By Kana McNiff
In the past decades, there’s been an increased emergence of processed foods, but how is the increase of processed foods affecting us? I became interested in this topic after I took a look at my own diet and realized how much processed food I was actually eating. Bread, cereal, cheese, and lunch meats are food items in most American households in 2023. Processed foods contain large amounts of sugar, fat, sodium, and nitrates. Too much of these ingredients can lead to obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
“Healthy” food items like organic and whole foods have always been the more expensive options. This creates a gap in the health of those who can afford whole foods and those who cannot. However, this issue runs far deeper than what meets the eye. Food poverty disproportionately affects Black and brown people due to redlining in America. “Redlining” is a discriminatory practice in which a mortgage lender refuses to loan to people based on race. Ultimately, this practice “corrals” Black and brown people into one area. These areas are hardly given any government funding or resources. Because of this, these underprivileged neighborhoods in America often have no grocery stores, underfunded schools, and no outdoor recreational spaces (parks, pools, etc.). Essentially, this ensures that poor people stay poor. The main source of food for many of these neighborhoods is small corner stores, and the issue is that these stores rarely have fresh fruits and vegetables. This means that children living in poverty often end up eating cereal and milk for every meal. We need to make impoverished neighborhoods livable, starting with grocery stores. Although redlining is now an illegal practice, these areas still don’t have enough money to fix the effects that it left behind.
On the topic of food, increasing amounts of hormones have become present in meat and dairy products in the US. Synthetic estrogen and testosterone are the most common hormones found in such products. Long-term exposure to synthetic estrogen drugs has been proven to increase risk of breast cancer. Craig Minowa, environmental scientist with the Organic Consumers Association, a nonprofit advocacy group, says, “It really depends on how you look at the science. Many industry-funded studies show no risk, but there are independent studies that suggest [a potential cancer risk from hormones in milk.]”
There’s long been speculation about the correlation between hormones in meat and early puberty in children. Although there is no definitive evidence that this is true, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the European Union have banned the use of such drugs in agriculture. More specifically, they banned the synthetic drug, rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) aka rBST. rBGH is a drug used to increase milk production in cows. In the United States, the FDA approved this drug in 1993 and it has been used in agriculture since then. In Japan, where rBGH is banned, the average age of puberty is anywhere from 10-12 years old while in the US, the average age of puberty is 8-13. Although the US clearly has an earlier average puberty age, it’s extremely difficult to prove the correlation between the hormones used in meat and the occurrence of early puberty. This is because it’s nearly impossible to differentiate naturally occurring hormones and synthetic hormones in meat products. Another reason why it’s so hard to tell is because many of the supposed effects like cancer take a long time to present themselves.
Big food corporations aren’t necessarily “out to get you”. Most of these companies are simply trying to make marketable goods in the most cost-effective way possible, even if that means cutting corners. Generally, when a company prioritizes profits, it doesn’t have a great outcome on those consuming their products. To avoid being struck by such “outcomes”, you can buy organic, locally sourced foods. It seems like the best and only thing to do is to make sure you know what you’re eating. Inspect the labels on the food you eat. Remember, the only person that can determine what’s good for you, is you.
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