Food was once considered a necessity of life. Without it, living things starve and die. With it, they thrive.
At least that is what we are told. And it is something we assumed would be the purpose of consuming food.
But what if the quality of food makes a difference?
Those of us who have pets know that giving them something that is not species specific, they will die. You cannot give reptiles, for example, dog food and expect them to live healthy lives. Or give rabbits iceberg lettuce as a main source of sustenance and not starve to death. Seed-eating birds and plant-eating mammals, meat-eating predators and omnivores cannot sustain health when forced on vegan diets. Without the proper species appropriate food given to them will grow sick and die.
What about the humans? Are we eating the way we were designed? If it isn’t grown on the land, in a tree, or on an edible plant, the answer is probably “no”.
So we listen to the “experts” and design our meals around what we are told is “good for us”.
But something is happening that isn’t making us healthier…
What if the food they are given isn’t as pure as is advertised? What if the basic necessities are contaminated, thinned down with additional substances, or has harsh processing done to it before the consumer buys it?
What if the purchased product isn’t a pure as the label proclaims?
Does anyone really consider how this affects not only the pocket book of the wealthy, but also the health of the consumer – whether it is for themselves or their pets?
And does taking advantage of the customer display a concern for the dignity of that individual?
Freakenomics uncovered the adulteration of foods for profit. Honey being imported through other countries by China to the west. Honey that has been harvested too early, is watery, has to undergo chemical processing to remove contaminant, and is then watered down with syrup and coloring to make it look and taste like real, unadulterated honey. (See the Congressional Review, 2014, on this practice.)
Cheap fish that is sold as another type of more expensive fish, or used in Sushi restaurants as something other than what is being sold (like escolar in place of white tuna processed fish bits compressed and flavored to look and taste like the fish described on the menu.
Olive Oil is often sold as Virgin and Unrefined but has been adulterated with seed oils and colorants to appear and taste like the Olive Oil we are accustomed to eat. But Olive Oil is almost bitter, pungent – something the westerners are not accustomed to unless they grew up with the real deal. Yet we trust the labels, failing to read the find print and consume what we think is the whole, healthy food, only to get sick anyway from consuming it.
Trusting “health food” stores isn’t always a reliable way to go, either. Even Whole Foods has been caught selling fake or adulterated Olive Oil as the real deal.
But why does any of this matter if the product fits our budget? Or we’ve been told that the ingredients are irrelevant?
Let’s take a deeper look at what is going on.
What if it fits your budget, but NOT your physiology?
The body requires good quality fats to operate. Without it, the neurological pathways and especially the brain will not function well if at all. The conventional medical industry and advertising agencies have been hard at work selling us on the idea that oils such as Corn and Canola (aka Rape Seed) are better for you than animal fats. Butter, bacon grease (aka Lard), and beef fats (aka Tallow) are all the cause of plaque build-up in the arteries. Cherry picked research studies have been conducted to draw conclusive evidence in the truth of these claims.
But is that really true?
Recently, seed oils have been linked to increased cholesterol, contradicting their claimed health benefits of lowering it.
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is the means that the body uses to cover damage done to the arteries, much like a scab is formed to protect a wound on the skin until it is healed. The high acidic quality of the seed oils has actually been shown to damage the arteries themselves. Thus the body attempts to cover those injured areas, using cholesterol to cover them often ending up blocking the arteries leading back to the heart.
If someone is fighting high cholesterol, that is the LAST thing they need to be eating!
Honey, also, has been adulterated. China has dumped much of the less expensive honey on our markets, selling through other countries when their food product was banned in the United States. Harvested too early, chemicals to remove the excess water, and added syrups and flavorings to make it look and taste like the real thing hides the fact that what is being purchased isn’t the real deal.
What is going on here?
It is Food Fraud. And it is being committed by corporations and nations alike. Sometimes through deceptive practices (such as China selling the west their products through such portals as Thailand, etc.), through false descriptions in the labels, or purchase practices of foods that have already been adulterated by another nation’s food industry and sold to the west.
According to a National Library of Medicine publication, “Food adulteration has been dangerous for humanity since the dawn of civilization…Adulterants can be found in all food we consume in daily life including milk and milk products, vegetables, oils and fats, spices and condiments, and beverages such as coffee and tea.”
For our own health’s sake, we need to become our own advocates to research and purchase only those foods that are pure and basic. Even big health food stores like Whole Foods can’t be trusted to sell unadulterated foods or resist promoting processed fake foods as healthy.
Be your own advocate. Choose wisely. Read the labels. Buy olive oils from single source countries instead of mixed from multiple nations. Make sure your coffee is single sourced as well and grown in the high mountains over 4000 feet. These small steps will assure the quality of the foods will be better than simply buying by price.
The trade off between being healthy by consuming real food, and eating adulterated foods because they are less expensive can end up costing more than just the price of groceries.
Sources:
2014 Congressional Report: https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/R/PDF/R43358/R43358.4.pdf
