Controversies in Food and Nutrition: Are Food Manufactures Killing Us?

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Today’s society does not concern with quality, but is obsessed with quantity. Food manufacturers are using various pesticides and antibiotics to increase flavors and quantity of food that people consume on a daily basis. Processed foods contribute about 70% of the calories of foods that people eat. Most of the foods which are supplied nowadays are unsafe for human consumption. Many people become overweight because of unhealthy industrial food techniques. Food manufacturers use Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) to make food become tastier and increase flavor, but this chemical is unhealthy to human health. According to Jensen, the problem is that consumers do not know the risk facing them and food manufacturers take advantage of consumers’ ignorance (195). The chemical makes food become tastier and as results make people become addicted and, therefore, cannot stop eating processed food.
Consumers do not know anything about MSG, but it is appropriate to know the chemical. MSG is flourless crystalline chemical substance that was introduced in the past 50 years (Goldstein and Mark 274). When MSG is mixed with food, it increases flavors. It is nowadays used as a meat tenderizer. The additive is known to cause disorders such as diabetes II, high blood pressure, obesity and migraines. MGS is a chemical that people must avoid consuming if they need to live healthy and longer life.
It is advisable for the consumers to concern with ingredients used in preparing their favorite chicken burger, pork, meat or farmed fish. Most consumers are not aware that farmed fish, chicken or beef are contaminated with hormones, drugs, bacteria (for example, E. coli), antibiotics and cleaning chemicals. Most processed foods (such as chips, cookies, bacon, hot dogs, luncheon meats, French fries, processed meat, and crackers) are made with sodium nitrites (Schlosser 638). AICR (American Institute for Cancer Research) issued a report during 2008 which indicated that eating just a single hot dog can cause risk of contracting colorectal cancer by 21 percent. Sodium nitrite is known to cause diabetes mellitus, lung cancer, stroke, kidney cancer and coronary heart disease.
Besides that, most consumers do not bother knowing whether seafood is healthy for human consumption. It is important to note that about 86 percent of seafood in United States is imported from nations such as Vietnam and china. Most seafood bought in grocery shops or restaurants are farmed. In Asia, factory farms make use of antibiotics to prepare raised shrimps. ABC news issued a report explaining that the food manufactures tend to use illegal antibiotics to make farmed shrimps. Jensen views that some of the chemicals used in preparing shrimps are such as diesel, antibiotics, sodium tripolyphosphate, borax, pesticides, superphosphate and urea (199). These are dangerous chemicals, but food manufacturers use them to increase flavors in farmed shrimps and other processed food products.
Processed foods are harmful. They cause sicknesses and overweight. Some people may fail to understand what is meant by chemically processed foods. These foods are made from artificial substances and refined ingredients. Processed foods are made of high sugar...