Swinging for the sweet spot

And now there are four. The FDA's approval of rebaudioside A, a derivative of Stevia rebaudiana bertoni, as a food additive brings the total number of low-calorie sugar substitutes to four: saccharin (Sweet ’N Low), aspartame (Equal), sucralose (Splenda), and stevia (Truvia, Rebiana, and PureVia). What stevia holds over its rivals is this: because it is derived directly from the sweetleaf plant, it can be lawfully marketed as a "natural sweetener."

The New York Times' Kim Severson discusses the takeaway lessons  of the emergence of stevia.