Just When You Thought It Was Safe To EAT!
DUN DUN DUN….
An article over at NewsTarget.com gives an insightful look at the ingredients and promises put forth by some of the biggest names in fast food. It is particularly interesting to look at some of the chains which seem to enjoy touting themselves as “healthy” or “fresh”.
Kitchen science has really boomed in this century. Cornell’s Department of Food Science celebrated its centennial with a symposium just weeks ago in October. There’s an Institute of Food Technologists, a society for food science and technology.
In my sphere of direct influence (translation: I watch too much TV), Food Network is running a short series called “The Next Iron Chef”. One of the challenges presented to the candidates was to spend the day in the kitchen using new food related tech and chemistry.
This was a fascinating episode because nearly all these trained professionals were intimidated and agitated by the prospect of dealing with “science” in the kitchen. I am of the school of thought that cooking really is a science, but on the other hand I couldn’t help but be encouraged by the fact that these people whose life’s passion is food weren’t comfortable adding chemicals to “real” foods. I can’t embed the episode, but there is a recap available at the Food Network site here.
For general reference, NutritionData.com has a massive list of food additives and what they’re meant to do.
With all this progress in science, and all the groups of science and philosophy trying to find the ideal balance of enjoyment, nutrition and safety in food - something we can all appreciate seeing as we all have to eat - one would think that the fast food restaurants would be VERY on board with keeping abreast of the safest, simplest, most appropriate foods to satisfy their clients.
As illustrated in the originally cited NewsTarget.com article, they are clearly NOT on board with health, safety or simplicity. The ingredient lists put forth as basic examples read quite a bit like the locked cabinet in the local school science department.
Obviously that’s a highly unsatisfactory situation. Still a lot of us appreciate the merits cheap, quick food. Namely that it’s cheap and it doesn’t soak up increasingly precious time in what feels like a massively complicated day-to-day existence.
There are solutions. I would point all my readers to the following sites, replete with lifehacks and sound advice.
Get Rich Slowly - More specifically the category of the blog dedicated to food. There’s dozens of great articles about eating cheap and still eating healthy. J.D.’s solution isn’t just “eat ramen”. There are shopping comparison, cooking tips, even gardening advice.
Zen Habits - This site contains a plethora of “lifehacks” - tips, tricks, and overall advice for living better. There’s no specific category for food, but plenty of overall tips for health and habits that tie into that inevitable human action of obtaining sustenance.
So, MSG, hydrogenated oils, and mystery chemicals in your mystery meat have you down? No worries! Knowledge is power! It is very possible to learn about the foods you love, and learn to love them better by taking charge of them, and your overall consumption. You don’t necessarily have to quit your favorite junk foods - burgers, fries, tacos, fried chicken - but with all the well documented, non-food additions to the fast food versions, wouldn’t you rather do it yourself?
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