FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1971
Down to Earth
You Are What You Eat
The following is based on a
series of articles in recent issues
of the L.A. Free Press, to whom
I give credit and thanks for;
especially for the figures, facts
and percentages. The people of
the Freep have been into much
detailed studies to come up with
the facts about the food we eat,
what goes into it; and what the
results can be and are. The Free
Press, being something between
an underground paper and a
"rear' paper (the latter due to
its influence and its large
amount of subscribers and
readers), has made and is still
making a very strong battle
against the use of packaged,
processed, "enriched," canned,
frozen, and otherwise no-food
value foods.
This writer suggests that, the
next time you go grocery shop
ping, you take your time,
wander up and down the shelves,
and take approximate count of
all the foods ("foods" being a
loosely used term, in this case).
Many have been added to, made
"easier to prepare", doctored
up, vitamins-added, and those
that are totally invented by the
food industry.
The food industry, as you
would probably guess, is the
largest single retail industry in
the U.S., doing over $125 billion
worth of business in sales
annually. It also is responsible
for between 50% and 80% of all
packaging materials (a HUGE
source of good old American
waste).
On this tour of a local,
air-conditioned, "everything
packaged-for-safety," super
modern grocery, you will find
the food industry is gallantly
going at its best to sell us more
food than we need for even the
"3 basics" (which this writer is
certainly NOT condoning as any
kind of a basic necessity for any
human animal); and then includ
ing the snacks, or fourth and
fifth meals, by making them so
attractive to the poor adled
consumer, that he/she just can't
pass them up. Then they slide in
all the DIET foods, designed to
alleviate the effects of all of the
above.
In 1919, the Food and Drug
Administration issued a list of
Generally Recognized As Safe
products called GRAS. Cycla
mates were among the 183
compounds on that list. Re
cently, Nader's Raiders have
been attacking validity of
the entire test, for the list was
based on responses from 355
scientists out of a group of 900
questioned in an FDA question
naire. not only was THAT group
small, but only 194 of the
responding scientists had NO
COMMENT on most of the
items listed! This would seem to
imply that, as far as the U.S.
goes, the system of GRAS works
in that a chemical is innocent
until proven guilty. As we all
well know, cyclamates became a
part of the identity of "diet"
drinks and foods, also of jams
and jellies, and many other
sweet prepared foods, since it's
a much easier way to mass
production than is ugar, much
less honey. Evidence had been
indicated to the FDA prior to
1950 about the possible dangers
in cyclamates, but the FDA
chose to ignore it. In 1950, they
reviewed a drug application for
by Jane Taylor
sucaryl. It was later noted that
cyclamates in tests with experi
mental animals showed a high
frequency of lung tumors as well
as other rare malignant growths.
In 1966, Japanese scientists
found that cyclamates were
transformed in the body to give
another chemical (CHA) which
is capable of producing abnorm
alities in embryos similar to that
of thalidomide. In 1969, two
members of the FDA staff
reported similar findings, but the
good old FDA still did not react.
However, to save the day (or
better yet, to help save our
health), Walter Finch, Sec. of
Health, Education and Welfare
announced that cyclamates were
no longer GRAS.
Doesn't that perhaps make
you a little uneasy about a lot of
other so-called food additives?
The original flour maturer, agene
(nitrogen trichloride), was
removed from use after it was
found to have caused running
fits in dogs.
Another prime example is
MSG, or Monosodium L-Gluta
mate, which is the sodium salt of
an amino acid that occurs in
most living things. It may serve
as a chemical messenger link
from one nerve cell to another.
About 60 million pounds of
MSG are sold annually in the
U.S. MSG is an enhancer or
intensifier, not a flavor itself. It
makes sweet things sweeter, etc.
However, in addition to adding
flavor, MSG has been known to
cause brain damage in small
animals. When young mice were
fed MSG they developed a
peculiar abnormality of the
brain. MSG has been added to
many baby foods, not because
babies like it, but rather the
mothers who feed the babies like
it better. Due to bad publicity,
rather than due to any scientific
finds.
Now, neither chemical, MSG
or cyclamates, in any adult
human being will cause him to
drop dead. However, if used in
excess, or if given in excess to
young children can cause either
permanent or temporary abnor
malities. YET, neither chemical
increases the nutritional value of
food, and both are used for
concealing inferiority or making
a good product seem to be more
than it actually is.
On your grocery store trip
you might pass (out of 8,000 -
10,000 items in a grocery store
of a fairly large size) some of the
artificial look-like, taste-like sub
stitutes for old favorites, such as
"Bacos," little red bits of some
thing the writer doesn't even
want to know about, that can be
added to scrambled eggs, or just
about anything. Despite names
that hint at what the product is
supposed to be like, it is an
amazing gimmick in a world in
which 2/3 of the people are
suffering from hunger. Only in
over-fed, over-weight, North
America are efforts to sell extra
and cheap protein products
clearly ridiculous, since they are
trying to stuff the full even
fuller.
It is hard to draw a conclu
sion with all this information
pouring in from everywhere—l
suggest that the readers refer to
publications such as "Consumers
Guide", "The Plain Truth," the
L.A. Free Press, "Science for the
People," for more information.
URBAN WORD
In the meantime, I shall be
trying to put together some of
the findings and conclusions to
pass along to you, the reader.
Some common sense in dealing
with the food industry is neces
sary ... we should not pay for
junk we don't need, we should
read the labels carefully, and
learn more about nutrition. We
should also be very cautious of
food with additives . . . remem
ber the slogan—"grow, make,
bake, brew what you can." Also,
avoid prepared foods (Such
rip-offs with almost zero nutri
tion), patronize health food
stores (there's one in Greensboro
on Lee Street just a block from
Tate, the "House of Health),
experiment with a less carni
vorous diet—try vegetable pro
teins like nuts, beans, and whole
grains. Treat yourself to some
homemade whole-grain bread
there is nothing like it. (I'll try
to include some recipes in future
articles).
Eat well to live well. You are
what you eat!
Daedalus
Give Someone Something
Tarantula Bob Dylan
Beyond Freedom & Dignity
Living on the Earth
What to do Till the Messiah Comes
Knots R.D. Laing
The Prophet
Herman Hesse
The Family
Female Eunuch Germaine Greer
Liberated Woman's Songbook
Cook and Craft Books
Art Books
Rasberry Exercises
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Black Elk Speaks
Mother Earth News
National Lampoon
Peace Be To You
935 Walker Ave.
at Tate Street
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Daily & Saturday
272-8508
YOUR WAY
Grocery & Package
Liquor #5
Located 2701 High Point Rd.
at Florida St.
Open 7a.m. to 2a.m. Seven Days a Week
These people are here to serve you.
They treat you as if you were welcome -
not just as a customer.
They have the greatest selection of
wines and beers with the lowest price o
beer of any conventional quick service
store in the Greensboro area.
They are nice people. Stop and see
them - when you need a bottle of wine at
1 a.m. on a Saturday?
Vic and Bill
Would like to meet you.
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