Food Dyes :(

       We obviously all know at this point that sustainable food is grown naturally and doesn’t contain all the harmful chemicals and ingredients that other foods do. Well, I know we’ve shoved this information down our throats a lot already, but I came across an article on food dye that I thought I would share with you guys. Food dye is a good example of why processed foods are the worst kinds of foods.

    

        According to an article I found while browsing stumbleupon, many factories use petroleum-based chemical food dyes that present a “rainbow of risks” to the consumer. These risks include things such as cancer, which was observed in animal studies, allergic reactions, and hyperactivity in children. The link to the article which I will provide below lists specific types of food dye that you should be sure to stay away from due to their harmful chemicals, and it lists their effects. There are multiple reasons as to why companies decide to use food dyes on their foods, but the main reason is because of looks. We tend to naturally want to buy foods that *look* good, when in reality they may not be good at all. The irony in this is that factories add the dyes so that the fruits/vegetables will *look* healthy to the consumer, when in fact they are better off without the dyes. Looks can be deceiving.

            There are lots of other natural and significantly healthier alternatives to food dyes, but they far more expensive, so companies will continue to use the dyes unless the consumer demands otherwise. One good way for us to change things would be to make use of farmer’s markets and locally grown items. Stop buying all the processed stuff. If you need to buy things with a label, make sure the ingredients listed are limited, and that they are ones that you know of personally. If people could start changing their habits, maybe we could even start a reform of our food industry. Our current industry does nothing but put society’s health at risk.

Link to the article: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2oDRRN/:zv4Cq$M5:Xl+_!VN7/www.justmeans.com/Food-Dye-For-There-Are-Sustainable-Options/21282.html/

Here’s a child talking about what’s wrong with our food system:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8Nebc7/:1K5!DJE-D:V0jVkulN/www.ted.com/talks/birke_baehr_what_s_wrong_with_our_food_system.html/

GLOWING MUSHROOMS! (just because):

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8qCXAL/:1K5!DJ0Dq:Tj@o3YxV/www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/glow-in-the-dark-mushroom-rediscovered-after-170-years/