This months article deals with processed foods, why you should avoid them and healthy alternatives.

If you haven't seen the movie, "Food, Inc." or read the book "Fast Food Nation" you should do so soon. "Food Inc." will open your eyes to the unhealthy practices involved in the mass production of our food. It is time to start changing the way we eat. Join me in working toward eating clean food instead of "Fake Food". Raise your standards for what you put in your body and help the planet in the process.

Reasons for Avoiding Mass-Produced, Synthetic Foods

Fake Food: These are NOT real FOOD. These foods are manufactured to taste like real food but are comprised of countless, unidentifiable chemicals or highly processed/extracted food.

• Over Processing: Many of the unrecognizable ingredients actually come from food sources like wheat or corn but, are so altered by the time they are added to the food that they contain very little of the nutrients found in the original food source. Conveyor belts and assembly lines comprise the farm to market experience. This is no longer real food, but rather mass produced "food product." (i.e. Cheez Whiz is NOT real cheese)
• Artificial Ingredients: I consider any item that does not grow in nature to be artificial. Artificial ingredients are added to processed foods to add back the flavor, nutrients, color and texture that have been stripped from the food during processing. Flavor enhancers may be referred to as "natural flavor." The term "natural flavor" is a bit of a misnomer because it may be a chemical approximation of a known food that has been synthesized in a lab. Other artificial ingredients have been added to prolong the shelf-life of food (preservatives). Pre-shredded cheese contains anti-caking agents as well as antibiotics to inhibit mold growth. When you buy fat-free or sugar-free foods, the fat and sugar are replaced with artificial ingredients. We know the consequences of consuming fat and sugar, but do not know how these other items will affect our health long term. Our focus on convenience is destroying the quality of our food!
• Genetic Modification: Genetic Modification (GMO) is the process of permanently combining genetic material from genetically unrelated organisms. New "foods" such as "super" pigs with human growth genes, fish with cow growth genes, tomatoes with fish genes, and thousands of other combinations are the result. "These creations are now being patented and released into the environment. Currently, up to 45 percent of U.S. corn is genetically engineered as are 85 percent of soybeans. It has been estimated that 70-75 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves--from soda to soup, crackers to condiments--contain genetically engineered ingredients."(centerforfoodsaftey.org). We do not have any information on what long term health consequences of consuming GMO food are. Wide spread use of GMO products may be threatening the extinction of many original species of plants and animals.

Livestock Treatment:

Animals don't deserve to be treated like they are in feed lots. This is sad, scary and lacks hygiene. E.Coli is bred on the skin of corn fed cows but not grass fed cows. Cows are herbivores that eat grass in nature. Grass fed cows wander free, breed less disease and are leaner. Antibiotics and growth hormones are commonly used in feed lots. Growth Hormones cause animals to grow faster than usual which puts additional strain on their bodies, making it hard for them to stand. Mass production is causing livestock to be bred to have more of the parts that we treasure and less overall nutrition.

Health Risks:

the threat of deadly infections like E. Coli, salmonella, and Mad Cow Disease keep on coming up again and again as we witness countless product recalls in our supermarkets. These infections are preventable and tighter USDA standards will help to keep us safe.

Farmers:

Giant corporations are pushing farmers into contracts to produce only genetically modified foods and are not paying them a living wage. Why would we knowingly support this sort of nonsense? Farmers are being convicted of using patented GMO seeds in their non-GMO approved fields because GMO crops are contaminating the Non-GMO fields (wind drift). Big business should leave the decision of what to grow to the farmer and the consumer.

Planet Health:

Consuming only organically grown, non-GMO (genetically modified), free range, hormone free, non-chemically altered foods has less negative impact on the health of the planet.

Shopping Selectively

• When buying packaged foods, if you do not recognize any one of the ingredients, don't buy this product or at least think twice or educate yourself about the ingredient before buying it.
• Buy Organic, free range and hormone free products whenever possible. We may not always have access to 100% organic produce. Fresh and local products are also very important parameters for our produce.

Your local grocery store may have much of the clean foods that you need. You may also want to check out some of these other resources for "clean" eating. This website, www.eatwild.com is one of many resources for finding organic, free range, hormone and antibiotic free foods in your area. Other resources: PCC, Whole Foods, www.thunderinghooves.com, Pioneer Organics, Full Circle Farm, spud.com and your local Farmer's Market.

Information Resources:

Center for Food Safety: www.centerforfoodsafety.org
Food Inc. Website: www.foodincmovie.com