Posted on 06/16/2006 6:41:22 PM PDT by Liz
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp. may be next on the target list of a consumer-health group that this week sued the operator of the KFC fried chicken restaurant chain for frying foods in oils high in harmful trans fat.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest said it is planning to campaign against the global cafe chain because of the increased risk of obesity, heart disease and cancer associated with high-calorie, high-fat products it sells. And the possibility of legal action against Starbucks, similar to the case it is taking against KFC owner Yum Brands Inc., has not been ruled out, said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "Regular consumers of Starbucks products could face Venti-sized health problems," Jacobson said, referring to Starbucks' use of the 'Venti' designation for 'large.'
The group is primarily funded by newsletter subscribers and individual donors. It has support in the campaign from the small IWW Starbucks Workers Union, which has members in three stores, all in New York. They would like Starbucks to list nutrition information -- which is currently available online and in store brochures -- on its menu boards. "Customers can ask for nutrition information, but when you're talking about a transparent business in a busy world, that's not enough," union organizer and Starbucks "barista" staff member Daniel Gross said in an interview. He said the company should use healthier shortenings without trans fat, and publicize its smallest size, "short," which is available but does not appear on the menu. Continued...
The union contends that Starbucks staff gain weight when they work at the chain. They are offered unlimited beverages and leftover pastries for free during their shifts.
A 20-ounce Venti banana mocha Frappuccino with whipped cream contains 720 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat, and a banana cream crunch bar weighs in at 630 calories and 25 grams of saturated fat. By comparison, a McDonald's Corp. Big Mac has 560 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat.
A Starbucks spokesman said in a statement it is "actively researching" alternatives to high-fat products. The company said it plans to eliminate trans fat from
seasonal baked goods -- but not necessarily other products -- by this fall. "In our beverage ingredients, we have reformulated any component that contained significant artificial trans fat content," the spokesman said. Wendy's International Inc. and Panera Bread Co. have recently announced efforts to reduce or eliminate trans fats from their menus. Trans fat is an artery-clogging solid fat found in partially hydrogenated oils.
"Most people are taking the trans fat out of their foods because they raise the risk of heart disease and obesity," said Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition at NYU.
"There's a lot of pressure to do so, especially since the (KFC) lawsuit." Jacobson said Starbucks may have been spared the scrutiny fast-food chains received recently because of its health-conscious image. "People expect foods from Dunkin' Donuts to be unhealthy, but Starbucks has more of an upper middle class, healthy, hip, politically correct facade," Jacobson said. "But the food is just as harmful to your arteries." © Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Mmmmmmmm....e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t choice.
Careful, you can get addicted to those things.....then you'll be cursing out FR.
"They are offered unlimited beverages and leftover pastries for free during their shifts."
That's the only way they could entice me to work there, LOL!
Hey, Gabz? Remember when I worked for Seed Savers and got discounted seeds and plants as a perk? Wonder why the Nanny Staters didn't come after us due to all that melted butter we put on our discount-grown Sweet Corn or Green Beans each summer? LOL!
That said, make your own coffee drinks at home:
Leftover coffee from your "morning fix"
Vanilla Ice Cream
Chocolate Syrup
Blend.
Top with whipped cream and sprinkles if you DARE. Hide in the closet or basement or under your bed while you drink it, lest the Nanny Staters find ya, LOL!
SIL & I indulged in a "MooooLatte" at Dairy Queen yesterday. It was out of this world...but don't tell the TCSPI-Gnatzies! ;)
Over the frappachinos? No, I would never curse out FR over that... I'm simply too cheap to pay $5.00+ for a coffee drink! And like I said, I can get something quite similar and larger at Quik Trip for about $1. But I try to avoid coffee anyway...
On the other hand, I DO curse out FR on a regular basis, for a lack of sleep, and finding that I need to log-on first thing every morning, and before I go to bed every night, and I eat my lunch at my desk at work every day, checking out what's happeneing on FR...
Mark
I had forgotten about Moooolattes! While I've never had one, I saw a commercial for DQ and them once, and it was hillarious!
Mark
I'm looking at Starbucks abit differently after this thread :)
sw
MEATNORMOUS OMELET has sausage and bacon, cheese and eggs.
You, and about 100,000 other FReepers.
Mark
Probably bottle fed.
Thanks for the review-----maybe they don't even offer it anymore?
ROFOL!
NOT ON YOUR LIFE! ABNER! NEITHER STARBUCKS, NOR POPULAR CULTURE! NO! NO! NEVER!
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
ROFOL!
AUGHHH!
NO....Say it isn't so!!!!
Gosh, sorry you took it so hard..... I had to be the one to deliver the "bad news." LOL.
Thanks for the ping, hope you had a great weekend.
I just love it when they start eating their own. I wouldn't step foot in a Starbucks and I suspect most conservatives won't. It is a matter of principle. The amount of money they give to the loony causes is enough for me to take that stance.
Now, their contributions are coming back to bite them in the......well, anyway, they celebrate loony left causes, they get to be the victims of their own support.
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