Well, ice cream has been around for a long time and it has been considered the classic American (and international) treat. Apparently it can be traced back to at least the 4th century B.C. Early references include the Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) who ordered ice to be brought from the mountains and combined with fruit toppings, and King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China who had a method of creating ice and milk concoctions. Ice cream was likely brought from China back to Europe. Today you could get it free in any Ben and Jerry’s in New York (quite possibly nationwide).
I happen to live two blocks from Ben and Jerry’s. I left for meetings this morning about 9am. The lines were already wrapped around the block. 9am!!! On a day in New York where the high was about 52 degrees. It wasn’t 52 this morning. When I returned home around 10:30pm (yes, that says something about my schedule, now doesn’t it!), there were still people lined up around the block. I took a short respite at home earlier today around 4:30 to do some meetings from home and everywhere I looked there were people with ice cream cones. Thin people, larger people, short people, tall people, children and really old people. The common thread between them: They were all eating ice cream. Free ice cream. In a one scoop cone. Not too much, right?
Well, one person I saw had two cones. Another person had three. Some people had gone more than once and sent other people to get them cones. There was a free market economy and what I think was also a black market created here on a semi wintry day on the Upper East Side.
Promoting free ice cream in times of economic distress is really not the way to go. We have record unemployment. We have people stressed out beyond their wits and what are we doing…eating ice cream. What’s the first ingredient in good old very “natural” Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream? Well that would be: Cream, followed by Liquid Sugar, Skim Milk, Water, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Egg Yolks, Guar Gum And Carrageenan. Let’s take a brief look at this last ingredient. Carrageenan. I’ve seen it in ingredient lists before and I thought it was some sort of never heard of it before writing this, but it has caused colonic ulcerations and gastrointestinal neoplasms (possible cancer). Results of a study published in October 2001 suggest that carrageenan may not be as safe as once thought. Findings from animal studies and a review of the scientific literature showed that degraded forms of carrageenan can cause ulcerations and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
The researcher who made the connection between carrageenan and cancer, Joanne Tobacman, an assistant professor of clinical internal medicine at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, noted that as long ago as 1972 the FDA determined that there was enough evidence from animal studies to limit the type of carrageenan that could be used in foods. However, in 1979, the FDA rescinded its proposed limitation and since then, no action has been taken.
Wow!!!! so we have known since 1972 that this is a carcinogen and yet its still in ice cream! And ice cream that’s considered natural. What’s the deal here?
So not only is ice cream pretty heavily laden with fat and calories and compared to my favorite brand of choice Breyers that has 8 grams of fat and 15 grams of sugar, but also Ben and Jerry’s comes in at twice that with 15 grams of fat (11 of them saturated) adn 22 grams of sugar per 1/2 cup serving…and let’s face it, who when faced with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s has not eaten that whole pint in one sitting or at least shared it with just one other person…that’s 30 grams of fat right there. I can guarantee that even one “scoop” cone is acutally more than 1/2 cup too.
So, what is the point of this post and what is the purpose of this diatribe, well its three fold:
1) Free Ice Cream during troubled economic times may make people feel temporarily better, but is a band aid on an already troubled relationship Americans have with overeating in times of stress
2) Free Ice Cream is not a good idea at a time when 80% of our young children are obese
3) As much as Ben and Jerry’s want to portray a good image, their ice cream still has nearly double the fat of other brands, a tremendous amount of sugar (natural or otherwise) and some not so natural additives such as carrageenan. Frozen yogurt flavors – supposedly healthier, actually have partially hydrogenated trans fats, corn syrup and all the other very unnatural ingredients that really put the whole “natural” thing in question.
A very cute virtual tour on the ben and jerry website showed how the cream went from cow to dish but there were a few processes in there that seemed less than natural. The ice cream itself still gets homogenized. The fat globules are forced to become so small and agitated they oxidize and the cholesterol becomes more sticky. This is the essence of food processing and hate to say it, but ice cream is very much a processed food, even if the starting ingredients were natural. The chocolate is processed with alkali. “Natural” flavorings are added, in vats, that looked particularly gross to me. The best part of the tour was however the “taster” who quality controls by eating huge amounts of ice cream per day. Is this an occupational hazard. Do they have to pay overtime for this? I wonder…what the utilization of cardiologists and lipitor is among these workers.
As we are in an obesity crisis in this nation and not so slowly anymore, the world, I implore you oh Ben and Jerry, charge for your ice cream! Charge a lot! Maybe in this economy, people will choose with their wallets and choose an apple for 35 cents on the street corner in New York over a $4.25 scoop of ice cream any other day but April 21.
