What’s On Your Plate?

Laura Avery
Mirror contributing writer

   Have you noticed that lately the classification, identification and dietary content of packaged foods has approached a level of complexity that rivals, in popular parlance, rocket science? Whether you have made a study of your individual dietary needs regarding your sodium intake, for example, or your cholesterol level, the information on these and other contents is listed in eye-glazing detail on every single package of prepared food you buy. Federal labeling requirements and corporate advertising provide more information perhaps than we care to know about the foods we eat. If I had a calculator and a lot of extra time on my hands, I suppose I could have calculated the aggregate sodium, potassium, iron, carbohydrate, sugar and fat content of my last batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, but I didn’t make them with any dietary requirements forefront in my mind.
   Lots of information is available, much of it comforting to know, especially if you are focused on counting calories, carbohydrates or watching your sodium or cholesterol intake. Thirty years ago, the first doyennne of nutrition awareness and advocacy, Adelle Davis, bemoaned the fact that commercially processed white flour, which removed the wheat germ and outer husk of the grain, had rendered this staple grain nutritionally "empty", and that artificially replacing a few of the nutrients lost through processing was an inadequate half-measure. Why tamper with a perfect food?
   And what about the labels that we are not seeing on the food we eat? Synthetic bovine growth hormone has been added to our milk supply for several years now, and it is emphatically not labeled, due to a very strong dairy industry interested in increasing fluid milk production. Aside from certified organic milk, which contains no hormones, Alta Dena dairy labels its milk as "containing no rBGH"; however, the label goes on to state that bovine growth hormone has not been proven to be a bad thing. Why does a "no rBGH" disclaimer require a disclaimer? Because the dairy industry adamantly refuses to label any milk that does contain rBGH. 
   Agricultural chemical companies Monsanto and Novartis have managed to register eight crops, including cotton, corn and potatoes which contain genetically altered Bacillicus thuringiensis (Bt), a naturally occurring soil bacterium. This became international news when genetically engineered corn showed up in Taco Bell taco shells -– corn that had not been approved for human consumption. Not only was a huge recall of processed product necessary, but farmers who had been enticed to grow the GE corn were stuck with a vast amount of stored corn awaiting sale at commercial silos. In addition, non-GE farmers who had also sold most of their crop and were awaiting payment received the bad news that their corn was intermingled with the non-approved corn and the whole lot was to be held off sale, or sold as cattle feed at a lower price. It’s really a shame that the corn wasn’t properly labeled and separated in the first place.
   And how about information that never sees the light of day because certain industry groups are afraid that it will be "confusing" to consumers? This was the case when a proposed U.S. EPA/USDA pamphlet about the benefits and risks of pesticides was prevented from mentioning the use of "organic" produce as a way to reduce exposure to pesticides. Seven mainstream industry groups: Grocery Manufacturers of America, American Crop Protection Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Food Marketing Institute, National Corn Growers Association, National Food Processors Association, and United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, opposed the mention of organic produce because it might increase people’s fear about food safety. "Inclusion of organics could confuse consumers and discourage use of non-organic fruits and vegetables," stated a Grocery Manufacturers of America spokesperson. How confusing is organic? It seems the soul of simplicity to me.
   Not all information is relevant, or even informative, if it attempts to persuade public opinion while omitting simple facts. We all have "full plates" -- meaning that we are busy or overwhelmed to the point where we simply cannot take on another project, absorb another information factoid or embark on a new learning curve. Disclosures and disclaimers we have galore about our food supply, but what is on your plate at the end of the day? 
   Something delicious, wholesome, simple and easily digested, I hope.