What's In This Stuff???

Last night I was reading about a 390-ton hamburger recall. I shouldn't be surprised, since hamburger is always being recalled. I decided to look around for more articles, since the one I had read was relatively short and I wanted more info.

I read an article written by Michael Moss of the NY Times talking about a company that injects its beef with Amonia. Really??? Amonia??? Yep, Beef Products, Inc. was looking for a way to kill E. Coli and Salmonella, and they found it. And this was accepted by the USDA. Unbelievable.

As if that wasn't bad enough, there is another article regarding different chemicals that are added to foods in order to make them more appealing. It is frightening to know that we are putting these things in our bodies. Cancer causing agents in flour, colorants for egg yolks that can cause retinal damage and the list goes on.

I have always been a proponent of raising your own food. This is the only way to know where it has come from and what it contains. After reading about some of this, I realize that unless you render your own fats, mill your own flour, and grow all of your own herbs and spices, you really have no clue what you are eating.

It also amazes me that if you purchase products from the natural food stores they cost double what you pay in the supermarket. If, in fact, they aren't using these chemicals and additives, why is the food so high priced? And just because they are all natural or organic doesn't mean there are no dangers. Many of the items on the list of additives come from natural sources. Does that mean that they can use them too?

I have to say that by growing our own food we are taking much of the unnecessary elements out of our diets, but until the day comes that we can grow it all, I will read all labels, buy as much as I can from local sources, and cook what I can from scratch using only whole foods.

Here are the links to both of the above mentioned articles:
Safety of Beef Processing Method Is Questioned
Top 15 Chemical Additives In Your Food

God Bless!