Tuesday, March 20, 2018
"Food Doesn't Have to Wear Makeup" www.slate.com
This article that I read on slate.com talks about how the McDonald's french fries in Britain only have four ingredients, while the McDonald's french fries in America have nineteen ingredients. In Britain, they use real strawberries in their strawberry sundaes, while in America, they use a dye called Red 40. Studies have shown that several major and minor food companies in the U.S. also use artifical dyes and flavorings in their food. These dyes are supposed to make the food look better, and more appealing. These artificial dyes have been known to cause cancer, allergies, and hyperactivity in children. Consumers buy foods with these dyes because they are more aesthetically appealing. Recent studies have shown that when children who have ADHD eat these dyes, it makes their symptoms much worse. These artificial food dyes have absolutely no nutritional value, so why are we risking it by putting it in our food? Companies are risking our physical and mental health and we’ll being by putting these in our foods because it sells their products better. We have relied so long on the visuals of what food looks like rather than focusing on how natural or healthy it is. Children are the main group of people attracted to foods containing these artificial colors, and it is they that have to suffer from their harmful effects. For example, margarine was originally white, but producers gave it a yellow tint to make it more appealing. It is the FDA’s responsibility to protect us from these dangerous chemicals that most people have consumed unknowingly for several years.
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Hi Hannah,
ReplyDeleteThe article you read seems interesting but at the same time sad because people don't realize what ingredients are put in their food, along with how unhealthy it is. Personally, I feel like people need to be more aware of what they put into their body because it could harm them in the future. If we all learned about the bad ingredients in the food we're eating then we would all be able to make a change. You mentioned that in the article it says that artificial food dyes are used because it's aesthetically appealing but why does something have to be appealing if it's just going into our mouth and tastes the same. I will still eat some food that has artificial dyes in them but at the same time I will think about what I'm actually putting into my body when it comes to certain ingredients. When you mention that the McDonald's has 19 ingredients in their fries it's crazy because you'd think it's just a potato in oil with salt on top of it, like what else does it need in or on it to make it taste the way it does. -Juliet
I find this surpising. I was vaguely aware of how common artificial dyes are in food, particularly processed food and fast food. However, I didn't realize that McDonald's in the UK uses real strawberries and have only four ingredients in the fries. The UK is a large enough market that if using real ingredients works there, then it should be able to work in the US. Prices will need to go up, but Americans will need to accept that their McDonald's costs an extra couple of dollars in exchange for fewer health risks.
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