You Are What You Eat: Yuck! Natural vs Not So Natural Additives

Sometimes it doesn’t pay to learn about the gross things that go into some of our favorite foods. Sometimes it does. The following facts can be researched online. However, if you are a vegan,a vegan wannabe, or like vanilla ice cream, hotdogs, Skittles and a few other favorite foods, you might want to skip this article. However, those of you that are trying to control your diet, this article may leave an indelible image in your mind that could work as aversion therapy. Who knows? Read on to learn about a few of the more gross things you are eating without knowing it.

BEWARE: The seven (7) items on this list may cause shock, tears, or gagging! If you are a vegan, a wannabe vegan, squeamish, ecologist, or humanitarian… YOU MUST READ THIS ARTICLE. Please control your screams until you get to the number one (1) most vile, horrendous, disgusting, cruelest, heartbreaking item of all.

7. CARMINE: Comes from boiled cochineal bugs from the beetle family. The bugs are used to make red dye used as food coloring. They can be found on the underside of certain plant leaves. It is used in yummy foods such as ice cream, Skittles, Lemonade and grapefruit juice.

WARNING: can cause anaphylactic reactions; MUST be listed on ingredient labels for foods and makeup.

6. SHELLAC : Shellac is a sticky substance derived from secretions of the female Kerria lacca, an insect native to Thailand and India. Its natural coloring can be found in hues of blond, red and orange. It is related to the cochineal bugs and must be gathered and processed in batches of 50,000 to 300,000. It is used in those glossy looking candies such as jelly beans, candy corn, and is sometimes referred to as “confectioner’s glaze”. How does this affect the food chain, I wonder?

5. SALTWATER INJECTIONS: In a process used mostly in chickens, some manufacturers inject salt into the critter to enhance flavor and increase the weight of the meat before it’s sold, or to arrange for uniformity in packaging. So, that means that you pay full price for chicken injected with saltwater weight which is then sold as “all Natural”. Let me clarify the health problem involved: According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, “natural chicken contains 45 to 60 mgs of sodium in each four-ounce serving. Plumped chicken however contains as much added salt as an order of fast-food French fries -- a whopping 200 to 400 mgs of salt per serving”. The label will say something like “flavored with up to 10% of a solution or chicken broth”. People with high blood pressure should avoid packaged chicken and never add salt to the meal while or after cooking.

4. GELATIN: Collegan, found in gelatin, is used in jello, frosted cereals, yogurt, candy and certain brands of sour cream. It is also used for strengthening hair, fingernails and the elasticity in human skin. Gelatin is a protein that is sometimes collected from cow or pig bones, hides and connective tissues. The process includes grinding the body parts and dowsing them with an acidic solution to dissolve the collegan. Additional steps are taken to reduce and refine the ground animal parts into one of the world’s most favorite desserts, J-E-LL-O. Mmm good!

3. AMMONIA: is used for killing germs in beef trim. The ammonia solution tends to break down the fat in meat creating a “byproduct” known as “pink slime” (see below) which is used as a filler in ground beef and hotdogs. It is also used in packaging of some tilapia and tuna. That’s what gives it that pink color. As far as we know, this procedure is fairly new and is purported to have started around 2001. Ammonia is also a chemical used for arousing consciousness and as an anti-bacterial solution for household cleaning products.

2. PINK SLIME: is the term used to describe the leftover bits and pieces of meat and fat made unusable after stripping a carcass down to the bone. The scrapings are first heated to melt the fat away, and then placed in a centrifuge to separate meat from fat. The gooey mash left over is then used in ground beef, sometimes the same ground beef schools use at lunch, as filler. That’s what we often call “mystery meat”. The stuff’s so disgusting that even Wendy’s and McDonald’s won’t use it. According to the USDA, schools now have the option of ordering their beef without the pink slime. Well, isn’t that special?

Last but not least we have special food product number 1. I saved this one for last, you’ll see why in a minute…

Of all the cruel and disgusting things the food industry could do to us, of all the cruel and completely unneeded procedures that could be allowed by the FDA, government, ecologists and animal activists, this one topped the list. It shocked me, hurt my heart, made me cry and want to boycott the ice-cream makers of the world.

I wanted to sear the image from my mind, but couldn’t. I want to cry now as I write this section in particular. If you have any kind of heart, your mind will reel with compassion and empathy for the unbelievable atrocity we have perpetrated on an innocent animal in order to please the palatal senses.

The number 1, all time most disgusting, cruel and unnecessary additive of all is “Castoreum”, in my opinion.

1. CASTOREUM: Castoreum is used in ice cream and other food products because of its rich, sensuous, vanilla flavor. Castoreum is sometimes included in the label as “natural flavoring”. It’s been going on for years and has been a well-kept secret because of its origin.

What is Castoreum? Is it needed? Are there other options? Wouldn’t the vanilla bean would do as well?

Castoreum is a Latin sounding word used to fool people that have no background in Greek or Latin languages. Castoreum is…. Wait for it….

Castoreum is an extract made from the crushed anal glands of beavers. Is it any wonder that this “natural flavor” is kept secret? And no, the manufacturers have not violated any regulations. They are within the law as long as they aren’t poaching.

I do not question the legality. I question… the humanity.