Marketing Hype and Reality
We are daily bombarded with TV commercials and even the news media claiming that this or that food, fruit or vegetable could lessen the possible onset of some diseases. When our parents prodded us to clean our plates, it certainly did have some credible meaning.
At the time, food processing was still a fairly new part of the total food delivery system from the farm or slaughterhouse. Today, it has become “the” means of delivering the foods to our table.
So, What Changes Have Taken Place Since the Industrial Revolution?
Increased use of chemical fertilizers by agriculture
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution here in the U.S., farmers began using fertilizers and finding more profit in the method has increased its use since then until now causing many natural mineral losses.
Greater use of canning for most of our foods
Over the years since the inception of the canning, the industry has lost a great percentage of the nutrients from the heating and cooking process. All fruits and vegetables loose some nutrition in the heating (canning) process.
Introduction of food irradiation to its much greater use today
Since its introduction here in the U.S. in the mid 1950's, irradiation has grown in its use throughout the world. We are told that 30-80% of nutrients are lost in the process, in some cases, more than in canning. So eating raw vegetables does not give us the nutrients they once did. Irradiation also destroys the enzymes that aid digestion, causing our pancreas to work harder.
Greater use of additives to our foods
Whether they are preservatives or food coloring, conditioning agents or just plain real food replacements, hydrogenation of oils, they all have some effect on the nutritional value of our food.
Much greater availability of Prepared frozen dinners
With many supermarkets carrying more and more prepared frozen “TV” dinners, the consumer is receiving less and less nutrition from each because of the high processing used in their manufacture.
G.M. (Genetic Modification) of some seed
Since the inception of G.M. of some seed in the 1990's that would carry their own insect repellent insecticides in order to protect the plant, affecting the nutrients of these harvested crops.
All in all, our harvested foods contain nowhere near the beneficial nutrients they once did. What can we do? Grow our own foods organically in our back yard.
