Another Good Case for Food Labels
Do you know what's hiding in your meat?
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably realize that I’m not a big proponent of government stepping in to control what we eat through taxation, warning labels or other policies. On the other hand, I think information labels are useful tools for individuals to figure out just what they’re eating, and whether its right for them. I’d like to believe we’re all mature enough to make our own decisions when given the information.
I just read about a study today, that confirms my belief that information is a good thing. The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology reports on a study that shows the presence of dietary phosphate and potassium in fresh meats because they’ve been injected alongside of sodium, antioxidants and flavorings. Meat food labels may list that there are additives, but not the amounts or type of additives. Given the information a label might provide, I’d probably skip that additive “enhanced” fresh meat because I don’t want meat that’s been injected with anything, but if I had kidney disease, this information could be vital since these additives could cause death in patients on dialysis. We shouldn’t fear information, but rather the lack of access to it because food manufacturers don’t want us to know about their additives.
The Politics of Corn
I'm not giving up my local corn, despite the political issues.
Didn’t I just mention yesterday that I try to avoid talking about politics on this blog? Well, I can’t help myself this week. Coincidentally today we went to our local farm to pick up fruit and pies, and I also read a very good exchange about the politics of corn on the “Gourmet” website.
For those of you who are unaware, corn has come under heat lately. Journalists such as Michael Pollan, who wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and this summer’s release of the movie “Food Inc.” have made the eating public aware that the large scale agriculture in this country should be treated with suspicion. Among the greater offenses is the government subsidy of corn crops because corn has become such an important ingredient in a multitude of processed foods and non-food products.
Anyway, the essence of the Gourmet debate is whether the foodies of the publication feel they should boycott corn in order to voice a protest against the evils of the big corn industry. It’s a very informative debate on both sides of the issue.
Oh, and my position is that you’ll have to pry local summer corn out of my butter dripping fingers before I give it up. The corn from my CSA is sweet beyond belief, and by supporting my local farmer, I’ll voice my protest by having my corn and eating it too.
Oh Please, Just Stop It
Like anyone thinks this is really health food?
I really try to avoid talking politics in this blog, because there are so many different sides to every situation, and right and wrong has a lot to do with how many sides we’ve been able to see. However, I just can’t help reacting to one of the more obvious political ploys that is currently in the news.
Let me take you back to March of this year. During that period, scientists released the results of a study that claims eating too much processed meat can increase your risk of colorectal and other cancers. I won’t say the results of the study are definitive, because there have been other studies that contradict these results. However, there is a vegan advocacy group, called The Cancer Project, that has taken the opportunity offered by these results to push their own agenda, filing a lawsuit against hot dog manufacturers that demands a label on hot dogs warning that they may cause cancer.
If we start to head down this path of food warning labels, what’s next? A warning label on a stick of butter that it might make us fat? Or a warning label on all cookie packages that they may become addictive and hurt our waistlines and our wallets? Enough already. Let’s not go any further down the road of frivolous lawsuits, especially when, unlike cigarettes, there isn’t a clear public danger posed by hot dogs, and when it’s really all about The Cancer Project pushing their own meatless agenda. Anyone that would care about this warning label, already knows that too much of anything, hot dogs, cookies, or anything else we enjoy, isn’t going to be good for us in one way or another. And the only thing a lawsuit will accomplish is to waste a lot of time and money that could be put to better use.