HFCS
The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy has just released a study that shows about a third of the high fructose corn syrup used in common foods is contaminated with mercury.
Like it wasn't bad enough to begin with.
Warning: Self-Righteous NaturaFoodie Snark It just keeps getting worse. We keep discovering that highly processed foods, fake "substitutes" and pre-prepared meals are causing major health problems. I don't know why we as a society continue to believe we can have it all. No time to cook? Don't worry! That box on the shelf is just as good as a meal prepared from fresh meat and vegetables. See? It's FORTIFIED. Want to eat lots of meat, really cheaply? Here, we'll just stuff all these cows in a tiny lot and force-feed them corn (we have plenty of that thanks to government subsidies.) It'll make the meat softer and fattier too! BONUS! Never mind that the meat no longer has the nutrients that accumulate in an animal that eats grass, or that feed lots cause disease which then require the animals to be constantly injected with antibiotics and other drugs to keep them alive long enough to be delivered to the slaughterhouse. Or that the amount of water and waste is nearly five times what's used to grow an equivalent amount of vegetables. But you can get that 6 pack of sirloin steaks for only $5! Totally worth it, right?
If we want to be healthy, we have to live healthy. We have to eat a diet of mostly vegetables and whole grains (and sometimes a small amount of organic meat.) We need to exercise. We need to cut out as much sugar as possible and reserve dessert only for special occasions like birthdays and holidays. Sugar is not something we're supposed to have every day, let alone before, during and after every meal.
From the FAQ page related to the HFCS article:
Only 10 percent of U.S. chlor-alkali production still uses mercury cell technology. Is this a problem that is taking care of itself?
First off, the slow decline in use of mercury cells has only come with decades of lawsuits and campaigning from nonprofit groups like ours-even though the replacement technology is available, cleaner and more efficient.
Five chlorine plants in the United States, and many more overseas, continue to use mercury cell technology that emits tons and tons of mercury into the environment every year. These plants likely also sell mercury-contaminated caustic soda and other food-grade ingredients all over the world, including to makers of HFCS that ultimately lands on American supermarket shelves. If American mercury cell plants shut down tomorrow, it would not spell the end of mercury contamination of the American food supply, in all probability. Because of the toxicity of mercury, this will continue to be worrisome until the last of the plants transitions to safer technology.
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!
Like it wasn't bad enough to begin with.
Warning: Self-Righteous NaturaFoodie Snark It just keeps getting worse. We keep discovering that highly processed foods, fake "substitutes" and pre-prepared meals are causing major health problems. I don't know why we as a society continue to believe we can have it all. No time to cook? Don't worry! That box on the shelf is just as good as a meal prepared from fresh meat and vegetables. See? It's FORTIFIED. Want to eat lots of meat, really cheaply? Here, we'll just stuff all these cows in a tiny lot and force-feed them corn (we have plenty of that thanks to government subsidies.) It'll make the meat softer and fattier too! BONUS! Never mind that the meat no longer has the nutrients that accumulate in an animal that eats grass, or that feed lots cause disease which then require the animals to be constantly injected with antibiotics and other drugs to keep them alive long enough to be delivered to the slaughterhouse. Or that the amount of water and waste is nearly five times what's used to grow an equivalent amount of vegetables. But you can get that 6 pack of sirloin steaks for only $5! Totally worth it, right?
If we want to be healthy, we have to live healthy. We have to eat a diet of mostly vegetables and whole grains (and sometimes a small amount of organic meat.) We need to exercise. We need to cut out as much sugar as possible and reserve dessert only for special occasions like birthdays and holidays. Sugar is not something we're supposed to have every day, let alone before, during and after every meal.
From the FAQ page related to the HFCS article:
Only 10 percent of U.S. chlor-alkali production still uses mercury cell technology. Is this a problem that is taking care of itself?
First off, the slow decline in use of mercury cells has only come with decades of lawsuits and campaigning from nonprofit groups like ours-even though the replacement technology is available, cleaner and more efficient.
Five chlorine plants in the United States, and many more overseas, continue to use mercury cell technology that emits tons and tons of mercury into the environment every year. These plants likely also sell mercury-contaminated caustic soda and other food-grade ingredients all over the world, including to makers of HFCS that ultimately lands on American supermarket shelves. If American mercury cell plants shut down tomorrow, it would not spell the end of mercury contamination of the American food supply, in all probability. Because of the toxicity of mercury, this will continue to be worrisome until the last of the plants transitions to safer technology.
CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!