Eating healthily comes with the obvious pros, but cons as well. Healthy foods, such as those produced organically, are more costly for a variety of reasons. First, organic produce requires more hands-on labor, pricey inspections and certifications, larger volumes of natural fertilizers, as well as other farming techniques. These disadvantages can be significant for a small farm especially when comparing their cost structures to multi-billion dollar food enterprises that offer low prices because they pump cheap chemicals and fillers into their foods.
Perhaps the most frustrating reason, though, is that the government subsidizes unhealthy, chemical-laden foods while it penalizes organic foods. It all comes down to the approval and certification processes that are currently in place. When a chemical company or food manufacturer wants to bring a new chemical or food additive to market, the process is grossly in favor of the petitioning company. The majority of food additives in our food, which reduce nutritional value and lower the costs of making such food, are added to the food supply through a self-approval process known as GRAS, which stands for generally recognized as safe.
This is obviously a major problem because a chemical manufacturer can use its own research or other publicly-available studies to label a new product as GRAS. Assuming it passes (why wouldn't it when they are grading their own papers), the company does not have any requirement to disclose the use of the new ingredient to the government. This process is highly suspect and is based on the honor code. Not every company has ulterior motives, but profit and honor don't typically go together in the food industry. Given the way the system is set up, new formulations make it to market very quickly with little scrutiny, driving the massive increase in artificial ingredients and dangerous chemicals in our food supply.
On the other hand, in order for a farm or food manufacturer to use the government's USDA Organic label, it must pass inspection. The onus and cost is on the organic farmer to prove that his/her product is legitimately organic, which makes sense. My issue with the whole process is the dichotomy. Why are food additives and their chemistry labs not held to the same standard? Why are they allowed to approve their own chemicals? It's absurd. And we are all at risk because of it.
I've had a lot of people tell me the best thing to focus on is to close the loophole and create more oversight on the chemical companies. New laws could be helpful, but fighting the food lobby is not an easy task. Not only do they spend millions of dollars each year influencing politicians, they also have rotating door policies where employees go to work for the government and then come back. They are working together. The singular option we can control are our dollars and what we use them for.
With legislation, you are relying on dubious politicians to do the right thing. I like to focus on action that has a direct impact on what I'm trying to accomplish. By purchasing healthier foods, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy as I'm helping to grow the organic industry, lowering their costs and my future prices. This profit also comes out of the hands of the chemical food producers, hurting their businesses, something I believe will sink in very quickly. It is up to us to shift gears and head in a new direction, one where we take responsibility for our own health and force our food suppliers to adhere to our needs and long-term health concerns.
Perhaps the most frustrating reason, though, is that the government subsidizes unhealthy, chemical-laden foods while it penalizes organic foods. It all comes down to the approval and certification processes that are currently in place. When a chemical company or food manufacturer wants to bring a new chemical or food additive to market, the process is grossly in favor of the petitioning company. The majority of food additives in our food, which reduce nutritional value and lower the costs of making such food, are added to the food supply through a self-approval process known as GRAS, which stands for generally recognized as safe.
This is obviously a major problem because a chemical manufacturer can use its own research or other publicly-available studies to label a new product as GRAS. Assuming it passes (why wouldn't it when they are grading their own papers), the company does not have any requirement to disclose the use of the new ingredient to the government. This process is highly suspect and is based on the honor code. Not every company has ulterior motives, but profit and honor don't typically go together in the food industry. Given the way the system is set up, new formulations make it to market very quickly with little scrutiny, driving the massive increase in artificial ingredients and dangerous chemicals in our food supply.
On the other hand, in order for a farm or food manufacturer to use the government's USDA Organic label, it must pass inspection. The onus and cost is on the organic farmer to prove that his/her product is legitimately organic, which makes sense. My issue with the whole process is the dichotomy. Why are food additives and their chemistry labs not held to the same standard? Why are they allowed to approve their own chemicals? It's absurd. And we are all at risk because of it.
I've had a lot of people tell me the best thing to focus on is to close the loophole and create more oversight on the chemical companies. New laws could be helpful, but fighting the food lobby is not an easy task. Not only do they spend millions of dollars each year influencing politicians, they also have rotating door policies where employees go to work for the government and then come back. They are working together. The singular option we can control are our dollars and what we use them for.
With legislation, you are relying on dubious politicians to do the right thing. I like to focus on action that has a direct impact on what I'm trying to accomplish. By purchasing healthier foods, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy as I'm helping to grow the organic industry, lowering their costs and my future prices. This profit also comes out of the hands of the chemical food producers, hurting their businesses, something I believe will sink in very quickly. It is up to us to shift gears and head in a new direction, one where we take responsibility for our own health and force our food suppliers to adhere to our needs and long-term health concerns.
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Please see more information at my website why artificial sweeteners are bad or this article FDA food label guidelines
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