At a time when gathering provisions to feed your family has become an unprecedented challenge, the matter of what is in that food seems to have taken a back seat. And don\u2019t think Big Food isn\u2019t well aware of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s why a book like A Consumer\u2019s Guide to Toxic Food Additives<\/em> (Skyhorse Publishing, March, 2020) by longtime health and environmental journalists Linda and Bill Bonvie couldn\u2019t be timelier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This well-researched and fully updated book makes clear the kinds of processed foods we\u2019ve gotten into the habit of consuming \u2013 and which are now being labeled as indispensable \u201ccomfort foods\u201d \u2013 are just the kinds that can be lowering our ability to resist illness, be it COVID-19, the flu or any number of other opportunist infections. And that\u2019s in addition to many of the devastating diseases we\u2019ve grown to accept as \u201cnormal\u201d such as diabetes and dementia, along with a variety of auto-immune illnesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First, however, let\u2019s take a brief look at how industry is using this deadly pandemic to make sure we keep buying its products. There is no crisis, big or small, that Big Food isn\u2019t ready, willing and able to take advantage of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gotcha! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n What could tug at your heartstrings more than a little girl quarantined with her loving dad who misses her mom and grandma? That\u2019s the \u201cspin\u201d the Uncle Ben\u2019s brand (owned by Mars) is now using in its commercials. Yes, the spot is endearing, and it will keep plenty of consumers focused on \u201cgrandma\u2019s recipe\u201d and the difficulties of isolation instead of the many chemical additives in Uncle Ben\u2019s Ready Rice mixes \u2013 including some you\u2019ll find covered in A Consumer\u2019s Guide<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kraft\/Heinz, another mega-multinational that makes billions churning out ultra-processed foods such as Lunchables, Ore-Ida, Kool-Aid and Velveeta, has adopted a rallying cry incorporated in its new commercials for this pandemic of \u201cWe Got You America.\u201d Yes, they certainly do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Post Cereal, makers of Fruity Pebbles (which comes with five artificial colors and the preservative BHA \u2013 more additives covered in the book), has started providing kids with daily videos to help \u201cignite\u201d their \u201ccreativity, imagination, happiness and sense of exploration in every bowl of Pebbles.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n And Impossible Foods, makers of the impossibly additive filled, ultra-processed fake meat products such as the \u201cImpossible Burger,\u201d has been able to use this crisis to maneuver its goods into a trifecta of 777 additional grocery stores around the U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All of these brands, and many, many more, are running creative spots produced by some of the best and brightest advertising minds in the land, all hoping to craftily convince you that ingredients don\u2019t matter. Unfortunately, most of these processed foods contain additives that make them basically unfit for human consumption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While A Consumer\u2019s Guide<\/em> only covers 13 of the many toxic food additives in use, they are, in fact, a baker\u2019s dozen of what you\u2019re most likely to find in today\u2019s processed products. It tells you not just why you need to avoid them, but how to as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with aspartame, artificial colors, fluoride (yes, it\u2019s an additive), and genetically modified ingredients (also additives), the book covers some lesser known issues such as what commercial fats will be taking the place of partially hydrogenated oils, what preservative is linked to impaired immune function and how the media is easily manipulated to sell products under the guise of \u201cnews.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s certainly a clich\u00e9, but still true: Knowledge is power. And when you\u2019re up against Big Food and all of its resources you need all the power you can get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Consumer\u2019s Guide to Toxic Food Additives<\/em> can be purchased here:
https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/consumers-guide-to-toxic-food-additives-linda-bonvie\/113273321<\/a>3<\/a> <\/p>\n