Eat real food
Consumers (that’s you) need to know the facts about chemicals, additives, and preservatives. An educated eater is a healthy eater. Usually. Because the thought of eating nitrate, sodium stearyl lactylate, and monocalcium phosphate for lunch isn’t really appealing, is it? That’s what you’re eating in a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread, with potato chips. For many of the foods we eat, food = chemicals.
Additives are “any substance the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result in affecting the characteristics of the food.” Hmmm. Sounds like the whole intent is to change the food into something it’s not.
Of course, that’s not always bad. Herbs and spices are added to change flavors. Salt is a preservative, and has been for years (anyone who’s eaten lutefisk might say that’s not such a good thing, but we’ll keep that as the exception that proves the rule).
ASSIGNMENT – For every meal you eat today, pay attention to how much of the food is just the way it grew, and how much has been “enhanced” with chemicals, additives, or preservatives.
