A Conspiracy Theory About the Food Industry
Or How Food Manufacturers are F-ing Us Up and Why We Should Grow Our Own Food
According to a report in “The Guardian” the number of type 2 diabetes sufferers has increased from 153 million in 1980 to 350 million in 2011. In 2005 the “Canadian Journal of Public Health” published a research of the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Ontario, Canada. It shows that regions with a bigger concentration of fast food restaurants have 2.62 times more hospitalised coronary problems sufferers. In 2010 a research of the University of South Australia confirmed the latter. Why am I telling you this information?
Because fast food restaurants are part of the food industry, that is f-ing us up every day. Places like Mc’Donalds, PizzaHut and KFC are just a tiny example of how food producers harm our health on daily basis. I mean, they don’t use anything natural in their production. They sell cooked cell-grown chicken, whose growth was boosted with steroids and other stimulants. Chicken and other meat sold in fast food restaurants is so infected with hormones, that the rising generation enters puberty at 9-10 years. There are 12 year boys, who shave, for Christ’s sake. And that is probably the smallest problem, because moustache can’t kill you. But commercial food and obesity can. And that is what all those hormones, sugar, E-numbers and other “extra” ingredients lead to — obesity and death.
Chicken isn’t the only harmful product in restaurants, though. And restaurants aren’t the only part of the food industry that is turning people’s health into business. Supermarkets, farmers, even governments are part of this vicious system. They all work to help the business, but not the people. Nobody cares about people, these days, it is all about money and power. All they care is how to produce and sell more. And it doesn’t matter what is the quality of what they are selling. Quality doesn’t matter, it is quantity that matters. The more they sell, the more we eat, the more they earn.
Supermarkets don’t smell of fresh veggies, fruit and warm bread any more. They smell of deodorisers, chemicals and other commercial products, which aim to block the aroma of rotten meat and steroidal fast food cooked there. They say they do it for the people, they cook to save their time and to provide them what they need. But what time do you save, when you shorten their lives. People need food, they don’t have time to cook or they probably don’t know how to. But that shouldn’t be a reason to sell junk. I mean a salad is just as a fast dish as a burger, but no one sells salads, right? And why is that? Because a salad costs less, of course. And because a salad can’t make you a sugar addict, who wants to eat the same crap every day. It is a healthy snack that will only sate your hunger and won’t bring any other benefit to the business.
Let’s talk a little bit about farmers, too, the people who provide the fruit and vegetables to the market. These days, it has become very popular to talk about organic food. Well, let me tell you a secret — what is being sold to you as organic food isn’t organic at all. Or at least the stuff that is in big brand supermarkets, like Tesco and ASDA. I’ve worked in my younger years in a celery farm, and I’ve seen how ‘organic’ celery grows. Everything is normal until a revision from a health association, and then your ‘organic’, extremely natural celery, grows about 20 inches tall for less than a week. How is that possible? I’ll tell you how — with ‘organic’ chemicals!
It is the same with fruit. Have you seen those ‘natural’ shiny apples in big stores, which taste like melons, pineapples or simply as grass or anything else except apples? Well, they are not organic. Do you know how to tell, if a fruit hasn’t been treated with chemicals? It’s surface shouldn’t be that perfect. Worms inside of it are also a good thing. Worms show that no chemical was used in the production process. Don’t be afraid of worms, but salute them, because they are part of the life cycle and growing process of your tomatoes, apples, pears, peaches, cherries and any other fruit or vegetable, you can think of.
Do you know what is the biggest problem with the food industry? It is, that big corporations are keeping us uneducated about food. They don’t want us to know what is inside their products, they don’t want us to know anything about healthy eating. They only want us to buy more of their junk food. Children in schools can’t differ an aubergine from a pear. They don’t get vegetables in their “healthy” lunch menu in schools. They have French fries, pizza, fried chicken, boxed milk with sugar, and lots of other unhealthy products. If you don’t believe me watch this TED talk with Jamie Oliver. That man has done a lot of research in the field of fast food and diseases caused by the food industry and knows what he is talking about.
How can we avoid junk food and inorganic products, or at least how can we narrow their use in our families?
It is very simple, folks, we must get back to our roots and start producing what we can on our own. I know that having a garden in London and maintaining it in a good condition can be quite a challenge, but it is not impossible. We can still grow our own sweet peppers, tomatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage, red beet, onions, garlic and even lemons at home. Mind that lemons are not the only exotic plants that can be grown in pots and indoors, they are just an example.
Even if you have very little free space, like a balcony or just a corner in your flat, you can take advantage of some of the small garden ideas that professional gardening companies offer, and implement them in your property. Plus, the smaller your green space, the less garden maintenance it will need. Growing tomatoes, or even potatoes, at home isn’t hard at all, but it comes with a lot of benefits. You will always have fresh veggies and something for a healthy lunch or dinner.
I told you what you can do if you have a little space, but imagine what it would be if you have a front or backyard garden with all of its features. You can turn your yard into a vegetable and fruit farm with all kinds of products in it. You will always have fresh food with proven quality and taste. This will surely have great influence on your life and will bring you a lot of benefits. You will not only start avoiding junk food and unnatural commercial products, but will also stay fit and happy. Your garden will improve the air quality of your home. Its colours will charge you with positivism. Your children will have their playground and will know what an aubergine is. You will have a place where to organise social events with friends and neighbours.
What do you need to make your own garden and start f-ing the food industry up?
The first thing are garden ideas. If you don’t know anything about gardening in London, you have to consult some expert, in order to find out what the soil in your property is, and how your space can be organised in a perfect garden design. This is the only way you can ensure stable growth for your plants. These things are very important, if you want to start producing your own food successfully. I mean, growing tomatoes might be easy, but it has its own specifics, too.
It is not a bad idea to read a few books about gardening, companion planting, vegetables, tree surgery, tree diseases, healthy eating and other topics like these. You will gain useful knowledge about food, which you can use in your everyday life and pass to your children, too.
You must learn how to make your own home-made weed killer, too, in order to protect your plants from weeds and to avoid infecting them with toxins. There are a lot of recipes in books and on the Internet, which will teach you how to manage weeds with natural products.
Some hard labour will be required, too. You will have to process the soil manually and to manage other gardening chores, too, to keep your plants in a good shape. Regular garden maintenance is essential for a healthy and organic vegetable garden.
You might need a garden planner, which to tell you when to plant what. And when to harvest your crops, too. There are very useful sources, like this Garden Planner infographic, on the Internet and in books.
And, of course, if you really want to beat the food industry, stop buying junk food and all kinds of pre-cooked meals and products. Those things are bad for your health, as most of them contain E numbers, lots of sugar, hydrogenated butter and lots of other fat. Educate yourself about food and teach your children how to grow their own food and how to eat healthy.
I recommend that you never forget the final words from Jamie Oliver’s TED talk: ‘I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, to inspire families to cook again, and to empower people everywhere to fight obesity.’ I would just add that except starting to cook again, families should start growing their own food again, too.
Don’t be afraid of cooking and maintaining a garden, folks, because that is the only way out of the cage that the food industry is putting around us. Stay fit, happy and healthy through gardening and cooking. I hope I’ve inspired you to make the change and become a gardener in London.
