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U.S.A. April 3, 2023 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9 Reese’s Cups, chocolate bars made from plants now available By Dee-ann Durbin The Associated Press eese’s Peanut Butter Cups are getting the vegan treatment. The Hershey Co. says that Reese’s Plant Based Peanut Butter Cups, which went on sale in March, are its first vegan chocolates sold nationally. A second plant-based offering, Hershey’s Plant Based Extra Creamy with Almonds and Sea Salt, will follow this month. The chocolates are made with oats instead of milk, Hershey said. Hershey has experimented with vegan chocolate before. It sold an oat-based chocolate bar called Oat Made in some test markets starting in 2021. But the new products will be the first sold throughout the U.S. under the “Plant Based” label. Hershey said consumers want R choice and are looking for products they consider healthier or with fewer ingredients, including reduced sugar and plant-based options. Hershey also introduced an organic version of Reese’s Cups in February 2021. Younger consumers, in particular, are looking to reduce consumption of animal-based products, says Euromonitor, a market research firm. In a 2021 survey, Euromonitor found that 54% of Generation Z consumers were restricting animal-based products from their diets, compared to 34% of Baby Boomers. Nestle has sold its KitKat V, a vegan KitKat bar, in Europe since 2021, while Cadbury sells a vegan chocolate bar in the United Kingdom. But so far, U.S. vegan chocolate options have generally been limited to premium brands, DAIRY-FREE FAVORITES. The image on the left shows The Hershey Company’s new plant-based Reese’s peanut butter cups. Hershey said the plant-based peanut butter cups are its first plant-based chocolate sold nationally. A second vegan offering, Hershey’s plant-based extra creamy with almonds and sea salt, right, goes on sale this month. (Photos/The Hershey Company) like Lindt, or organic chocolatiers like Hu Kitchen. Hershey said it developed plant-based versions of Reese’s Cups and Hershey bars — some of its most popular products — because there’s a dearth of mainstream plant-based chocolates in the U.S. market. The plant-based versions will cost more. Hershey wouldn’t share details because it said retailers set final prices. But Rite Aid lists a 1.4-ounce package of Autism now more common among children of color in U.S. Continued from page 7 Still, it’s not clear that Black and Hispanic children with autism are being helped as much as their white counterparts. A study published in January found Black and Hispanic kids had less access to autism services than white children during the 2017-2018 academic year. Autism is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. There are many possible symptoms, many of which overlap with other diagnoses. They can include delays in language and learning, social and emotional withdrawal, and an unusual need for routine. Scientists believe genetics can play a role, but there is no known biological reason why it would be more common in one racial or ethnic group than another. For decades, the diagnosis was given only to kids with severe problems communicating or socializing and those with unusual, repetitive behaviors. But around 30 years ago, the term became shorthand for a group of milder, related conditions known as “autism spectrum disorders.” There are no blood or biologic tests for it. It’s diagnosed by making judgements about a child’s behavior. To estimate how common autism is, the CDC checks health and school records in 11 states and focuses on 8-year-olds, because most cases are diagnosed by that age. Other researchers have their own estimates, but experts say the CDC’s estimate is the most rigorous and is considered the gold standard. The overall autism rate has been rising for decades and it remains far more common among boys than girls. But the latest study also found, for the first time, that more than 1% of 8-year-old girls had been diagnosed with it. A second CDC report looked at how common autism was in 4-year-olds. That research is important because diagnoses are increasingly happening at younger ages, said Kelly Shaw, who oversees the CDC autism tracking project. Black children with autism have historically been diagnosed at later ages than their white peers, said Rose Donohue, a psychiatrist at Washington University. But the study of 4-year-olds likewise found that autism was less common in white kids in 2020 than it was among Black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander children. The 4-year-olds, however, were less likely to have been evaluated for autism than kids in the past. That was likely due to interruptions in childcare and medical services during that first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaw said. The Associated Press Health and Science Depart- ment receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Utah social media law is ambitious, but is it enforceable? Continued from page 8 slow down all users’ ability to mindlessly scroll on their platforms for hours on end. The laws are the latest effort from Utah lawmakers focused on children and the information they can access online. Two years ago, governor Spencer Cox signed legislation that called on tech companies to automatically block porn on cellphones and tablets sold, citing the dangers it posed to children. Amid concerns about enforcement, lawmakers in the deeply religious state revised the bill to prevent it from taking effect unless five other states passed similar laws — which has not happened. Still, child development experts are generally hopeful about the growing push to regulate social media and its effects on children. “Children have specific developmental needs, and we want to protect them at the same time that we’re trying to push back on Big Tech,” Perry said. “It’s a two-part effort. You have to really put your arm around the kids while you’re pushing Big Tech away.” Book ban attempts hit record high in 2022 Continued from page 8 on Twitter as “arbitrary and borderline absurd.” DeSantis has called reports of mass bannings a “hoax,” saying in a statement released in early March that the allegations reveal “some are attempting to use our schools for indoctrination.” Some books do come back. Officials at Florida’s Duval County Public Schools were widely criticized after they removed Roberto Clemente: The Pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a children’s biography of the late Puerto Rican baseball star. In February, they announced the book would again be on shelves, explaining that they needed to review it and make sure it didn’t violate any state laws. Cost of India quitting coal is $900 billion, think tank says Continued from page 4 avoid any power outages. The country’s coal use is expected to peak between 2035 and 2040, according to government figures. Prime minister Narendra Modi announced in 2021 that the country will achieve net-zero emissions — where it only puts out greenhouse gasses that it can somehow offset — by 2070. United Nations secretary- general António Guterres has urged nations to speed up their net-zero goals, calling for developing countries to set a target of 2050. He was met with a muted response. The reports recommend that the Indian government focuses on retiring old and unprofitable mines and power plants first. Over 200 of India’s more than 459 mines can be retired in this way. “The energy transition has to start with coal,” said Jayant Sinha, who represents the coal-rich Hazaribagh constituency in the central Indian state of Jharkhand, adding that the switch to clean energy needs both funds and institutions to ramp it up. “Both ... must happen together for a successful transition,” he said. Partnerships with developed countries to help the coal-reliant nations of South Africa, Indonesia, and Vietnam make a just energy transition have been made in recent years. While these deals are steps in the right direction, they’re too small in scale to make a real impact, energy experts say. It’s still not clear if India will be open to a similar just energy transition deal. Indian leaders have expressed skepticism over climate funds pro- mised by developed nations, pointing to a promise to give low-income and developing countries $100 billion every year to help with climate challenges back in 2009 that still haven’t been met. two plant-based Reese’s Cups at $2.49; that’s about $1 more than consumers would pay for a regular package. Hershey charges a similar premium for organic versions of its Reese Cups, which went on sale in 2021. And ditching the dairy won’t cut calories. While Hershey didn’t release all of the nutritional facts, the 1.4-ounce package of plant-based Reese’s Cups have 210 calories; that’s the same number of calories as a 1.5-ounce package of traditional Reese’s Cups. Welcome Home! 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