As Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs change the way America eats, food manufacturers are trying to whip themselves up a forkful of the action — with heavies like Conagra Brands and Nestlé announcing new diet-compatible product lines in recent months.
So far, however, nutrition experts seem unimpressed — with some saying that the processed eats and other products capitalizing on the trend are little more than a “marketing ploy” that can easily be left on the table.
Roughly 15.5 million people — approximately 6% of US adults — have already turned to the injectables for help with weight management.Kassandra – stock.adobe.com
“Because GLP-1s suppress appetite, people taking these medications should be mindful about including nutrient-dense foods to make sure they reach their daily goals, including prioritizing foods that contain fiber and protein,” explained dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S. RD, in a recent article published by EatingWell.
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“That said, I don’t think it’s necessary to seek out foods with these claims if you’re taking a GLP-1 medication. Instead, just focus on eating foods rich in fiber and protein,” she said.
Conagra announced in December that as of this month, some of their Healthy Choice meals will now be designated as GLP-1 friendly, the outlet reported.
Nestlé launched a new line, branded as Vital Pursuit, last fall — featuring dishes like a Southwest Style Chicken Fajita Sandwich Melt and Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Broccoli Bowl with Cavatappi Protein Pasta.
Nestlé has even taken things a step further, recently launching protein shake “shots” designed to help suppress appetite the way medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound do.
Companies are releasing new meals designed to attract Ozempic users. But experts say you can easily whip up your own high protein, high fiber dinners.Justlight – stock.adobe.com Called Boost Pre-Meal Hunger Support and designed to be downed shortly before a meal, they’re packed with whey protein.
“You get an increase in natural GLP-1 which helps in controlling the feeling of hunger. So this dose has a significant effect on satiety,” Stefan Palzer, chief technology officer at Nestle, told Reuters at the time of launch.
And while these products may appear to walk the walk, there’s a catch, particularly when it comes to frozen food, the meal-prep pros at EatingWell warn.
“It’s … important to note that many premade meals are also high in sodium. So while they’re portion-controlled, you might end up with more sodium than is healthy—and the sodium bloat to go along with it,” the writer noted.
“Food manufacturers do a good job of keeping up with the latest trends and marketing foods in a way that attracts certain customers—in this case, people taking GLP-1s,” they continued.
“Ultimately, however, calling certain products “GLP-1-friendly” is a bit of a marketing ploy, as the foods are simply high-fiber and high-protein—something you can make for yourself.”
You can smell it in the air. A deep sense of betrayal among Democratic voters.
An underlying realization that the Democratic party’s politburo — Obama, Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries, and their courtiers of elected official and consultant sycophants — sold voters a bill of goods: the gaslighting of the public on President Biden’s decrepitude; the false idol of the Kamala Harris “campaign of joy” as a smart last-minute stand-in; and the repeated cowering to the far left whose wokeness and moral condescension turns off most voters.
In a just world, one might expect a formal no-confidence vote on this leadership failure.
The ‘Obama Era’ is characterized by a set of ideas and tactics directly linked to the Democrats’ loss. Getty Images
After all, this is the kind of recall we see with Western European heads of state, in House speakership races, and soon, in Canada. That recall may not happen, but the undeniable trouncing may signal the end of what we can call the Obama Era.
Simply put, the Obama Era is characterized by a set of ideas and tactics directly linked to the Democrats’ loss. The first is the “Demography is Destiny” delusion — a kind of manifest destiny of the left, adopted in the second Obama term, that promises an ever-diversifying electorate would inexorably vote Democratic and must therefore be patronized with cartoonish appeals to identity and big government wardship.
This proved to be not only deeply un-American but politically foolish.
Upon taking office, Biden mandated race preferences and DEI rules across 90 different federal agencies — what leading race theorist Coleman Hughes refers to as the neo-racism of the left.
Open borders were supposed to buy Hispanic votes. Green New Deal wars on oil and gas industries that most of the big players on the global stage would reject were supposed to buy young voters.
Validating the rhetoric of pro-Hamas activists was supposed to buy votes in Dearborn and the anti-Israel and often antisemitic left.
An overreaching focus on identity politics has resulted in what writer Coleman Hughes has called a “neo-racism” among the left.NurPhoto via Getty Images
Democrats ignored all the polls warning against these identity politics which never had broad voter support — including among black and brown Americans. But it was too late to turn back.
This post-modern religion had spawned the second pillar of the Obama Era: a new industry of NGOs, consultants, activist groups, foundations and donors, public unions, and the increasingly politicized state and city bureaucracies in Democratic-run cities underwritten with gobs of COVID-relief and federal taxpayer dollars.
They were what writer Michael Lind refers to as the Shadow Government — for whom the liturgy of identity politics became the central organizing principle to expand organizational bloat, fundraise, and earn social credit scores within the party.
Some 70% of voters say they are disgusted with the media — hard to blame them considering the media cover-up of Pres. Biden’s decline.Getty Images
This spawning bureaucracy had a profound and often underestimated reach by foisting critical race and gender ideologies in federal and state agencies (e.g. prioritizing COVID checks on the basis of race), in public schools across the country and, ultimately, into a multi-billion dollar DEI industrial complex in corporate America.
However, now much of this second pillar of the Obama Era is now likely to fall to constitutional challenges unlikely to withstand equal protection challenges, widespread public disaffection with the underlying ideology, and the Trump administration’s DOGE scalpel.
The third pillar of the Obama Era is the massive cancel culture and accompanying online authoritarianism.
Former New York Times reporter David Samuels chronicles how the Obama White House conceived and perfected the strategy of using affiliate left-wing public intellectuals to sell often false or misleading narratives to mainstream news and political elites on, say, the deeply defective Iranian nuclear deal, and then to quell dissent with cancel tactics.
“As the machine ramped up, censoring dissenting opinions on everything from COVID, to DEI programs, to police conduct, to the prevalence and the effects of hormone therapies and surgeries on youth, large numbers of people began feeling pressured by an external force that they couldn’t always name; even greater numbers of people fell silent,” writes Samuels.
The mainstream media has been its own worst enemy as this third pillar of the Obama Era also appears to self-destruct.
Extreme-green ideology was a key component of Obama’s belief system, even as it failed to truly benefit either consumers or the environment.ZUMAPRESS.com
Finally, Israel’s stunning success in decapitating Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s arc of terror has laid ridicule to Obama’s second-term central policy goal of Iranian appeasement bought with pallets of cash from the US and an exhortation that secular Arab states must “share the neighborhood” with this imperial, neo-Nazi regime.
That, together with Obama’s red-line bluff on Syria’s chemical gas use, his backing down to Putin on the annexation of Crimea, Biden’s buffoonish Afghanistan withdrawal, and demonstrably counterproductive if not cynical efforts to undermine Israel’s successful campaign against the terrorists, has all left the Democrats looking weak and incompetent not just to voters but the world’s worst actors.
Barack Obama was an immensely talented and often inspiring historic figure with his campaign of hope and change. But the political and cultural offspring of his White House that even he himself was often unable to contain, has helped lead the party to a truly dark and defeated corner.
Julian Epstein is the former Democratic chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee.
In a significant regulatory shiftthat took placequietly theday afterChristmas,the Biden administration finalized new climate rules targeting natural gas-powered instantaneous water heaters.The Department of Energy (DOE), which traditionally issues a press release for such regulations, chose not to announce these changes publicly, raising eyebrows across various sectors.
According to the Free Beacon, the new regulations aim to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a move aligned with broader climate change mitigation efforts. However, the regulations are set to remove approximately 40% of the current tankless water heater models from the market by 2029 (between gas and electric). This shift is expected to force consumers to opt for either more expensive or less efficient alternatives.
An industry analysis forecasts that the average cost increase for new water heaters due to the regulations will be around $450. This price hike is poised to disproportionately affect low-income and senior households, who are among the most reliant on the more affordable models currently targeted for phase-out.
Meanwhile, the timing of these regulations is noteworthy - coming in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's electoral victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump has expressed intentions to roll back many of Biden's climate initiatives to bolster energy production and stimulate economic growth. This regulatory push on water heaters is part of a series of actions targeting household appliances, including gas stoves and refrigerators, aimed at reducing carbon emissions and promoting electric alternatives.
Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, criticized the move, stating, "It bans an entire category of tankless water heaters and the ones that are most affordable. This is all part of the climate change agenda...an antipathy towards natural gas because they want to electrify everything."
Industry's Response and Legal Challenges
The regulation has sparked extensive debate about its legality and practicality. The American Gas Association has hinted at possible legal action, suggesting that the rule might violate the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which prohibits banning products that offer unique performance characteristics.
Frank Windsor, president of Rinnai America, the nation's leading manufacturer of tankless water heaters, voiced strong opposition. He highlighted the contradiction in eliminating higher-efficiency product categories- telling the Beacon, "If you really want to impact the water heating ruling, you really need to deal with the tank models." Rinnai America, having invested $70 million in a new facility in Georgia based on the previous administration's manufacturing incentives, finds itself at risk of seeing its investment become obsolete under the new rules.
