Flashback to May 2, 2025. My wife and I are walking along Texas Street, between El Cajon and Meade, in our San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. I see a lid for a product for which I am unfamiliar. Ah, hum. Ice Cream for Bears? Is that because of honey used to sweeten rather than cane sugar or high fructose corn syrup?
The company touts the natural sourcing of ingredients, such as milk from grass-fed cows and honey to sweeten. From a complex sugar perspective, honey isn’t as unhealthy as refined sugar.
Still, the ice cream is jam-packed. Total sugars for the vanilla variety: 22 total, 12 of it added. Compared to Ben & Jerry’s similar flavor: 28 total, 21 added. Haagen Dazs: 28 total, 22 added. Stated succinctly: The amount of sugar added by the two competitors is as much as the total for Ice Cream for Bears. Of note: The American Heart Association recommends men consume no more than 36 grams daily and 15 grams for women.
From the company’s website:
Ice Cream for Bears is on a mission to make food wild again by removing processed foods from packaged foods while supporting the most sustainable practices in food and agriculture. We aim to provide an indulgent and ancestrally consistent ice cream experience that is good for humans, good for animals, and good for Earth.
That sounds more like a message from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. He is rallying for less dependance on ultra-processed foods.
The Featured Image comes from Nikon Zf with NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens attached. Vitals: f/6.3, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 135mm; 4 p.m. EST.