Chemicals in the food supply

[Enzo]

A lot of mention is made lately in the news of chemicals in the foods we eat. A number of letters to the paper tell us it is simple - don't buy anything from China. But that is too simple, we recently had a recall of over 20 MILLION pounds of beef by a US supplier. (In fact it ran them out of business after 67 years of success), ecoli in vegetable and salmonella in something else. Lead in the lipsticks, and a so on.

A chemical analysis of a common food sold in groceries all over the USA found the following:

Acetaldehyde
Acetic acid
Acetone
Acetophenone
Benzoic acid
Benzyl acetate
Butanal
Butanone
2-Butanone
1-Butoxy-1-ethoxyethane
Butyl acetate
Butyl butyrate
Butyl hexanoate
Butyl propionate
Butyric acid
Diacetyl
Diethyl ether
1,1-Diethoxyethane
Ethanol
1-Ethoxy-1-hexoxyethane
1-Ethoxy-1-methoxyethane
1-Ethoxy-1-propoxyethane
Ethyl acetate
Ethyl butyrate
Ethyl formate
Ethyl hexanoate
Ethyl pentanoate
Ethyl propionate
Formaldehyde
Formic acid
Furfural
Geraniol
Hexanal
Hexanoic acid
n-Hexanoic acid
2-Hexanone
2-Hexen-1-ol
2-Hexenyl acetate
Isobutanol
Isopentane
Methanol
2-Methylbutanal
3-methylbutanal
2-Methylbutan-1-ol
1-Methyl-naphtalene
Methyl butyrate
2-Methyl propanal
Nonanal
Pentanal
Pentanoic acid
2-Pentanone
3-Pentanone
Pentyl acetate
Pentyl butyrate
Pentyl-2-methylbutyrate
2-Phenylethyl acetate
Propanal
Propanol
2-Propanol
Propionaldehyde
Propionic acid
Propyl acetate
2-Propyl acetate
Propyl butyrate
Propyl pentanoate
Propyl propionate ...

These in addition to natural things like water and cellulose.

Care to guess what the food item is?




[spoiler]An apple. Even nature is made of chemicals.[/spoiler]

[umop ap!sdn]

Holy shit, my first guess was right.

Most of those compounds are fairly harmless, and the worst of them must obviously occur only in minute quantities. I wonder how many people realize that we need cyanide as part of our diet: vitamin B12 is also known as cyanocobalamin. Even there, we only require a trace amount. :D

[Enzo]

People worry about red dye #12 without ever wondering what makes the skin of an apple red. People worry about insecticides in food without ever wondering what gives certain plants immunity or resistance to certain insects.

[umop ap!sdn]

Well of course - if it's "natural" then it's just fine, but if human hands have touched it at any step of the way, then it's a bunch of unclean chemicals.

It's just like something I heard about (second hand) from the "organic" crowd. Someone actually asked someone else if they use chemicals (e.g. lye) to make their handmade soap. Well duh, of course it's made by treating oils with lye - that's what soap is!

[KLA2]

I am annoyed by people who assert that if it is “natural” it is harmless but beneficial (for) or ineffectual and useless (against). (For example, natural herbal remedies)

Rattlesnake venom , poison ivy, cannabis and water – as natural as can be. :wink:

[Enzo]

Tuberculosis and the LaBrea tar pits are natural too. For that matter, getting eaten by a tiger is pretty natural.

Pam Anderson on the other hand...

[Blue Monster 65]

A couple of weeks ago I was buying chocolates for the teachers at my boys' school and the clerk says to me, "Mmm ... those look good!"

I replied, "Have one!"

She says to me, "Oh, no, I don't eat chocolate - I'm a vegan. You should try it - it's a really healthy lifestyle and it would be good for you."

Now, at this point, my good mood goes right out the window: she's easily my size or larger and she's fucking telling me she's healthier than me? I did bite my tongue, though, as we shop there a lot (Target), but I did reply, "Well, it certainly looks like it's been good to you." She didn't get it, but the woman behind her (another employee) sure did and she damn near choked on her laughter.

Yep. A holier-than-thou healthnut who looks like she just ate a fucking cow and she's going to lecture me. Sigh ... the irony ...

Woof! - Scott

[KLA2]

I did bite my tongue, though, ...
Woof! - Scott

Thereby disqualifying yourself as a vegan ...

Wait a sec ... chocolate is meat??? Or, contains milk??? If that is forbidden, how do Vegans nurse their children? {My head hurts.}

[Enzo]

Damn right. CHildren are the ultimate exploiters. Little scamps. Exploiting the large bipedal animals for their own selfish wants.

I don't know, six avocados, three pounds of potatoes, a pound each of pecans and peanuts, along with some rice and cinnamon sounds like the start of a healthy vegan lunch...



(He says as he sits here munching his bag of Heath Bars.)

[umop ap!sdn]

I have a friend who's vegan. There are a lot of things she avoids because even just the manufacture involves animal products. Things like sugar and most beers. Honey is out of the question, and I think cotton is too (field mice). I seem to recall that it's accepted amongst them that breastfeeding is necessary and beneficial. Where pets are concerned, they do kind of have to make an exception for cats (but not dogs for some reason) by giving them at least 25% meat in their diets.

Technically, humans can't even truck these products around the place without doing in a grille full of bugs, so nothing is truly vegan anymore.

[Lance]

I believe cats require meat in their diet or they will go blind. Dogs don't.

[MM_Dandy]

Eep! In that case, I'd better make sure there's some meat in my cat's food -- He's the kind of cat that if he needed meat in his diet, he wouldn't be too shy about taking it from one of his humans.

[Blue Monster 65]

Kla2! What do you know about the cannibalism? Did you talk to Enzo? Or the cats? Bastards! Lieing bastards! All of them!

Woof! - Scott

[Enzo]

Sugar? Oh dear, what is the rationale for that? it comes from beets. Are we afraid that plowing the beet field leaves Mrs Mouse homeless? WHat agricultural product DOESN'T displace some form of anuimal life? I guess I don't know the rules as well as I thought.

And if they worry about bugs, then how can you eat an apple or other fruit? Unless you hose them down with insecticides, they are loaded with little critters. A carrot is likely to have nematodes in it.

And Beer? I mean to the Clydesdales, it is steady employment, not exploitation.

[Blue Monster 65]

From my experience with the Vegans I've met, it has less to do with health and displacement as it does with self-righteousness.

And if that insults someone ... oh well.

Plants respond to the human voice, so by extension wouldn't eating them be hurting something, too?

I honestly believe if we as humans weren't at the top of the foodchain, a lot of our BS would disappear immediately. If something else was trying to eat us, it would make getting from the house to the car in the morning a whole lot more important than piddling around in Iraq, deciding who is the best manufactured TV singer, or whether we should eat at McDonalds or have a salad, wouldn't it?

Woof! - Scott

[Heid the Ba]

I'm vegetarian, have been for years. I have no idea why a vegan wouldn't eat sugar either beet or cane.

Enzo has a point, pretty much anything with flour in it has some insect life present, as do veg etc. I think generally the line is drawn between deliberate use or abuse of animals and incidental.

[KLA2]

Kla2! What do you know about the cannibalism? Did you talk to Enzo? Or the cats? Bastards! Lieing bastards! All of them!

Woof! - Scott

BM65, I would respond to that if I had any idea what to say.

{Don't argue with the crazy man.}

I mean yes, yes indeed ... 8)

[Enzo]

I ask you my fellow humans, does not brocolli have a right to live free? Who are we to decide it should be eaten rather than you or I?

[Мастер]

I'm vegetarian, have been for years.

So have I, although I'm not exclusively vegetarian.

[troubleagain]

I am an omnivore.

[Blue Monster 65]

Nothing wrong with being a Vegetarian - I hope you didn't think I was implying that. I just have found every Vegan I've ever had to talk to was overly self-righteous and looked down their nose at anyone who wasn't. Just another PC thing, if you ask me.

But I do tend to rant ... just ask Kla2! If he could answer ... Muhahahahaha!

Now where did I put the tenderizer?

Woof! - Scott

[Lance]

Eew!

Meat!

YUK!

How could anyone actually EAT part of another ANIMAL?

Oh, wait...

I'm barbecuing steaks this afternoon.

Never mind.

[Enzo]

NEW!!! From Morningstar Farms, the this-won't-fool-anyone steak substitute.



Sigh, I used to raise rabbits. Yes, to eat.

[Blue Monster 65]

Pets or meat!

Woof! - Scott

[umop ap!sdn]

The thing with sugar is that they use bone charcoal to purify it. (Somehow.) Same goes for most beers.

I agree, eating plants is still destroying life. That's why I'm also an omnivore. Mmmmm, delicious omni.