our spinach, toxic tomatoes, and a paucity of inspectors in our meat processing facilities, and they are going after Cheerios? You have GOT to be kidding me!

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They have lost touch with reality. First the government tells everyone to eat more fiber to lower cholesterol . Then foods that contain fiber tell consumers that their product contains fiber which can lower cholesterol. So the FDA says, if it can lower cholesterol it must be a drug. These fellows must be dim bulbs. Fruit, vegies, whole grain foods, etc. are therefore drugs according to the FDA. Or maybe they want General Mills to put more sugar on it to turn it into candy...and couldn't candy with peanuts in it be called a drug by using FDA thinking. Somebody fire these deadheads.

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This goes against any logic.
Suddenly spinach, fish, olive oil, soy beans, etc are all drugs!
Can I get a prescription for ceviche, please?

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What kind of credibility does the FDA have ? They routinely approve pharmaceuticals that turn out to be poisons, and fail to protect us from food additives and laced processed foods that make people sick.

Then, when asked about medical cannabis, they reply, 'There's no evidence to support it'.
Who are these guys, and how much do they bow down to the pharma-giants, the DEA, the AMA, and the government ?

Think of all the sugary sodas consumed every day in our country, and try to imagine all the foods with 'High Fructose Corn Syrup' spiked in there, and then guess why diabetes and high blood pressure is skyrocketing....

Clearly, the best interests of the average Americans' health is not their chief agenda.....but profits and propaganda ARE.

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The book by Henry Beiler read it.
Drugs are poisons. They do not support any function of the body.
Modern medicine is ok if you get broken and some of their stuff is good for a few acute diseases, but for chronic disease, they just kill you slower, or faster if you are at the wrong end of the bell curve.
Cheerios is a food (albeit not one of the best). Eating Cheerios over a long period of time will help support you, not destroy one of your systems. Therefore, FDA (Fully Dumb Asses?) Cheerios cannot be a drug, no matter what is SAID about it!

Namaste,
tchii

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...or any other code for religiously-inspired product, and the problem is solved, eh?

Throw in ED treatment while you're at it--cross marketing to willing consumptorz is quite popular now!

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Does this mean that the whole breakfast is a drug, just because it contains a bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs?

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The FDA gives us a lot of heart-stopping diet pills, which for some reason are always street-legal just before the big recall. Speaking of drug recalls, have you seen how the drug ads dance the Bossa Nova around the truth?

But then on the other hand, the FDA acts like an idiot from an enemy country with whom we are at war, concerning Vitamin C. Hundreds of products which are obviously meant to help certain diseases are forced to write on the bottle, "This product is not intended to cure any disease". Why doesn't the FDA just give every consumer a big smack in the face?

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I get that the FDA is doing its job when it polices exaggerated or unfounded health claims. That's a good thing in principle. But given that they can't go after every offender, it seems crazy to me for them to take this approach with Cheerios. Did they try a more reasonable approach ("be careful about those health claims, GM") instead of the over-the-top strategy of labeling O's a drug? They need to stick with that tack for the questionable vitamin supplements which really do mislead people. No consumer with a particle of common sense thinks Cheerios are magic pills (much less magic mushrooms!)

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I'd like to point out that just as Bush was an oil industry shill, the high-ups of the FDA are shills for big pharma. Most of these guys come straight from the pharmaceutical industry. Its one big revolving door, with the goal of destroying any competition--namely, natural medicine. You see, big pharma in all their greed, doesn't think its fair that foods, which have existed for thousands of years, aren't subjected to the rigorous testing and burden of proof that their modified food analogs are. Secondly, foods aren't patentable--at least not until they get their way.

At the very least, they'd like to keep the population ignorant about the concept of food as medicine, and General Mills is getting in the way.

So make all the jokes you want about this, but soon enough you'll be talking to your doctor to see if Carrots™ are right for you...or at least your grandchildren will be, once there's a large enough generation who hasn't seen anything grow straight out of the ground, outside of a computer screen.

If anything, the Cheerios claim is bunk because of its high-fructose corn syrup content, but funny how the FDA won't tackle THAT issue.

Just follow the money, my friends.

It seems George Orwell was only wrong about the time frame.

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What's behind the FDA's actions are General Mills claims about the health benefits of Cheerios (it's supposed ability to lower cholesterol, in particular). If these claims are accurate, then it indeed mimics the effects of some types of prescription drugs.

This action by the FDA is hardly unusual, and I think that they should be praised for it because there are too many products making health claims about their efficacy without rigorous scientific testing.

Because, if someone with dangerously high cholesterol stopped taking their meds and instead eats Cheerios regularly, and dies of, let's say, heart disease, I suspect that General Mills will say that Cheerios' cholesterol-busting abilities are not as great as they have been made out to be.

Though that is not to say that Cheerios should be treated as such–and it will probably not go that far, though the burden of proof rests with General Mills–because (I think) that it is simply a breakfast cereal made primarily of oat bran.

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I wouldn't doubt it for a second.

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Gimmee a break! I think the FDA should be more concerned with their own failures rather than witch-hunting a "mom-approved" kid snack and breakfast cereal.

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I've never been a fan of Cheerios or any other refined, processed food in a box, but their claims seem mild, compared to other products like teeth whiteners that actually damage your teeth, or after shaves that seem to promise sex in an elevator, and I think the FDA is acting on behalf of cholesterol drug makers.

Next will we have disclaimers on little stickers on the apples?

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Of course Cheerios is not a drug, and the FDA knows it. But how do you get large companies to change false claims in their advertising? Unless all you eat is Cheerios, there is no one food product that will drastically alter your health. It’s your overall diet that makes a difference. Do you really think the FDA wants regulate Cheerios? Most government agencies operate under the unspoken rule that less work is better. Regulation and oversight are obviously practices that the government tends to shy away from. So don’t get all silly with indignant reactions. This is just a weak attempt at applying some pressure on the corporate machine.

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Is this really the best our FDA can do? When we are dealing with everything from our pets dying and tainted food products so high they can not keep up! what is the real agenda here? It is just too stupid to not have one, huh, right?

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This needs to be put in the proper context. In one of my college courses, we learned that the FDA passed a law stating that only a patented drug can be used to treat, cure, or prevent a disease. Of course, since you can't patent something that occurs naturally, this law prevents herbs and supplements from being touted as cures. (I guess citrus fruits would have to be considered drugs if they were advertised as the cure for scurvy.) Also, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA)defines how health benefits can be labeled on dietary supplements.

The article never stated that the Cheerios claim was false, only that the FDA had issues with the way the benefits are advertised. So, to comply with the law, Cheerios either needs to change the wording of the claims or go through the process to make it a patented drug.

Yeah, I suppose I could see this as the FDA doing its part to ensure our safety, but my cynical side sees this as a way to ensure that Big Pharma has no competition.

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So the truth is out the dopes at the FDA are on drugs . Or is it they need to be on drugs . These people obviously don't have a life , I can see maybe a truth in labeling issue, but false labeling does not turn an oat cereal onto a drug, no matter what quantity of drug they have been smoking at the FDA .

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LOOKS LIKE SOMEONE AT THE FDA GOT OVERPAID FOR SHOWING UP TO WORK THAT DAY AND ISSUING SUCH A REDICULOUS CLAIM.

The big companies are attempting to claim that USA PEOPLE should be forced to EAT CHEMICALLY LACED FOODS MADE WITH GMO (NUTRIENT EMPTY) SEEDS AND WITH PESTICIDES ONLY ---operative word here PEOPLE IS --ONLY- so that our KIDS and people will get sicker quicker. THERE'S EVEN A BILL OUT THERE WHY???

because they want the public sick ESPECIALLY because the USA HAS A SOCIALIST STIMULUS where the PUBLIC will be left to die without medication when they are sick.

THIS IS NO JOKE PEOPLE there is a bill out there where they want to make it ILLEGAL for anything food or dring WITHOUT CHEMICALS IN IT.

THEY WANT TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL to get good vitamins and chemical free food.

it is important to seek LEGAL action to protect your RIGHTS TO CLEAN ORGANIC CHEMICAL FREE VITAMINS, FOOD AND DRINKS

how many people don't know that an EAR INFECTON LEFT UNTREATED will result in PERMANENT PHYSICAL handicapping of your child/person.

How many people DON'T know THAT allergies and asthma LEFT untreated will result in PERMANENT HANDICAPPING and/or death and even more so in children?

YOU CAN bet the DEMS knew and are still willing to sell down the river the PUBLIC BY insisting on dragging it's feet on kicking out the soc healthcare and bailout.

HOW MANY people don't know that the longer the DEMS drag their feet on KICKING out the bailout the HIGHER TAXES will have to go to offset the spending spree these WASH DC SLUGS are on.

Geightners so-called fix?? it's creating a re-inflation bubble scheduled to burst worse than the one we are in and it will occur in 7 years.

why is that relevant??? in 2018 the bill for the bailout becomes due and payable and if the USA CANNOT PAY?? we will be owned by foreigners whom subscribe to sharia law.
To the present it's only one of the 1 % group of people attempting to destroy our Nation's economic systems.

WHY??? It was said to a WASH DC VIP---that the reason the Socialists think they will win this time and are doing this is because ACLU and their DEMS SLUGS -- they don't think American's are " smart enough" to care to let their fingers do the walking to protect their lands, their CONSTITUTION or their freedoms. The DEMS and ACLU don't think the 99% of American's will be 'smart enough" to CARE about their country, their homes, their small business enough to kick the WASH DC SLUGS out and send them packing by way of Balagovich for NOT doing what is right to protect PUBLIC freedoms and the free enterprise system (ie meaning small business/med business) and rights.

Therefore, they want to make sure they take all freedoms away from the public and they want to make it impossible for FREE ENTERPRISE to exist for the small business and mid business and sole proprietorship thru gravytraining BIG BUSINESS bankrupting our Nation and MUSCLING OUT the small/med sole proprietorships, and creating a welfare state. A move straight out of the marxist handbook. and by attempting to eradicate free speech.

Then, we will be SOCIALIST/GLOBALIST/MARX/FACIST/COMM COUNTRY and the marketplace will be MONOPOLIZED AND DOMINATED by the ENGORGED 1 or 2 or several big businesses in sector. Gone will be the hope for any American whom would wish to start a business and earn profit to live on

Seek legislative and LEGAL agencies to DISMANTLE the bailout and kick out the SOCIALIST stimulus.

see American center for law and justice

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Here we have the DEMS always needing a bigger shovel for the level of UTOPIAN propaganda they want to throw at the UNSUSPECTING PUBLIC.

wanna? know the latest??? Michael moore made a progpaganda film where they attempt to bamboozle the PUBLIC by claiming CUBA'S healthcare is better than the USA ....and that the USA should go to the CUBAN model for healthcare.

WANNA KNOW??? what the reality is and whaaat they are really HIDING... the reality is in CUBA people have to BEG FROM TOURISTS for allergy inhalers and aspirin. You can bet if Americans are allowed to be bamboozled into Socialist healthcare DEMS will make SURE USA is WORSE OFF than CUBA.

According to the new stimulus if your child needs antibiotics and the GOV only wants to give them Asprin or NOTHING guess whaaat they will get ASPIRIN or NOTHING.

Whats worse.. if your/adult/child are X percent sick they ARE LEFT TO DIE.

Soc healthcare is MORE expensive AND gives NO HEALTHCARE. We are no scholar, but you don't need to be a scholar to SEE whaaat is wrong with the DEMS scenario.

DEMS LIED to claim our healthcare system is broken. SOCIALIST HEALTHCARE is MORE EXPENSIVE and gives NO HEALTHCARE.

PEOPLE, OUR MARKET BASED HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE WORLD. Why, sure it's not perfect. BUT THE SHORTCOMINGS it faces such as high cost of drugs and insurance---are in part THE results of the inroads the SOCIALISTS AND LIBERALS have already made into our market based health care system.

THE REAL SOLUTION TO fixing HEALTHCARE ISN'T to make UNCLE SAME/DEMS your doctor ....BUT to GIVE YOU THE PUBLIC MORE CHOICE.

ALLOWING the DEMS socialize healthcare not only would prove expensive but DEADLY. Think about it?? DEMS WANT TO SPEND MORE MONEY BY HAVING A MORE EXPENSIVE SOC HEALTHCARE BUT DENY PUBLIC the meds and services it needs while GOV POCKETS THE CASH TO SPEND ON PORK.

ACLU AND DEMS think Americans are too stupid to care about their rights and their freedom if they are LIED TO CLAIM IT'S CHEAPER AND BETTER.

WASH DC SLUGS think they can operative ABOVE THE LAW AND WITHOUT IMPUNITY while claiming public can only act BY PERMISSION.

don't ALLOW yourselves to be put off seek LEGISLATIVE and LEGAL ACTION TO KICK STIMULUS OUT AND BAILOUT. go see --American center for law and justice

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This whole thing came from a flawed study done 20 or so years ago--where it was found that complex carbs such as found in oats could lower cholesterol. Criticism of this study came primarily from those who noticed that replacing bacon and eggs with almost ANYTHING would have the same effect. General Mills quite cynically still used the results of this study in their ads... and now they're finally being called on it.

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This article from 2006 suggests that the FDA had an opportunity to review the marketing copy before it went live, when General Mills switched over to a "whole grain" line of cereals.

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When I first saw the Cheerios ad on TV, I was tempted to contact General Mills and request the studies that demonstrate their junk food has health benefits.

The company line would have likely been that it contains 'soluble fiber' which has shown to blah, blah, blah...

Comparing a highly processed and adulterated product like Cheerios to that of an unrefined whole grain whole grain like oats (oatmeal/porridge) is like comparing an orange to Sunny D (which in fact contains no real orange).

It was surprising to say the least that the FDA would hold General Mills accountable for misleading advertising, being that this is the same entity that gives the okay to a myriad of junk food products being marketed today, as well as pharmaceuticals that kill thousands.

It's obviously those same drug companies that they're acting on behalf of in this case. I don't think the FDA had the public's health in mind either when they approved cloned meat and dairy for sale, without a requirement for labeling as such.

If Cheerios cereal is being promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug, what does that say for a product like milk, which is promoted as being "good for every body", and actually contains drugs. (anti-biotics, hormones, vaccines, etc.)

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or what? This is what acid used to be like, or what it used to be like when I dropped acid. Scary Stuff. This is a joke because of Phelps and marijuana and sponsorship I am sure or a weird coincidence that the FDA is doing something about phoney health claims. They should however concentrate on the pharmacutical companies for now, they have been providing crap data since Reagan used the AIDS scare to fast track approval-what we got is stuff like vioxx and all those killer anti-depressants and unneeded vaccines that create super bugs.
Cheers,
RR

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