When a person stops and thinks about things going on in the world what crosses their mind? The death penalty? Legalization of marijuana? Net neutrality? Well what about food processing? Food really isn’t on anyone’s mind, as long as it’s available to them they don’t really seem to care. Coming from someone who is majoring in business because they want to own a bakery, food is kind of important.

When it comes to food processing most people think of mixers, fryers, peelers, etc. And that is definitely part of the process, it just might not be the only thing behind the process. According to P. J. Fellows book Food Processing Technology: Principles and Practices “The aims of the food industry today, as in the past, fourfold:

1. To extend the period during which a food remains wholesome (the shelf-life) by preservation techniques which inhibit microbiological or biochemical changes and thus allow time for distribution, sales and home storage.

2. To increase variety in the diet by providing a range of attractive flavours, colours, aromas and texture in food.

3. To provide nutrients required for health.

4. To generate income for the manufacturing company and its shareholders.”

If society were to actually look at these I think their idea of food processing would change tremendously. Yes when first read they don’t sound that bad, but read them again. Microbiological or biochemical changes? Just so that the food will be more attractive to the eye. That doesn’t sound very appetizing if someone were to ask me. It comes to a point where is this really food, or are the manufacturing companies turning our food into something we don’t know just to make money?

Why am I so passionate about this you might ask? Well I guess maybe two reasons… My grandma used to be really overweight, she took all processed foods out of her diet, started her own garden and started making all her foods at home. This means no McDonald's, no freezer foods, etc. She lost a total of 105 pounds. She is back to her old self. She has way more energy than she used to, she doesn't have to take most of the medications that she was. I have never seen her so happy. It is really amazing what changes food can make in your life. Feeding your body the nutrients it needs can make all the difference.

Secondly, I was with my dad on a Sunday night back when I was 11 or so. We were absolutely starving and the only thing that was open was McDonalds. My dad ordered the Filet-o-fish and I just ordered fries and a milkshake. I asked the lady (being the nosey 11 year old that I was) what kind of fish it was. The lady had absolutely no idea what it was. My dad then, getting kind of nervous, asked to speak to the manager on duty. He could not answer the question either and asked my dad if he wanted to see an ingredients chart. My dad said yes, the manager then came back and told us he could not find the chart. We asked for our money back and haven’t been back.

So this is me, trying to convince people that processed foods aren't supposed to be consumed on a regular basis. Every once in a while might not kill you, but it’s not going to make you feel any healthier in the long run. This is a topic people need to be aware about. It may cause multiple problems in each person’s health. Following that, Fellows also states that “[t]raditional biochemical preservation methods involve either direct microbial destruction using preservative chemicals, or chemicals absorbed from smoke, or by reducing the pH of the food to a level that prevents the growth of micro-organisms.” Our food is being biochemically changed to improve shelf-life and make attractive by chemicals from smoke. Smoke has been one of the leading causes in lung cancer, why would we want to use it in our food? These manufacturing companies have completely stopped caring about the quality and focused totally on the quantity and appeal of their products. Is this really what we want to be supporting?

Yes I understand that most foods are processed before we eat them. And most need to be. If we ate raw chicken it wouldn't end to well. So some processing is provided to kill bacteria. But most manufactured products are being harmed and stripped of their nutritional value. Some fertilizers used on fruits and vegetables kill the vitamin C, which is very important to our bodies. We want all of our foods to be natural not processed.

This is something I've been passionate about for a while now and hope to share my knowledge with all of you. I have high hopes to own a bakery one day and I want to make sure all of my customers feel safe eating what I create. I want every person to know every ingredient I put into my baked goods. There are so many things that go into our foods that I can’t even read the ingredients without being confused. The lack of knowledge in society today is extremely sad and scary. Our bodies are what keeps us alive, if we are feeding it things it can’t handle how can we be sure we are going to live up to the life expectancy that we are given? We all strive to live long healthy lives (well at least I hope so) and we can’t achieve that by eating processed foods, from the microwave or drive-thru. Food is an important part of our lives, we need to stop altering it and leave it natural. Yes it may not look as appealing as it does now, but I can almost promise that it will taste better and make you feel like you did when you were a kid. Full of life and energy No one likes a couch potato. So ask yourself… Is this really what I should be putting into my body? Moral of the story, think about what you put in your mouth.