Essay Bio-engineered Processed Food

Most Americans love the low cost, prepackaged, great tasting food that is convenient to buy and prepare. These prepackaged or processed foods are normally made to be faster, cheaper and usually taste great but they are loaded with bizarre, unpronounceable chemicals that, if you saw them in their pre-processed state, you would never consider putting in your mouth. Emulsifiers, preservatives, colorants, stabilizers, artificial sweeteners, texturizers and even bleach can be found in most processed foods. On average, Americans spend 90% of their food budget on these types of foods which is found to contribute to the leading causes of obesity, auto immune disease, diabetes and even cancer.

Eating healthy is very important for people, and modern supermarkets can make this difficult with thousands of new products flooding the market every year. Countless numbers of the products that hit the market are considered food, nevertheless is it the food needed for proper nutrition? Most of the food that fills up the supermarket shelves each year isn’t the healthy real food our bodies need to get proper nutrition. Several edibles obtainable appear healthy or normal enough to call wholesome. Think about processed deli meats, for example, particularly the ones that say “no preservatives” on them. Several of the processed meats you find contain nitrates, a preservative. Nitrates are viewed as harmful, so people don’t want them in their sandwich meats. Hence some deli meat companies made their product more appealing to the public, by labeling “no preservatives.” This

With this increase in the productivity of farmers, came a proliferation of food processing industries and fast food restaurants. These food processing industries and restaurants capitalized on the abundant, overly cheap commodity crops to their advantage; to make profit, and to the disadvantage of poor Americans. During processing of these commodity crops, the natural nutrients that give these foods their natural flavors are destroyed. To replace these, food additives and flavorings are added to restore their taste and prolong their shelf life. Often these chemicals contain some harmful elements that affect the way our bodies use food. These highly processed foods, dense in calories,

Many would like to point out that processed foods still contain vitamins, but truthfully they do not provide the quality, or quantity of nutrition gained from eating whole foods. Processed foods, in addition, commonly contain massive amounts of artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, sugar, and hydrogenated oils. The sugars and sodium levels in these foods sometimes surpass the daily recommended allowance. These monstrous additives can cause allergic reactions or even eventually degenerative diseases (Health Teacher). Not all is lost in today’s fast food society; there is an alternative that can prevent our bodies from being overtaken by food imposters. Whole food wins the battle when making the body happy and protecting the bank.

To begin with, food additives should be clearly explained and understood that food additives are any substances found in food that is not a part of the normal ingredients. (Chris Hayhurst, 2002) There are six kinds of additives. The six kinds are nutrients, flavoring agents, coloring agents, preservations, emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, acids and alkalis. (Graddy W. Chism, 2006) These six are both good and bad. Nutrients such as minerals and vitamins, which make food more nourishing. For instance, adding of the B-complex vitamins folic acid and niacin to flour, pasta, and rice has helped reduce the

Genetically modified crops are harmful to humans and the environment and shouldn't be used. Agriculture should proceed in harmony with nature and nature only. That is why some people have decided to buy organically grown food. From their experiences with organic food, they believe that the organic system can be economically practical. This system also provides a wide range of environmental and social benefits, and most importantly, it enables consumers to make a choice about the food they eat. According to Diana Brander, an American biology teacher, we should have the choice of the type of food we eat.

Food quality has emerged over the past decade as a top concern for consumers leaving many large food brands struggling to adapt. Growing concern over the rate of obesity, genetically modified organisms (GMO), and overuse of antibiotic are the most significant drivers leading consumers to purchase healthier food. New companies are successfully targeting this demographic using terms such as “Non GMO”, “Gluten – Free”, and “Organic.” Meanwhile revenue continues to decline for legacy food companies including, General Mills, Kellogg Co, and Kraft Foods Inc. struggle to adapt to changing consumer preferences. Large traditional food companies are seeking to counter these trends by acquiring existing health food companies, developing new products,

By the year 2012, over 70 percent of the processed foods in the U.S can be linked to genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Despite this strong dependency on the manipulation of genetic material, there are many questions concerning long-lasting impacts such food could bring. The government of the United States of America should enforce stricter restrictions on the consumption, production, and availability of food products containing genetically modified organisms. Genetically engineered foods have detrimental impacts on the environment, are linked to large, monopolizing industries, and do not reduce world hunger.

People are exposed to such chemicals day in and day out, whether it is in the air or touching skin, but not until recently have people consumed and digested them. Just by looking at a list of ingredients, one can see the vast amount of unknown compounds compiled on a food label. These chemicals have the sole purpose of preserving the flavor and making the product last longer. Some may argue that these chemicals are helpful from a convenience point of view, and increases shelf life, but studies have shown that these chemicals are linked to cancer and other disease, which is a big price to pay for small reward. For example, according to the World Health Organization, sodium nitrite, a preservative in processed meats, is linked to an 18 percent increase chance in colorectal cancer, . Many would wonder why no regulations have been passed to stop production of food such as this. They have been, just not in the United States. In America, the aspect on synthetics food additives is much different from countries in Europe, as Cindy Morgan explains. “In Europe, you have to prove your food additive is safe before it put on the shelves, but in America, things are assumed safe unless proven otherwise.” States have tried to pass laws mandating the labeling of synthetic ingredients, but large food corporations bully the government out of doing such a thing. For example, in 2013, Connecticut

As prescription drug is becoming more and more common and widespread among the American society, it is obvious that drugs should have high quality in order to protect the consumers from any substantial danger that the drug could pose. Not just prescription drugs but dietary supplements as well. There has been an 80 percent increase in dietary supplement consumptions. But sadly the The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (1994) has helped manufacturers from facing FDA regulations. Furthermore, dietary supplements are being labeled as food and I don’t believe that they should be because people are less educated when it comes to medication and drugs, so if they happen to take in contaminated drugs, they would not know how to deal with

This memo will summarize the rule “Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels”, which was proposed by the Food and Drug Administration. The memo will be broken down into three different paragraphs. The first major point of the memo will be about main changes of the rule and why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is modifying it. The second point will be about organizations and industries that are affected by this rule. The third point will be a discussion about affected companies/industries and what will they have to do should this rule go into effect. Such allocation of the information will help to better understand the main points of the rule and how it affects different industries and companies.

What do Americans really know about the different foods they eat? There are two types of foods, which are processed foods and unprocessed foods. Processed foods are foods that are packaged, canned, frozen, and put on shelves. Processed foods are unhealthy because they are high in calories, trans-fat, and saturated fat. Here are several different processed foods that many Americans eat quite often, sausage, hot dogs, ham, boxed cakes, bread, milk, and cheeses. Non-processed foods are fresh and natural foods. Non- Processed foods are foods that have not been altered. Examples of Non-Processed foods are fruit, vegetables, and nuts. Some processed food come from farm animals, but how many people know about some of

With an ever-growing population and the problems of world hunger, there has been a high demand for an increased food supply and a better food supply. Technology has been called upon to meet this challenge. The advent of genetically engineered foods, sometimes called transgenic crops or genetically modified foods, is not a new concept, but the controversy over it is. Can these "frankenfoods" be harmful to humans? What are their effects on the environment? The following paper will focus on such questions as well as providing a better understanding of what genetically modified foods are and how they should be regulated.

Food preservatives are described as natural means or man-made chemicals that are used in foods to prevent them from spoiling. A subgroup of preservatives are food additives, which differ from preservatives in the way that additives are not only used to lengthen the life of food, but also to improve taste and appearance. The ultimate goal of preservatives and additives are to improve the quality and lifespan of food by slowing down the decomposition process using chemicals or natural methods, such as salt and dehydration.

This requires a high degree of food engineering , the use of additives and processing techniques that substantially alter the food from its original form and reduce its nutritional value.