The Dangers of Eating Twinkies!!!

Twinkies Guns don’t kill people; Twinkies kill people. Well not in most cases but it’s a viable defense at a murder trial. I’m here to talk to you tonight about the dangers of eating Twinkies. By the time I finish I hope to have convinced you to think about what it is you may be eating. I’m going to give you some nutrition evidence about Twinkies and some interesting legal facts about this well loved snack food in hopes that you will be more aware of the decisions you make at the grocery store.

The Issues 500 million Twinkies are produced in America every year for worldwide distribution. The Issue: 500 million Twinkies are produced in America every year for worldwide distribution, and 325 million of them are consumed in the US on a yearly basis.

 According to the US Census Bureau 1 in every 5 American children is obese, these numbers may not be directly connected but it does show a disturbing parallel in American snack food consumption, and that is something to think about.

What’s the Cream Filling?

You’ve heard that line where’s the cream filling? My question is what’s the cream filling? Out of the 39 ingredients listed on the back of a Twinkie wrapper, only 13 of them are recognizable food substances including flour, sugar, water and cornstarch. However here are some disturbing facts about four of those unrecognizable items that are listed.

What you can’t pronounce may hurt you:

Cellulose Gum Preservative: completely un-digestible by the human body. (Daniel Best, Chief Technology Analyst, Food Processing Magazine)

Monocalcium Phosphate Preservative: prevents caking in dry ingredients, is a main ingredient in industrial fertilizer, and causes hazardous reactions in people with yeast allergies. (Quadra Chemicals inc.)

Polysorbate 60 Preservative: prevents oils from separating, and is a cleanser found in many hair care products. (Follicle.com)

Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate Chemical Stabilizer: found to be fatal in test rats in quantities exceeding 20g due to liver weight increases. Daily recommended allowance for a human: 2.5g (World Health Organization 1969)

This and other snack foods have lead to some small impact on our daily culture. Children say the catch phrase, “Where’s the cream filling” while at play, deap fried Twinkies have become a county faire treat in some states… And then there is the “Twinkie Defense”.

The Twinkie Defense On November 27, 1978, after resigning his post that day San Francisco County Supervisor Dan White, with a shotgun, drove the 4 miles from his home to the San Francisco County Courthouse. Once there he entered through a basement window to avoid security, climbed two flights of stares to San Francisco Mayor George Moscone’s office where he asked for his job back.

When he was refused, he killed the mayor with four shots, and then after reloading, he walked down the hall and killed County Supervisor Harvey Milk with five shots.

The Verdict Diminished capacity due to the effects of sugar on his already depressed mental state. The ingestion of copious amounts of Twinkies and Coca-Cola aggravated White’s depression to the point where he was capable of committing murder. Attorney Doug Schmidt, Dan White and Judge Walter Calcagno

The Sentence Due to the diminished capacity findings, a jury reduced the charge of murder to manslaughter and White was released from prison after serving only 8 years. The Jury

The Challenge The Next time your at the grocery store: Read the label, think about what you’re eating, and what those chemicals mean.