Published: 01/20/19 | Revised: 01/22/19
Some would consider this a boring topic, but I must give my input on the WWW – I did so in the academic setting. Also, this shouldn’t be a boring topic since a decent % of us eat food and drink water to sustain/maintain life - it's all in the message and how it relates to us as a whole. What group tends to debate me the most, dietitians!
To the public: that should alarm you – why?
If you’re new to the term, dietitian – I’ll provide a definition from eatright.org: Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) are food and nutrition experts who have met certain criteria to earn the RDN credential.
W/ that noted, dietitians must be the primary (ALL-KNOWING NUTRITION EXPERT) if… they fulfilled the following?
Uh, that’s not completely true – some RDs put on an act as all-knowing – that is why the RD ACT is so precious.
What’s the RD ACT?
Basically, the RD ACT forbids non-RDs (you and me) from giving food & nutrition advice.
How so?
This aspect focuses on food politics.
Here’s an example: if an individual owns a blog and/or online group – the RD ACT will make it illegal (for non-RDs) to write, even provide advice and/or services on (food & nutrition).
Anyway, during my undergrad (as a student in dietetics), I did a presentation on: the electronic tongue. My stance was simple: the food industry sells products, and by doing so, making / engineering it to be palatable…is a must!
What's palatable? The food industry wants to make food taste good. People will buy and eat more.
So, a lot goes into that process – it deals with bio/brain chemistry.
Some of my clients say: "Nick, I am addicted to soda and sweets. I have difficulty eating it in moderation."
Note: addiction and moderation cannot coexist.
If you notice: look at the food ingredient list and compare it to 1960s – there’s a difference...it doesn’t take an-all-knowing person to notice and figure that out.
Who’s in control, the food industry or scientists?
1. Whoever has the money and/or assets and
2. everything else follows.
Therefore, the food industry assigns a staff (scientist / chemist / dietitian to name a few) to do the following:
- Use tools (electronic tongue) to assess overall preference. Study the brain and body associated with certain foods / ingredients / additives: monosodium glutamate (MSG), high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), aspartame and etc.
- Create studies and/or talking points (propaganda) on certain foods / ingredients / additives. Also, to a certain extent, that includes: genetically engineered (GE) food and/or ingredients – the stamp: BIOENGINEERED.
Consider the following websites (w/ talking points & plan propaganda).
https://gmoanswers.com/
https://corn.org/products/advanced-bioproducts/
Important: the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) operated a website called: http://sweetsurprise.com....a group of people (including RDs) claimed...
"High fructose corn syrup is ALL NATURAL. Our body processes it the same way whether it is corn or cane sugar."
That's false - HFCS is not natural. Experts who are compensated may say anything. Furthermore, due to public out-cry (negative feedback & poor ratings), the website closed, and videos were deleted. Another website was put in place: www.corn.org.
There has been a decrease in demand for HFCS. Because of that...the public is aware (reading food labels and purchasing foods that do not use/contain HFCS).
There's a negative connotation w/ HFCS. Therefore, the CRA made a name change: HFCS is now called, fructose syrup. Some say: "This is designed to just confuse people."
Everyone in the food industry has a role.
Some dietitians push a false narrative that,
“There’s no difference between organic and GE food. All GE food is safe.”
Again, that’s inaccurate. Genetically modified food is just that…modified (changes introduced at the DNA level). The level of safety is questionable – to say all w/out supporting evidence says enough. I would not consider the advice from an industry shill.
Succinctly, in this entry, I wanted to show how food has changed…even at the genetic level.
There’s also a financial narrative that has been woven into human life as we know it - food.
As a result, it’s important to closely examine such changes, and the impact it may have (on our mental & physical (gastrointestinal) health).