Aspartame - Sweet Misery, A Poisoned World avi 2004

I hate to take the side of corporate America, but there really seems to be very little scientific substance to these claims.

And even if there were, considering all the crap most of us eat, getting cancer from artificial sweetener is way, way down on the list of things most people should be worried about..

Corporate funding in medical research is a big problem, but for Aspartame the case really seems to be very weak (and the high publicity of the 'controversy' largely stems from the success of a set of chain e-mails in the 90ies). I have to admit though that I haven't looked into it too closely.

Things like the consumption of animal products (and High-Fructose Corn syrup) are a far bigger problem I believe. It's perfectly uncontroversial that these things enormously harmful for public health and the environment, and absolutely nothing is done about it. Reminds me of a thing Bill Maher said on Politically Incorrect once (this was when The X-Files was still on): "The truth is not out there - it's right here."

I was a 4* chef for 14 years - a vegetarian for 9.
I don't care what others choose to put in their bodies. Keep your sweeteners, keep your MSG, I'll go direct to source thankyou very much.

The real problem as it seems to me is that mass (factory)farming, be it animal or vegetable, is environmental pollution.

Give me sugar anyday.

Thanks for the up.

@Martin do you drink diet coke?

No, can't remember when I had the last one. But I just checked and my vitamin supplements contain a sweetener (cyclamate) that's been banned in the US since 1970 ..

I think pollution (the toxin torrents recently) and the man-made discount sweeteners, or the man made 'eat more/buy more' sweetners that cause cancer etc, is really a good time to reflect of the role of externalities in lightly regulated capitalism. Namely, the true cost is borne by the irrational and uninformed for the profit of the informed and more rational. It's a predatory game, one might say savage.

thanks