Part of an ongoing series on ingredients served at U.S. Colleges and Universities

Information updated January 2024

Cornell University is part of the elite Ivy League collective. Let’s look at what the brains and bodies at Cornell are offered for fuel for at Breakfast by Cornell Dining who states they are “Nourishing the Future” and “We take pride in providing our customers with a rich dining experience, and not just a meal.” (Source: Cornell University Dining Services Web site 1/24)

MUFFINS: Below is a snapshot of Sugar and Calories in six of the muffins available for breakfast >> all of these muffins have Sugar as the first ingredient >> Ingredients are always listed in descending order of amount.

The Double Chocolate Chip Muffin at Cornell has 60 grams of Sugar and 750 calories.

Q: How is a student or teacher expected to perform when their body is processing 60 grams of Sugar at breakfast?

The Blueberry Muffin at Cornell has 43 grams of Sugar, 620 calories and 7 ingredients banned at Whole Foods. (Source for banned ingredients: Amazon Whole Foods Web site 1/24) A tiny portion of the Sugar is naturally-occurring Sugar from the Blueberries.

NATURALLY-OCCURING SUGAR vs. ADDED SUGAR: U.S. Food and Beverage labels are now required to break out Added Sugar from Total Sugars, but this is not done in the Cornell nutrition information so it is impossible for a consumer to determine which of the Sugars are Naturally-occurring vs. Added.

The American Heart Association recommends a Daily Added Sugar Limit for Men of 36 grams and Women of 25 grams.

BREAKFAST SANDWICHES: The following Breakfast Sandwiches contain multiple Added Sweeteners and ingredients we would never use at home including High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Color, Ammonium Sulfate and Chemical Preservatives.

Shown below, the Plantiful Veg Bowl contains 6 ingredients banned at Whole Foods and multiple ingredients Not In Kitchen when making homemade:

BEYOND BREAKFAST: Below is a look at what’s in two sandwiches available at Cornell.

CORNELL vs. YALE: Here’s a comparison of the Chocolate Chip Cookie available at Cornell which is banned at Whole Foods vs. Yale which is Closest To Homemade:

See what’s on the menu at other leading U.S. Colleges + Universities:

Discover products which are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Closest To Homemade products use ingredients which are closest to those we would use at home to make the item. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.

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