What's with the fear of man-made products/foods

I would steal this and share to FB but I know more than a few people would take it as a literal rip on the Green Giant brand and our food industry in general.

I just noticed this thread a year after the fact haha! I’m probably reiterating a lot of what went on over the last year…but here is my take.

Personally I’m not afraid of any food…at least not it’s production method. That’s not to say there aren’t concerns though. I’ll briefly rip through my thoughts on some of the more popular/controversial topics…

Organic. A nice idea…essentially removing unnecessary pesticides/products from farming. The problem is ‘organic’ doesn’t mean squat generally…it’s a term without a true definition.

Gluten free. Good grief. This is just goofy. Unless you are one of the 9 people in the country with celiac disease. Then it’s a big deal. The rest…goofy.

Added sugar. This is a legitimate concern IMO. Note I’m talking outside the context of exercise. Sugar is very often used as a substitute for flavor, and can have serious consequences (diabetes, etc). Added sugar to processed foods is an issue because it seems fiber and other things in fruits/more natural foods mitigates the effects of the sugar content.

GMO. Genetically modified organisms. This is the biggie. In and of itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It’s perfectly healthy. Potentially even more healthy than ‘natural’ crops, depending on how it is designed. The issue IMO is that it is sort of playing with fire from a sustainability standpoint. GMO crops tend to be very mono-species. A single species of corn is developed for example, and than that 1 species is planted in a very widespread manner. Well…if that particular species becomes susceptible to a bug of some sort…you’ve got big time food shortage issues on your hands.

1 Like

9 people eh?

2 Likes

Eh, might have been a bit of hyperbole on my part :slight_smile:

The real stats is something like 1% of the population. Judging by advertising, what is available at the store, and the preponderance of gluten free stuff at restaurants…there are a whole lot more people than 1 in 100 looking for gluten free stuff. Those people have been had.

1 Like

Maybe it’s so those people have some variety and don’t just walk into the store and are only able to buy 3 items? I’m not gluten free, but I know people who are, and it’s tough enough trying to work around it. It’s can seem trendy or annoying to an outsider like you and I but I wouldn’t want to live with that

No don’t me wrong…I’m not annoyed as a consumer…I just feel like the food industry is preying on ignorance…that’s what gets me.

Personally…I do not know anyone who has celiac disease. I do know people who have for varying stretches of time avoided gluten for random and senseless reasons, not based on any kind of science or information of any kind.

If the current ‘trend’ is truly to help out the 1% that have celiac…god bless them. But I don’t believe that is the case. These things are being marketed to the general population as vaguely more healthy.

The food industry is certainly not alone in this. Only defense is to get educated and the education industry is preying on ignorance too :slight_smile: Internet forum should be fine though :smirk:

3 Likes

I worked in the food industry for a few years and have spent enough time in food manufacturing/packaging/processing plants to not want to eat much of it if I can.

Why eat a load of chemical preservatives, excess salt to try and make it taste good, and additives that are simply in there to extend shelf life or create textures that would be destroyed after weeks in storage and on shelves? Why not buy fresh fruit and veg and just cook it yourself without having to consume all the extra stuff of unknown origin and quality?

I’m lucky as we grow huge amounts of fruit and veg, but even if we didnt then I’d buy fresh ingredients and just cook for myself. Its also far cheaper and tastier!

1 Like

You buy vegan medicine but eat a lot of meat…interesting.