However, if you click on nutritional information listings on the Starbucks website, the nutritional analyses are listed, but not the ingredients (3). Plus, on one page, they say there’s no trans fat in their products but in the nutritional breakdown, there are. This means that customers consume GMOs and other harmful ingredients without knowing it.
GMO Politics
The GMA has successfully blocked GMO-labeling legislation in more than 30 states, with a cost of countless millions of dollars. One of its arguments against GMO labeling is the cost of producing new labels.
So why is Starbucks spending so much? It’s simple: if their clientele really knew what they’re selling, they would lose even more money in sales.
Vermont is a trailblazer in its quest to make GMO labeling mandatory. A legislation was passed there (Act 120) that went into effect in July 2016. GMA, the Snack Food Association, the International Dairy Foods Association, and the National Association of Manufacturers filed suit against the state of Vermont shortly after the legislation passed (4). In the short time since the bill has passed, GMO sales have already significantly decreased.
Grounds for the suit are the facts that the U.S. government agencies that regulate food have deemed GMO safe and the Act is “compelling manufacturers to convey messages they do not want to convey”.
The consumer advocacy group SumOfUs has collected almost a quarter of a million dollars from its donors for the Vermont legal defense fund.
Why is Starbucks Fighting?
“There’s much more at stake here than just whether GMO foods will be labeled in a single U.S. state. Vermont is the very first state in the U.S. to require labeling. Dozens of other states have said that they will follow this path — in order to encourage this, we need to ensure that Vermont’s law stands strong. That’s why Monsanto and its new allies are fighting so hard to kill GMO labeling in Vermont.” (5)
By way of membership in GMA and shady but cute marketing, Starbucks is masking its GMO use and pro-GMO position. So far, it’s spent over 100 million dollars on stopping similar legislation in 30 other state
In addition to its use of GMO food ingredients, Starbucks’ boasts social responsibility and sustainability, but their practices aren’t always aligned with this philosophy. Starbucks outlets use single-use paper and plastic cups for its gazillions of beverages while stating that they are “committed to significantly reducing the waste our stores generate… In many of our stores, we recycle at least one type of waste”(6).
Dangers of Common Ingredients
It’s not just the GMO stuff you have to be worried about. Even the most simple Starbucks drinks typically contain the ingredients below. As you can imagine, more complex drinks like the Unicorn Frappuccino contain more of the harmful stuff, including artificial flavoring and coloring.
Processed Sugar
The World Health Organisation recommends that we should only eat 5-6 teaspoons (20-24g) of sugar a day, including naturally-occurring sugar from fruits (7).
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, on the other hand, recommends that you can eat to 50g of added sugars a day. That’s more than double the international standards (8).
Consuming all this added sugar has its risk (9):
- Weight gain
- Cavities
- Rise in blood pressure
- Heart disease
- Early death
Salt
Too much salt put a strain on the kidneys and contributes to conditions like high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and stroke (10).
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health explains:
“In most people, the kidneys have trouble keeping up with the excess sodium in the bloodstream. As sodium accumulates, the body holds onto water to dilute the sodium. This increases both the amount of fluid surrounding cells and the volume of blood in the bloodstream. Increased blood volume means more work for the heart and more pressure on blood vessels. Over time, the extra work and pressure can stiffen blood vessels, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.”
Potassium Sorbate
Potassium sorbate is a preservative that fights the growth of bacteria, fungi, mold, and yeast. It can cause allergic reactions in some people. There are also concerns that the additive accumulates in the body and causes non-reproductive organ toxicity (11).
The preservative can also contain traces of lead, arsenic, and mercury (12).
Fruit Juice Concentrate
This processed fruit juice is filtered and evaporated so that just the natural flavors and sugars remain. What’s lost is the nutrients and fiber found in freshly pressed juice (13).
Sometimes, the concentrate contains high fructose corn syrup, making it even more harmful to adults and children alike.
Dextrose
Dextrose is a sweetener which is chemically identical to glucose. It’s actually made from corn. As a simple sugar, it quickly affects blood sugar levels and has no nutritional value (14).
Dextrose has cause hyperglycemia, dangerously high blood sugar. Symptoms of the condition include dehydration, nausea, shortness of breath, stomach upset, and dehydration. Other risks of dextrose are similar to those of sugar.
Worst Starbucks Drinks To Avoid
Here are the worst drinks you can consume at the coffee giant.
Double Chocolatey Chip Cream Frappuccino: this calorie-dense drink is laden with milk, whipped cream, frappuccino syrup, mocha chips, and mocha sauce. It also includes additives like corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, palm oil, sugar, cocoa, potassium sorbate (15).
Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino– Containing milk, cream frappuccino syrup, strawberry base, whipped cream, and the classic syrup, this drink is a mixture of flavoring, artificial coloring, modified fats, sugar, citric acid and potassium sorbate (16).
The Java Chip Frappuccino, White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino, Caramel Coco Cluster Frappuccino and every other kind of Frappucino is just as artificial.
If you’re a coffee junkie, it’s best to visit your local independent coffee shop. You can also try recreating your favorite drink at home. If you have to stop at a Starbucks for whatever reason, stick to water, plain coffee without milk, or herbal tea.
You Can’t Ignore The Truth
A petition sponsored by the consumer group Food Democracy Now urges the CEO of Starbucks to stop using GMO milk at all Starbucks locations. It mentions Starbucks’ marketing claims and challenges the corporation to walk the talk. Click here to read the letter.
If you’re curious and want to know more, watch a clip from the film “Bought” here that discloses and discusses these issues.
There’s a Starbucks on every corner because people buy what they sell. Sending a message to the company is simple: just walk down the block to a local coffee shop instead of getting your Frappuccino.