Pandora's Lunchbox

            Have you ever wondered what is in  that fast food you consume? Or have you ever stopped to look at the ingredients of  the frozen food you buy at the market? Someone has.

            Melanie Warner has spent some time looking at the food industry and has written up  her findings in this delightful book.

            Food science. That is what the discipline is called that studies how to mix food so that it doesn’t spoiled at a normal rate. A good case in point is the daily Spam we have. It doesn’t age. It was first manufactured to be K rations for the troops in war time. I am sure if anyone has the first can of spam it is still eatable.

            Warner has a pantry where she puts food to test how what time does to it. Most of the items in the pantry fared well over time. Others decomposed.

            She tells about some chicken nuggets she bought that over time liquefied.

            The reason it is done is the price. You can buy more of the processed food at a lower price than the real thing.  You can buy a cheaper loaf of bread that has had air blown into it than the bread without preservatives. If you are trying to save money which one would you buy?

             She tells the story of how Kraft Cheese now is  made of a milk substitute because after research it was found it was cheaper to make it artificial. Add emulsifiers and preservative and. call it processed cheese.

            Allergies can come from eating processed foods. The ingredients are not natural. This is one effect processed food can bring about.

            Be aware of what you are eating. You need to read this book to be informed. And then you can make your decision to go processed or whole foods.

Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal