Sunday, March 04, 2012

Why Isn't Nature Good Enough?

Why does man have to come up with the most complicated, chemically manipulated processes to alter our food for profit?

That's what it comes down to. The ability to maintain shelf life far longer than nature intended means more money for the makers.

Why am I on this tangent?

I was so excited when I bought Ortega flour tortillas. In a big fat yellow rectangle it shouts, "0g Trans Fat! Cholesterol Free!"

Joy. Right?

Not so fast. While eating supper last night I turned it over to look at the ingredients. Yes, I'm a reader while I eat and will read anything just to read.

Lo! What should my horrified gaze land upon but the ingredients of Interesterified Soybean Oil AND Hydrogenated Soybean Oil - with Monoglycerides no less!!

WTH?

Fully Hydrogenated? Are they nuts? And actually have the audacity to add Interesterified fats on TOP of them? 

I'll  tell  you what. Until both of those health dangers are removed, I am never going to by another Ortega product again. As currently made, they are not safe for my family, especially my husband who suffered a heart attack.  Never mind the 300mg of salt for one taco.  Who eats only one taco for supper?


Interesterified Oils are starting to appear in more and more products - buyer beware.  I'm not going there. It's a chemical  from a chemical process.  It's too new and research is bouncing all over.  I won't be a guinea pig for corporations if I can help it.  I don't need nasty health surprises ten or fifteen years down the road when they finally figure out what all this manipulation of enzymes actually does to the human body.

Age is manipulating me all on its own.

2 comments:

Marianne Arkins said...

Why isn't nature good enough? Oh, don't get me started. It all comes down to one word: MONEY.

Why else do we cram cattle onto a concrete feedlot where they dont' have space to turn around, feed them corn and soy that they aren't meant to eat and which makes them SICK and then fill them full of antibiatics and meds to keep them alive for the six months it takes to fatten them up to slaughter?

Why else do we stuff twelve chickens into a tiny cage after debeaking them so they don't peck each other, fill THEM full of antibiotics, alternately starve them and expose them to light 24 hours a day so they produce more eggs?

Why is genetically modified corn in nearly EVERY SINGLE THING we eat, even stuff that our wouldn't expect corn to be in?

MONEY.

Most of these items and practices are banned in Europe. Do you know that soda companies make two different sodas, one to sell here in America and one to sell in Europe -- because OUR soda has GMO corn syrup and Europe has disallowed its use.

So it's okay to poison Americans?

I'll stop for now ... but yeah, it sucks in a huge way and if people were truly aware of how much poison went into the foods they eat, they'd be horrified.

I wish people were. If we voted with our dollars, our voices would be heard. Because it comes down to money.

Brandy said...

I'll be sure to pay more attention to the tortilla shells I buy. I have to read most food ingredients anyway, I am not supposed to have anything with soy. Do you know how hard it is to find food without soy added in some form or another.

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