Swindled Book Notes

Pages 228 - 233

As I read our books for the Healthy Readers Book Club I take notes about things that make me curious or about which I have an opinion. Today there’s just SO MUCH to say that instead of posting three individual notes I decided to share one long note. Warning, because it’s so much this on it a bit longer than most. Let me know what you think.

Page 228 - Processed Foods

Now we’re starting to get into more modern territory and food manipulation. On page 228 we read about President Eisenhower attending a special “research“ luncheon hosted by the US Department of Agriculture where the meal was “Designed to showcase the marvelous potential in all the new ways of processing foods. Eisenhower sampled ‘powdered orange juice, potato chip bars, a whey cheese spread,“dehydrofrozen peas “, beef and pork raised on a new (hormone and antibiotic added)feeding method and low-fat milk.’”

And thus is born the manipulation and adulteration of modern food. Presented, of course, as vastly improved over the original nutrient, dense, whole food products. It’s horrible to think that 75 years later, we are still dealing with this kind of manipulation to food and it is seen as normal. I was flabbergasted to read “The constant heard refrain was that the American diet had never been better; and that it was the best in the world. In 1952, the government’s food protection committee announced that “the American people now enjoyed the most abundant and very diet of any nation in history“.… At the beginning of the 20th century, there were only about 50 additives in common use… After the second world war chemist, came up with hundreds of new additives, which now had the air of a magicians box of tricks.”

Clearly As we are learning in the book, adulteration of food has been around for as long as humans have been selling food to others. The unfortunate part is that now so many of the things that are being put into food are allowed, and yet serve no nutritive purpose whatsoever, they exist to best support the manufacturer.

Ed. note: Interestingly enough just as I’m writing this we may finally, eventually, be removing petrochemical food dyes from the system.

Page 230 - Generally Recognized As Safe

Ingredients can be placed on the GRAS list and considered safe until proven, not safe. Probably not the best way to do it.

Here’s how the system works — food producers submit a petition to the FDA saying that they have hired experts who have assured them that these substances are safe to consume under a certain number of parts per million. The FDA usually approves these. Sometimes the manufacturer decides their ingredient isn’t ready for prime time and removes the petition from the FDA’s attention to try again later.

It’s challenging to think that this system is designed in support of the food producers. Especially when you stop to consider the many, in-depth studies which indicate that when a company is being paid by the originating company they tend to see in favor of whoever’s writing the check.

In fairness there have been a few instances of Items being removed from the generally recognized as safe list, but it’s very difficult and takes a long time. To date the biggest removal was for trans-fats in 2013. If the artificial colors are actually completely removed that would be a even bigger and affect more foods.

On page 231 we read that the original list of GRAS chemicals number 182. That was in the late 1950s. By 1961 there were 718 chemicals on the list. Again… Does anyone want to take a guess as to how many are on the list now?

As of 2024 it’s over 10,000!!

Page 233 - The New Food Panel

I can’t even…

Reading this page makes me furious and hurts my heart.

We learn about a brand new (1969) government panel created to discuss novel (read processed and ultra processed) foods. Chaired by the Vice President of Monsanto, and including the VP of Pillsberry, the VP of the Ralston Purina company, and other assorted food scientists and nutritionists.

What did they have to say about whether these novel foods should be allowed in the American diet? Obviously our current state of food speaks to that answer.

Sadly, it’s been the same ever since.

When you look at who shows up every five years for the school nutrition panels, it is heavily slanted towards these companies.

Anytime there is a government conference or committee meeting about food, nutrition, and health, it is mostly attended and run by Big Food.

The only way to push back is to become an educated consumer, learn what’s really in your food, and vote with your wallet when making grocery purchases.