For most of our lives we meander the aisles of the grocery stores blissfully unaware of the toxins lurking in our favorite foods. But with food recalls and food-borne illnesses making the news on a weekly basis, I believe it is time we stop viewing the food industry through rose colored glasses and at the very least be informed about the risks we are taking when we consume mass produced food.
So, why is eating organic or all natural not enough? Because these chains are still subject to your typical assembly-line mass proucing food factories that place a significant amount of attention on their bottom line.
Processed, packaged food travels too far and is handled by too many middle men to remain safe. Factories cut too many corners to save a buck and we pay the consequences.
Don't believe me? Go ahead and feed your children that bowl of frosted mini wheats (advertised/marketed directly towards their young and malleable minds), but make sure you check the serial number first. Kellogg's has recalled 2.8 million boxes of Frosted and Unfrosted Mini-Wheats due to a possible metal mesh in the cereal from a faulty manufacturing part. And the shame of it is that while masses of people are dying of starvation and malnutrition in developing countries, we're padding our already-full land-fills with 28 million cardboard boxes, wrapped in plastic, and filled with food.
Think your organics and other "health" foods are safe? Then you must have missed this week's recalls:
- Justin’s Organic Peanut Butter Cups due to possible salmonella contamination in the peanut butter.
- Creative Energy Foods' Crunch Thinkthin Nutrition Bars due to possible salmonella contamination in the nuts.
- Dole American Blend salad in 12 oz. bags due to a possible health risk from Listeria monocytogenes.
- Wegmans 17.2 Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownie Mix due to allergy risk cause by possible undeclared milk contamination.
"Whole" foods are not immune to risk, however, as seen through recalls of canteloupe, peanuts, raw milk, etc. This is where buying organic produces LOCALLY comes in handy, though. By developing relationships with small scale farmers who legitimately RELY on your business to keep their farms up and running, you are able to witness first hand what their handling is like. These farmers don't own extensive acrage with more produce than they can handle just to turn a profit. They farm what they can manage without compromising on quality and safety of the food that will feed your families, your children.
This is not to say that you can't enjoy a banana or another imported tropical fruit, but it is to say would you rather fill up on food that has travelled 1500 miles in the back of a truck, handled by every Tom, Dick, and Harry, sprayed with dangerous chemicals to ward off insects, and contributing to the over-consumption of fossil fuels and rampant pollution, or would you rather support your community...your neighbors...and enjoy the untampered-with flavors of produce the way your God intended it to be?
Just a thought. :)
