The following gross-out substances found every day in your neighborhood supermarket are some of the best arguments from making a lot of your food from scratch and buying organic!
Soda with Flame Retardant
Many sodas contain a chemical called brominated vegetable oil which was originally used in plastics manufacturing to prevent them catching on fire.
Salad Dressing with Paint Chemicals
Used to “whiten” food, titanium dioxide is also popular industrially for its use in paints and can sometimes be adulterated with lead.
Beef Doused in Ammonia
Because conventionally raised beef is ripe with bacteria, the meat industry will routinely bathe the meat in ammonia to cleanse it.
Cheese Made with Cloned Calf’s Stomach
Rennet, needed to make a variety of cheeses, is derived from the stomach of veal calf; however, because these are scarce, a genetically modified and cloned version of this is used.
Milk Laced with Sex Hormones
Cows are given a synthetic hormone called recombinant bovine somatotropin to increase milk production, but this sex hormone can be passed on to the consumer in the milk itself.
Candies with Crushed Bugs
A product called “carmine”, found in many red candies, is actually derived from the crushed shells of African beetles. It is also found in “ruby red” juice products.
Shrimp Laced with Cleaners
Many farmed shrimp are contaminated with the cleaners which are used to scour out dirty pens from shrimp farms.
Canned Mushrooms with Maggots
Under FDA guidelines, a 3.5 ounce can of mushrooms can legally obtain up to 19 maggots, which are the tiny larvae of flies.
Meat Contaminated with Bacteria
Grocery store meats, due to the way it has been raised and processed, can contain a wealth of dangerous substances, including the hard-to-kill staphylococcus bacteria.
Corn Raised with Herbicides
Corn – and soy – products that are conventionally raised are heavily treated with herbicides, which have been linked to a number of serious health problems.
Processed Foods made with the Anal Gland Juice of Beavers
Yes, you read that right. Many vanilla- and raspberry-flavored products contain castoreum, the anal excretions of beavers that mix with their urine to mark the beaver’s territory.
Produce with Shampoo Chemicals
Phthalates are chemicals used in shampoos and field fertilizers and can often remain as residues on conventionally raised fruits and vegetables.
Bread made with Human Hair
L-cysteine, an amino acid derived from dissolved human hair, is a common ingredient in processed bread products and used to strengthen the dough.
Candy with Petrochemicals
Artificial dyes common in candies are often based on petroleum-derived chemicals which have been linked to a number of health issues.
Popcorn Bags with Perfluorinated Chemicals
Popcorn bags and other food packaging is often made with these nonstick chemicals which research has shown can do damage to the immune system.
As gross as these additives are, they can be avoided by eating natural, whole foods or organic products and by making many of your foods from scratch. This definitely takes longer sometimes but the healthy benefits you receive more than make up for the extra effort.
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