Most of the food we eat today is processed, shipped to the store, and then cooked in our kitchens. So typically we don't all know what's in our food. Yes, there are people who will look at labels and identify things that are in the food that way. But what about where these products came from?
One of the main ingredients in many processed foods today is high fructose corn syrup. Seriously, if you aren't aware of it now, check out the ingredient labels on your foods. I was surprised to find out that my Turkey stuffing had HFCS in it, though I already knew that nearly all soft drinks contain it. I could not give this subject justice, so I'll pass the reins to this blog.
Gelatin. Do you know how it's made? Honestly, this one didn't come to my attention until after I had been with my boyfriend a while, and he explained how many foods contain gelatin. For example, both Starburst and Skittles contain gelatin. As do some Ruffles potato chips, and marshmallows, among other things. How's it made, you ask? Well, pig bones and tendons are boiled, in order to extract some of the collagen. The solution cools and then forms gelatin. There are some alternatives to this, as Kosher gelatin is made using fish bones and cow hooves, and other gelatins can be made from seaweed (agar-agar) and other elements are made for vegans, such as guar gum and carrangeenan.
Cheese. What's used to make cheese? Most often, Rennin, which is an enzyme taken from the lining of the fourth stomach of a milk-fed calf. Recently, of course, bioengineers have been able to take the gene that produces rennin and place it into bacteria (much the same way Insulin is produced commercially). Of course, for vegetarians and vegans, the original source (which is still used in organic cheeses) for the enzyme is used, meaning cows are killed to make the cheese. Yet, just think if cheeses that were made with the bacterial rennin were labeled as bioengineered, how many people would instantly go for the organic cheeses, killing more cows in the process.
Most 'natural' flavors are also made in the laboratory. Scientists have isolated for many years the flavorings that give certain fruits and vegetables their distinct flavors, and it is much more cost effective to synthesize these ingredients, rather than try to extract them from the plant they came from.
I'll focus on organic vs. natural in another blog, but this should get people to thinking. Enjoy your food!
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some of that I already knew, some of it I didnt. But i thought it was odd to come across this post considering a feature on Fox News that I saw earlier about a new book in which a man analyzes everything in a Twinkie. And it actually contains some pretty nasty stuff like Sodium Chloride, and some other chemicals that are volatile and explosive! and we've been injesting these all this time?
You do realize that sodium chloride is table salt, right? Well, table salt also contains iodine in order to prevent goiters (we need iodine for a functional thyroid gland). It's kinda necessary for our survival, seeing as how sodium is one of the ions that elicits an action potential in our neurons (it causes them to fire).
~C
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I dont remember exactly what he said, so i could be wrong on that one. But I do remember that there were some really wierd explosive chemicals mentioned that definitely should NOT be in a twinkie.
I knew a little bit but the gelitin in STARBURSTS? nuts. I don't like to eat many processed things anyways. I like salad. Also from reading about the Twinkies. I sure am glad I don't like them. -Jazziy
yeah, I dont like them either. but one major thing that i think the guy was trying to prove was that alot of the stuff he found wasnt even on the ingredients label, which is fradulent on the part of Hostess, the company who makes and sells twinkies.
I will never think of gelatin the same way again.
I try not to think about what is in my food, because when I think about it, I won't eat it. I can't think about meat being meat, or I won't eat that. Can't think about veggies coming from the ground, or I won't eat that. Can't think about the bug legs in the candy bar I eat on occasion or I won't eat that. It's pathetic. So to prevent starvation, I refuse to think about it. It's self preservation I tell you!
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss
"May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the warm rays of the sun fall upon your home."
Lol. Well, on the bright side, the quality of food has vastly improved. Can you believe that during the industrial revolution, they used to sell 'butter' that contained no butter at all? And, of course, they weren't required to actually put what was in the food on the label, so there were all sorts of nasty things. It makes me shudder.
I had the same problem with gelatin when I first heard about it. But the taste of starburst and skittles got me over it pretty quickly. I still won't eat hot dogs, for various reasons, though.
~C
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Read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. It is a big eye opener, a bit graphic, occasionally stomach turning, but over all decent. I had to read it for an ag. class and I loved it, and appreciated being a vegetarian more and more with each chapter.
I haven't read it, but we talked about it extensively in my AP US History class 4 years ago, and I know what sort of thing is written in it.
~C
Visit my blog.
I should probably establish that I'm a chef...so I'll try anything once, no matter what's in it...and people who won't try things really aggravate me:
However, I fail to see why it matters that gelatin is made out of tendons and marrow. So is demi glace...ever eaten pot pie? chicken marsala from a restaurant? anything with a thick, rich, beef sauce?
Ok, hot dogs? chicken nuggets?
They still taste good...and *gasp* you're eating things you wouldn't normally look to eat. It's the equivalent of one of us eating a cow in India. The people there would be appalled...we think of it as steak.
Some of the best things I've ever eaten, most people would have never tried had they known what was in it. Haggis, Tripe...they're delicious, as long as you can look past what they are.
All that I'm saying is that if you like something, eat it. Why does it matter where it came from, as long as it isn't disastrous to your health?
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xXx
till death.
1) pot pie... haven't eaten it in years.
2) Don't think I've ever had chicken marsala.
3) I use flour or corn starch to thicken all my sauces. Just depends on how heavy I want it. Works remarkably well.
4) I have a thing against hot dogs, with the possible exception of all beef hot dogs.
5) My chicken nuggets are by and large real chicken. That is, you can actually see the lines in the meat. It isn't incredibly processed. The sponginess in 'fake' chicken nuggets bothers me too much.
Why does it matter where it came from, as long as it isn't disastrous to your health?
The problem is that some of the things I talk about are disastrous to your health. Or against a person's beliefs. I mostly deal with chemicals in my second one, but Splenda (sucralose) comes to mind as something that's possibly quite dangerous for you. And those that are vegetarians... shouldn't they know that the renin (I have a feeling that's not the right word, but I don't feel like looking it up this instant) that is used to make their cheese either came from the inside of a cow's stomach or was manufactured using bacteria? Or how about the Jew or Muslim knowing that the gelatin used to make the Jello was made from pig bones and tendons, instead of some plant source? People should know what they're ingesting. That's what I'm trying to promote.
~C
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