Today’s conversation about meat processing got me thinking about the other side of the spectrum. This is probably because I’m an avid consumer of meat and I was feeling a little defensive, when I remembered something my Dad always told me. He thoroughly enjoys freaking my sister and I out, so he told us about all the disgusting stuff we eat every time we take a bite of bread. Finally taking the time to look up the research has left me a little grossed out, so I figured, why not share it with you guys!?
The article, “How Many Insect Parts and Rodent Hairs are Allowed in Your Food? More Than You Think ... and Maybe Than You Want to Know!” by www.SixWise.com, talks about the amount of well, insect and rodent remnants left in much of our food. Because ingesting pesticides is frowned upon (who knew!?), there is a significant amount of insect and rodent residue left behind. A handy chart on the site shows the estimated amounts of “leftovers” in foods such as, chocolate, fruits, macaroni and noodle products, peanut butter, popcorn, and wheat flour.
The article, “How Many Insect Parts and Rodent Hairs are Allowed in Your Food? More Than You Think ... and Maybe Than You Want to Know!” by www.SixWise.com, talks about the amount of well, insect and rodent remnants left in much of our food. Because ingesting pesticides is frowned upon (who knew!?), there is a significant amount of insect and rodent residue left behind. A handy chart on the site shows the estimated amounts of “leftovers” in foods such as, chocolate, fruits, macaroni and noodle products, peanut butter, popcorn, and wheat flour.
I worried about the legitimacy of Six Wise, so I also will include a link to the actual FDA site, which backs up the fact that there are “unavoidable defects” when it comes to processing some naturally grown products.
HAVE FUN! :)
Wow. My first impression upon reading this article was slight disgust and loss of appetite. But I also thought it raised some interesting points--doesn't it make more sense to allow non-hazardous tidbits into our food rather than over spraying it with harmful chemicals?
ReplyDeleteThis also reminded me of how much more sustainably other countries use livestock. For instance, Bourdain mentioned that only 8 oz. or so of the pig he saw slaughtered in Portugal was wasted. Parts of those animals that are just wasted in the U.S. are deemed specialties in other countries. Likewise, insects are also eaten in some countries. Should we just suck it up and embrace the "naturally occurring defects" that may be lingering in a jar of peanut butter or loaf of bread? Whether or not we can stomach this, I think it is important that food companies and distributors are more transparent.
Thanks Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteMy parents would say that it's "good for your immune system..." and I like that they pointed out that beyond not being bad for us, they're actually kind of good for us. -Bourdain eats all sorts of animals and I almost want to see the nutrition facts. He dresses everything (which I especially noticed in this last half of the book) with so much butter, etc., etc. So this doesn't gross me out too much... but I think it goes back to the ignorance-is-bliss idea: people don't always want to know exactly what they're eating--which is a little scary in its own way.
(I like the photo/photo caption on the article site...)
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ReplyDeleteThis is horrifying. This reminds me of a time I went to my grandma's house in Chicago and she put a bowl of what looked like bugs in front of me and said, "Eat!" They were grasshoppers...and they looked like grasshoppers. They actually didn't taste like anything, though, which is disappointing because, if I'm going to eat bugs, I want to at least be able to say that it tasted like them.
ReplyDeleteI was also a little freaked out at times reading Bourdain's descriptions of food that were strange to me, and it freaked me out even more when he prefaces these descriptions by saying that he dreads putting a certain food into his mouth. I think it's interesting though that foods we, Americans, think are "gross" or "unsanitary" are often crucial, and considered a delicacy, in another culture's diet.