Spuds,

I think I should clarify my previous message. Note that I said "pure chemical." Most chemicals used in foods, food containers and/or agriculture are not 99.9% pure. They all have contaminates.

So it is true that a product called "sugar" from one source may not be completely identical to sugar from another source. Even a sugar from a natural source could be contaminated with chemicals such as pesticides, etc. Likewise man-made sugar could be contaminated.

This certainly clouds the issue, nevertheless, it still is true that just because a substance comes from natural products, it doesn't mean that it is "better" than a man-made substance.