DANGERS OF PROCESSED FOODS -- ONLY ALLOWED IN AMERICA...
Why Does America Consciously Poison It's People
Why does the Unites States government allow processed foods.., that are know to wreck havoc on our health, to line the shelves of every grocery store in the country..? Yet, they have no problem classifying marijuana as a Schedule-1 drug (that's a whole other story)… But they have no problem letting you buy a cancer causing carcinogenic hot dog -- with a side of the other 80% of the processed foods at your local big chain super market. And then they let you wash it down with.., a nice toxic Mountain Dew.
Whole countries like UK and Canada (many more).., have banned the ingredients contained in these "foods" -- I hesitate to even them "foods" so I will call them "products." I've recently seen a few very good, very informative posts on pesticides and the dangers they possess, yet here in the US we have no problem green lighting neonicotinoid pesticides, that are known to threaten not only humans -- but nature itself.
What Is A Processed Food…
Almost all food is processed… An apple is cut off a tree, meat is ground -- but these are mechanically processed foods. What you have to worry about are those chemically treated foods… All those words you can't pronounce on the label -- and there are plenty they leave off the label when you see "artificial coloring" or "artificially flavored" there are probably another 10-20 dangerous chemicals you get to ingest.
They process foods for "safety" so they say… But lets be realistic -- do you actually think Pepsi or any other giant corporation gives a shit about your health… If they cared about your safety they wouldn't produce this crap in the first place. Corporations have one single thing in mind -- money.
Bagged, jarred, boxed, and canned are processed foods.., unless of course, you bagged, boxed, canned or put it in a jar yourself. The techniques and chemicals are used to: flavor, sweeten, texturize, color, hide unpleasant odors, soften and preserve. Even the "fresh" fruit in the local supermarket is nothing more than -- more lies… The average apple is picked when still unripe, treated with 1-methylcyclopropene, waxed, boxed and kept in cold storage for an average of 9-14 months.
Besides the fact that you may just like the way apples taste, many people eat them because they are "healthy." They are looking for and expecting the health benefits from that apple -- NOT. All those wonderful things that are naturally part of an apple, the polyphenols (antioxidants that can help fight cancer) are all but gone by the time you take that first bite. Even that "organic" apple (if not bought at local farm) is being treated with fungicides to.., lengthen there time on the shelf.
We (Americans) have been so inundated with so much processed foods.., that 90% of the money we spend on food -- is processed. According to a study conducted at UCLA, 70% of all home cooked meals included packaged (processed) food. And consuming these "foods" sets us up for many chronic diseases, that can greatly effect your quality of life, some of which are: various cancers, heart disease, obesity, etc., etc… One Harvard study found that just by cutting out out high-carb processed foods, lowered heart disease risk by 30%.
Even something as simple as microwaved popcorn -- POPCORN, is dangerous to humans. Besides the fact that the kernels are probably GMO, the fumes released from artificial butter flavoring contain diacetyl, which is toxic -- GEEZ!
Foods And Ingredients Banned In Other Countries
On the top of most lists you will see -- Farm Raised Salmon. Raised on an unnatural diet of grains and an assortment of antibiotics, because of this diet they are then treated with chemicals known to be toxic to make them look more appetizing. One of the main reasons people eat so much damn salmon (I work in the restaurant/bar industry -- salmon sells like crazy) are the health benefits, which are none existent if you are not eating Alaskan or sockeye salmon. Atlantic salmon is farmed and most of the salmon ordered at restaurants is also farmed -- so be sure to ask before you order it up. Heck, the prices they charge.., they can afford to serve you non-farmed salmon.
Then there are Artificial Coloring Agents (yellow 6, blue 1, blue 2, red 40)… Who else likes, eats and maybe even feed your children Kraft Mac and Cheese -- well up until 2015 it contained artificial coloring to obtain that nice yellow cheese color… But thanks to a petition started by Change.org Kraft has removed the artificial coloring. A win for the people, especially the children that eat so much it. But there are still plenty of products that flood the market containing these harmful chemicals: candy, cheese, soda, sports drinks and even some medicines. They have been linked to -- cancer, birth defects and other health problems in laboratory animals.
Here is a big one -- Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO), which was originally patented by chemical companies as a flame retardant. One of the biggest culprits are citrus flavored sodas like Mountain Dew… It prevents the artificial flavoring from separating and rising to the top of the beverage. It is known for robbing the body of iodine which can lead many serious health issues such as hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, and cancer.
How about a little Arsenic in that chicken… Yes, I said ARSENIC in chicken. Our lovely Food and Drug Administration allows arsenic in the chicken feed to fatten them up -- it helps to promote the growth of chickens, somehow…
When The Fox Is In Charge Of The Hen House
And there are many, many more harmful things that the United States of America.., the "greatest" country in the world (ahem…) feeds it's citizens. So why is it okay for the US to continue letting it's people get poisoned -- where's the honor in that… Where's the FUCKING AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM -- IN THAT (excuse my language and the caps, but this shit pisses me off)!!!
Easy… Lobbyists. We (the people) have been sold-out, again -- this time to Big Food. Theor lobbyists basically write the legislation themselves and blatantly direct to puppets in our government to pass it. Once again, the elected politicians have prove they have only one interest in their constituents -- their vote. As far as your health goes, they couldn't care less…
Countries all over the world have banned many of the foods listed above and more., just to air on the side of caution where human life is involved. They actually take into consideration, that these chemicals are harmful, or may be harmful -- so lets not take the chance of people being harmed. Sounds very reasonable and logical -- but not America…
No, it is obvious it is up to the individual to do the best they can to try and avoid (almost impossible) those harmful chemicals, that most people don't even know are in their food. They don't want to believe their own government has no conscious.., and no problem poisoning them. And so, from the time they wake up and chow-down on that nice crispy fried bacon and big bowl of artificially flavored and colored cereal, their bodies are assaulted with an array of dangerous chemicals known.., to be harmful to the human body and nature.
Much of the time many Americans are tricked or even forced to consume these harmful products… If you've been into a Whole Foods supermarket and seen how high the price of a their "organic" food is -- you can understand why a lot of people refer to it as "Whole PayCheck." If you live in an urban city environment, it's basically impossible to grow your own.., and even then the government might come after you for some kind of violation. Im pretty sure they are still trying to ban organic farming, too -- it eats into their profits.
REFERENCE:
http://www.freedomyou.com/preservatives_and_additives__freedomyou.aspx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2814253.stm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17825405
https://ensia.com/features/getting-our-toxic-substances-act-together/
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20130129/brominated-vegetable-oil-qa#1
Image Source: 1 2 3 4
Living in the United States I often try to grow as much produce I can since my wife and I go through so much of and I prefer to know exactly what has been used on them. It isn't always the cheapest thing to avoid processed foods here.
That's the most disturbing thing: how expensive it is to eat healthily.
I hear ya, @dame-lilly... It's criminal!
Growing your own is definitely the way to go... I live right by Times Square in NYC, it's kind of not an option for me :))
Aww. I live in Southern California and lucked out I have of the "larger" backyards in the area.
If you try to tell your friends and family, they look at you like you're nuts.
Tell me about it... :))
Hi @macksby, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads today/yesterday and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Thank you :))
Flame retardant. Gee. I guess so if you are eating too much chilli...
:))
You are so right and have voiced here so many thoughts that I too - the way that processed food is proliferated here is really criminal not to mention genetically modified seeds and foods. Very important post!
Thanks @nature@ofbeing... But they get away with it -- WTF?!