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Atkins diet tastes good to retailers
Dallas Morning News ^ | 05/26/2003 | MARIA HALKIAS

Posted on 05/29/2003 11:59:13 AM PDT by NotQuiteCricket

Now, food companies and retailers are hoping for similar happy results by focusing on products that fit the Atkins plan. But some of those sales gains are coming at the expense of companies whose foods aren't Atkins-friendly.

:VERY LARGE BREAK IN ARTICLE:

A low for carbs

The Atkins boom worries companies that depend on carbohydrates – such as pasta, tortilla and bread makers.

Pasta consumption is still growing, but hardly at the carbo-loading inspired rates of the 1980s, according to American Italian Pasta Co., the largest U.S. pasta maker.

"Our industry would be growing faster if not for the Atkins diet," said Tim Webster, president and chief executive of the company, based in Kansas City, Mo. "I've seen no other diet's effect be as substantial."

The Tortilla Industry Association addressed the threat head-on this month in a seminar titled: "An Industry in Crisis: The High-protein, Low-carb Diet and Its Effects on the Tortilla Industry."

Wheat flour consumption started dropping after 1997, when U.S. consumption hit a peak of 147 pounds per person. Last year, that figure fell to 139 pounds, said Judi Adams, president of the Wheat Foods Council in Parker, Colo.

"I like to equate what's happened to the industry to the book The Perfect Storm," she said. "Everything is hitting the industry all at one time."

Milling & Baking News executive editor Josh Sosland also used a nature metaphor to sum up the flour industry's problem. It "is in the middle of a hurricane right now," he said.

The industry is responding with low-sugar breads and low-carb pastas, but that's not the answer, Mr. Sosland said.

"When you look at headlines, it's horrifying for the industry," he said. "People are saying horrible things about refined flour. At the last meeting of the American Bakers Association, the industry committed to educating consumers. They've decided they're going to fight back."

The bread industry needs to remind people "it's making the staff of life, feeding Americans folic acid and doing more to prevent birth defects than the March of Dimes," Mr. Sosland added. "The industry knows it's making a wholesome product. It's frustrating."

Beefing up

The beef industry, on the other hand, is celebrating.

After declining steadily in the 1980s and much of the '90s, the industry saw consecutive quarters of increased demand during the last half of 1998. Beef sales have gone up for 12 of the last 14 quarters.

U.S. per capita consumption of beef in 2002 was 64.4 pounds, up from 62.9 pounds in 2001.

"Attention on high-protein diets has prompted the consumer to discover, or rediscover, the health benefits of protein," said Shalene McNeill, senior manager of nutrition communication at the Texas Beef Council, which represents 140,000 Texas cattle producers.

Richard Wortham, the council's executive vice president, said beef sales have been aided by "an industrywide focus to tell our science-based nutrition story" and the introduction of more convenient beef products.

(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: atkinsdiet; beef; crisis; protein; tortillas; turass
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

My local Wal-Mart carries LeCarb brand ice cream (actually ice milk, sweetened with Splenda). The Stawberry and Lemon flavors are as close to sherbet as I've tried.

LeCarb

41 posted on 05/29/2003 2:34:04 PM PDT by Cooter
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To: drdemars
I'm sorry but that low carb tortilla tastes like crap. I soaked them in butter and all it did was make me think I was eating buttered cardboard.

I do better just avoiding the breads and chips period. The pure delight chocolate and chocolate crunch bars are pretty good though. So is LeCarb ice cream from wal mart. They really help with those occasional cravings.

42 posted on 05/29/2003 2:37:07 PM PDT by okkev68
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To: Cooter
Is that a French company? Or Leckerb in Texas?
43 posted on 05/29/2003 2:39:13 PM PDT by okkev68
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To: LanPB01
Shouldn't the influx of 300,000 illegal aliens every year more than offset the "Atkins effect" on the "Tortilla Crisis".
44 posted on 05/29/2003 2:41:44 PM PDT by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: okkev68
LOL. Actually, it is made in Texas (Tyler, TX to be specific).
45 posted on 05/29/2003 2:42:00 PM PDT by Cooter
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To: PBRSTREETGANG
"Shouldn't the influx of 300,000 illegal aliens every year more than offset the "Atkins effect" on the "Tortilla Crisis"."

I tend to think that influx would offset the impending doom of tortilla producers, but apparently, the powerful tortilla lobbyist seem to think otherwise.

"The Tortilla Crisis: Day 8" on your local news broadcast:
Things got ugly today outside this Old El Paso factory, as the pro-tortilla march turned violent when representatives of the Atkins Diet showed up for a counter-protest . . ."
46 posted on 05/29/2003 2:55:46 PM PDT by LanPB01
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To: PianoMan
Ha ha, next on the agenda, a low carb chocolate shake! :o)
47 posted on 05/29/2003 2:59:49 PM PDT by Maximum Leader (run from a knife, close on a gun)
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To: Maximum Leader
Check out this site if you do not mind making the buns yourself. I have not tried them but others have and liked them.

http://headed-west.com/sherries_recipes.htm

PS you need to use whole buttermilk or "just add another 1/4 cup of bake mix to the bun recipe and that will fix the limpness. You are probably using lowfat buttermilk and it's not as thick as the full fat buttermilk".


"They" say the cornbread recipe is good too and make a good dressing for turkey and pork chops. :)
48 posted on 05/29/2003 3:00:43 PM PDT by CathyRyan
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To: PianoMan
Does anyone know a registration that works for Dallas Morning News?

The username / password "annoying" works at many annoying web sites. In this case the user name is an e-mail so use "annoying@annoying.com". It works!

49 posted on 05/29/2003 3:33:55 PM PDT by Reeses
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To: Maximum Leader
The Fast Food Company that comes out with the Low-carb hamburger bun is going to make much money.

Atkins sells 3g effective carbs, hamburg buns, I think. Haven't tried them though. I ordered their free catalogue from the Atkins website. It was worth it. I'm interested in their Pina Colada and Margarita mixes...

50 posted on 05/29/2003 6:14:43 PM PDT by Aquinasfan
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To: drdemars
I don't know about anyone else but the website you gave does not work. www.tortilliafactory.com returns "cannot be found". How about "www.latortilliafactory.com" That one works!
51 posted on 05/29/2003 9:05:15 PM PDT by TruthNtegrity (God bless America, God bless President George W. Bush and God bless our Military!)
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To: Wolfie
Don't worry, these diet fads are cyclical. Things will swing back the carb way in 4 to 6 years.

Atkins is far from a fad. It is the truth. It is manifest to anyone who has read the book and understood it. Some people are too stupid to understand it and must have Katie Couric and George McGovern tell them what to eat.

52 posted on 06/01/2003 5:11:55 PM PDT by Nov3
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To: Nov3
we are trying this diet and my hubby is losing while I am not....does this diet work differantly for women?

also.....can you lose weight simply by decreasing your carbs....say keep them below 100grams a day....and still lose weight, although slower?

53 posted on 06/01/2003 5:21:30 PM PDT by cherry (`)
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To: NotQuiteCricket
Tortillas provide excellent nutrition...................as long as they're made out of good old American white corn.

Of course corn by itself isn't a complete protein so what you do is butterfly some boneless short ribs from Costco, dust them with Kosher salt, let sit for a few minutes to bring the juices out and then grill them on the hottest fire you can make. Then roll up inside a lovely white corn tortilla hot from the microwave. This is the taco from heaven!

Tortillas, corn not wheat flour, are part of the solution not part of the problem.
54 posted on 06/01/2003 5:23:06 PM PDT by SBprone
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To: cherry
I am not....does this diet work differantly for women?

Yes it does work differently. Women have a harder time losing initially. The republican Atkins diet is also sexist! My wife didn't lose anything for nearly 2 weeks. I had already lost 20 pounds! She caught up pretty quickly! Most women eat far more carbs than men. Your body has to become accustomed to burning fat. Early on you need to eat more fat than you would think. Your body is basically limited in the amount of fat it can mobilize. Later as your body becomes more efficient at mobilizing your own fat your can ease up.

If you absolutely refuse to lose any weight, read the section on the fat fast.

Plan your meals! Get some low carb snacks in the house! Don't let yourself get too hungry!

55 posted on 06/01/2003 6:33:05 PM PDT by Nov3
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To: cherry
also.....can you lose weight simply by decreasing your carbs....say keep them below 100grams a day....and still lose weight, although slower?

More like 75 grams and the weigh loss will be much slower.

56 posted on 06/01/2003 6:34:18 PM PDT by Nov3
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To: SBprone
Corn is stuffed with carbs. Use the tortillas to fatten up beef not lose weight.
57 posted on 06/01/2003 6:36:13 PM PDT by Nov3
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To: Aquinasfan
Recently I had in front of me in line an obese housewife with two whining and fussing kids tugging at her. Her cart was overflowing with stuff like Hershey's chocolate milk syrup, Oreo Cookies, Cheese Curls, Doritos, pastries, snack food cakes and tons and tons of soda.

My wife works part time as a check-out clerk and she has seen this over, and over, and over...

I am still amazed at what people eat. The low fat cereals with the AHA seal of approval REALLY get me! Once you have read Atkins, Protein Power, and Life without Bread (a must read!) the nutritional makeup of most people's diet looks like suicide! The most amazing thing is some of them are shopping "healthy" foods!

58 posted on 06/01/2003 6:45:16 PM PDT by Nov3
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To: Nov3
You need carbs to live. Complex carbs, such as whole grains and cooked vegetables, are your friends. They don't tweak you blood sugar and insulin levels and you won't get fat consuming them.

Losing weight rapidly requires a special kind of diet. But if you don't know how to eat right when you arrive at your target weight then losing weight will just be a temporary accomplishment.

The bottom line is that learning to feed yourself a proper diet is far more important than rapid weight loss.
59 posted on 06/01/2003 10:07:03 PM PDT by SBprone
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To: Nov3
the nutritional makeup of most people's diet looks like suicide! The most amazing thing is some of

Yup. Once you get over the euphoria stage of the Atkins program, you get into the PO'd stage. What the government dietary guidlines are doing is horrific.

60 posted on 06/02/2003 5:12:33 AM PDT by Aquinasfan
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