A billion dollars a day, plus chocolate and seltzer

As I continue to search for new, interesting, local, healthy snacks, I typically see the usual suspects on every shelf everywhere, crowding out the aforementioned "craft" snacks. How did they get so ubiquitous? And, are some of the brands we buy actually just offshoots of a big megacorp (the answer is, too often, yes). Recently, I came across this rather intimidating chart over at the Oxfam America website:

Yikes! If you are trying to avoid putting your hard-earned greenbacks into the pockets of multi-nationals, good luck with all that. The dominance of these ten companies is staggering in its scope and depth. However, you can go to BehindTheBrands.org to see who owns your favorites and how they treat their suppliers and farmers.

Or you can keep supporting local companies and help your local economy and community thrive, like these five chocolate bar specialists.

Finally, seltzer is good.

Candy, chocolate and HFCS - Three items worth reading

Is candy the next battleground in America's Health War? Joe Heim of the Washington Post took an in-depth look at the issue a couple months ago.

Of all the craft food movements currently seeing staggering growth (beer, whiskey, snacks), chocolate is possibly the most fascinating due to the particulars of the harvest and the long history and development of the cacao seed. The Rise of Awesome Milk Chocolate, by Marissa Sertich Velie at Serious Eats, will give you cravings, at the very least...

The backlash to HFCS from the corporate side has begun in earnest. Honey Nut Cheerios is the latest to use the removal of the additive as a marketing ploy. Linda Bonvie at Food Identity Theft has the details here.

Other news'n'notes

While SnackyPOP will continue to be a resource for healthy snacks and beverages, this blog will change direction slightly and focus more on what's new and available near you. Watch this space for a more detailed and developed database of craft sodas and unique snacks. Tasty news will continue to be featured here, AND even more so on Zombie Cat Bacon's new daily publication, The Daily R'n'R. Visit the Daily R'n'R today and register for our email newsletter delivered every day at lunch - always free, never not delicious.