Olivier De Schutter is the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to food, and one of my new best friends, even if we've never interacted. Via the BC (British Columbia) Food Security Gateway and the COMFOOD e-mail loop, I've just read De Schutter's five ways to tackle disastrous diets, and it hits bullseye after bullseye.

The question of whether high fructose corn syrup is a particularly noxious substance is being fought on many fronts, including currently in a Los Angeles courtroom. Corn refiners are fighting mightily not to be demonized, and regularly send out missives stating their case to anyone who will listen.

The question of whether high fructose corn syrup is a particularly noxious substance is being fought on many fronts, including currently in a Los Angeles courtroom. Corn refiners are fighting mightily not to be demonized, and regularly send out missives stating their case to anyone who will listen.

Their newsletter landed on my e-doorstep this morning, and it was amusing enough for me to relate it to you.

I’ve been wanting to get to this topic for a while, but it has languished in the in-box, as too many other things do:

The headline is, “The Food Industry Fights Back,” and it’s written by Dave Fusaro, editor in chief of foodprocessing.com (“Home Page for the Food & Beverage Industry”). The subhed is just as good: “On obesity, food safety, 'questionable' ingredients, the industry can do a better job of tactfully defending itself; the key is transparency.”

Tweets the deserve a longer moment in the sun:

Surrendering just may save your life  [RT from @wtpicketfence]

Worst marketing practice of the week: Crayons functional kids’ drinks  [RT from @YaleRuddCenter]

Oh dear...!!! 8% of Brits think strawberry ice cream counts towards your "five a day" - Mirror Online  [RT from @NutritionRocks1]

Another round-up of recent tweets, hoping to revivify them beyond the typical tweet’s shelf life ...

Judging from my in-box, lots of people heard yesterday’s “On Point” broadcast about regulating sugar. But of course, it would be wrong to use that guideline, because my friends were pinging me specifically because they knew I would be interested. And I was.

Jennifer LaRue Huget, whose words have appeared elsewhere on this page for more than a year, has no doubt attracted plenty of traffic to her "The Checkup" blog at the Washington Post with her reaction to the UCSF researchers' call last week for regulating refined sugar.

In an editorial published [Wednesday] in the journal Nature, University of California at San Francisco doctors Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt, and Claire Brindis argue that the ballooning rates — and costs — of obesity, diabetes, and other diseases, mean it’s time for regulators to lump sugar into the same category as booze and cigarettes and put similar restrictions on its sale and availability. — ABC News

Jill Escher, author of "Goodbye, Club Perma-Chub," includes 10 tips to overcome sugar addiction during a podcast interview by Erin Chamerlik (Get Better Wellness). 

I've written about Jill before, and expect I will again. She is a voice of informed reason.