A healthy, balanced diet is the basis of living well. Part of this includes keeping tasty but non-nutritional food to a minimum. Populations have become more reliant on what are known as Frankenfoods and they can be harmful to our health. Along with the presence of fake food, corporations are seriously profiting from processed and potentially damaging food.
What are Frankenfoods?
Frankenfoods are named as such because they aren’t really food. Indeed, consumers eat them, but they don’t have any nutritional value. There are a lot of frankenfoods that are easily obtained and are being consumed without an understanding of what is being eaten and their effects. Fast food is arguably the most prevalent frankenfood.
I’m Not So Hungry Anymore
Fast food is consumed in vast quantities all over the world. They are specifically designed and created by the fast food industry to be produced cheaply and highly addictive so that consumers buy more. From this point of view, health is simply not profitable. Fast food creates problems on a global scale. Out of alcohol, tobacco, drugs and unprotected sex, fast food leads to the most health problems. The World Health Organisation has declared that processed meats are a Class 1 carcinogen in humans. Alarmingly, this is the same category that includes asbestos and cigarettes.
Surprisingly, a global addiction to Frankenfoods such as fast food has lead to malnutrition. Indeed, fast food makes consumers feel full and even satisfied but that doesn’t mean our bodies have any benefit from it. If we were to observe ourselves after we’ve eaten a fast food meal compared to a healthy, balanced one, feeling tired and bloated would be extremely common. Consumers who aren’t completely aware of the implications of the over-consumption of fast food, don’t really consider the quality of the food they’re eating. In contrast to this, the severe lack of micronutrients in fast food means that over-consumption can lead to malnutrition.
They’re Putting WHAT In My Food?
Another form of widespread Frankenfood are genetically modified foods (GMOs). They are organisms that are genetically changed to have more desirable traits. DNA is added or removed to yield the best crop possible, therefore creating more marketable food. Approximately 70% of processed foods contain at least one GMO ingredient and it is causing great concern. British researchers discovered a 50% increase in soy allergies after GMO soy was introduced. Although the EU banned GMOs in 1999 and so aren’t grown in the UK, they are still imported.
One of the biggest issues with GMOs is that they are loosely regulated. The people that create them are the same that research and test them. No health organisations have anything to do with GMO production. Furthermore, companies don’t have to share their GMO data. We simply don’t have the appropriate information as to where these Frankenfoods go and the overall impact of GMOs can’t be effectively measured.
Even scientists weren’t fully aware of the danger of changing genes. GMO scientists thought that removing undesirable genes wouldn’t impact the entire gene. Following this, they discovered that genes work as part of a larger system and weren’t isolated as previously believed. This causes collateral damage to the gene and within the organism. With that in mind, it causes great concern as to what consumers are putting into their bodies.
Be Aware of What You Eat
Frankenfoods have become intrinsic in our eating habits. They appear to be present in the public eye and in what we eat every day. It is deeply frustrating that food corporations are looking to profit without considering our health. Money shouldn’t be the basis of food production, but it sadly appears that way. Consumers need to be more aware of Frankenfoods. Although it can be difficult to identify all Frankenfoods, avoiding the worst offenders like fast food and GMOs, we can reclaim our health back.
