Questioning The Safety Of Our Food To Health

Have you ever wondered about the safety of dyes, food additives, pesticides and genetically engineered foods? Are these foods really safe or do they actually cause debilitating diseases? Most of us would choose to believe that the FDA and the EPA are guarding and protecting our food supply, but beware; they have ties with the chemical industry.

In the old days, foods were colored with natural substances from plants and vegetable based compounds, but after WWII, the chemical industry started development of petroleum-based ingredients. There benefits were seen to lower costs and extend shelf life but not necessarily to benefit the public.
Chemicals added to foods are tested on laboratory animals and have been deemed safe for humans in small doses. The problem with that is the accumulative effects they have overtime. Our bodies have remarkable abilities to rid us of toxins but when we are balm barded day after day the outcome is disease.

Foods that contain carcinogens (cancer causing agents) are actively in our food and water. Again they appear in small amounts but accumulate over time. The way these chemicals cause cancer is through “irritation” at the cellular and DNA level. When we are under stress or in a weakened state these carcinogens can alter the structure of the cell and abnormal duplication occurs. Other than cancer there are many diseases now being associated with the food we eat. Free radicals in our food have similar effects as radiation does. They do damage to skin tissue and the gastrointestinal tract. Other problems include inflammatory diseases, allergies and cardiovascular diseases. In his new book, In Defense Of Food: An Eater’s Guide, Michael Pollan says, “The chronic diseases that now kill most of us can be traced directly to the industrialization of our food.”

Cloned food or genetically engineered foods pose known and unknown dangers. These foods are being developed for pesticide tolerance. Which means they can use more pesticides without hurting the plant. The problem with that is that the pesticides soak into the food and cannot be washed away. The FDA has cleared cloned meat and milk as being “no health risk to the public”. Of course the FDA has ties to the meat lobbyists.

We also have growth hormones and antibiotics in our meat and milk. These are either injected into the animals or delivered through their feed. Why do we need extra growth hormones or antibiotics? By the way, have you ever noticed how young girls seem to go into puberty earlier and earlier?

Of course not everybody is onboard with genetically engineered foods. The Catholic Healthcare West Hospital has taken a stance against these foods. They decided to seek alternatives to cloned animals and genetically engineered ingredients. They stated they took this position, “in recognition of the serious health, environmental and ethical concerns raised by these untested technologies”.

Should we question the safety of our food? I think the answer to that is pretty clear. What can be done about it?
The only way to minimize your risk is to eat unprocessed, fresh foods; which are organically grown. Read labels and be aware of what you’re eating. Maybe this means cooking more like Grandma did, and question everything.




By Renee Rotto