Food Regulations in Comparison to Other Countries
When compared to other countries around the world, the United States allows a questionable number of chemicals to be used in food. Most countries have much higher regulations in comparison to America, which is too lenient on their rules with what chemicals they allow in their foods. Dr. Mercola, in his article of Common US Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries, alludes to the importance of being privy to what is put into the foods we eat; the article illustrates ten American foods that are banned in other countries by giving specific examples of foods that contain severely hazardous chemicals.
The first of which is farm raised salmon; “raised on a wholly unnatural diet of grains along with a concoction of antibiotics and other drugs. This diet leaves the fish with an unappetizing grayish flesh and so, the fish are subsequently fed synthetic astaxanthin made from petrochemicals (not intended or approved for human consumption) to compensate.” Dr. Mercola later informs the reader that farmed Salmon fed these chemicals are banned in Australia and New Zealand for health concerns.
The preceding food is Hawaiian Papaya, which Dr. Mercola states “is genetically engineered to be resistant to ringspot virus, and further research would show that animals fed genetically engineered foods, such as corn and soy, suffer a wide range of maladies. These include; intestinal damage, multiple-organ damage, massive tumors, birth defects, premature death, and near complete sterility by the third generation of offspring.” GE papaya is banned in the E yet still aloud in the U.S.
Following papaya is meat, which Dr. Mercola states is laden with the drug ractopamine. He states that “beta reduces the overall fat content of meat and is used in forty five percent of U.S. pigs, in thirty percent of ration-fed cattle, and an unknown percentage of turkeys.” The article goes on to discuss how this chemical is banned in 160 countries across Europe, Russia, mainland China and Republic of China (Taiwan). This article is unbiased because Dr. Mercola is simply reporting Facts.
He goes on to the preceding beverage of choice of many consumers which is citrus-flavored sodas and sports drinks. “These drinks contain a synthetic chemical called brominated vegetable oil or BVO. This chemical was originally patented by chemical companies as a flame retardant, this chemical has been shown to bioaccumulate in human tissue and breast milk, animal studies have also found it causes reproductive and behavioral problems in large doses.”
Any reader can easily understand that Dr. Mecola is just distributing actualities and not trying to influence her readers to any specific side.
The next category is processed food products containing artificial food coloring and dyes; “There are more than three thousand food additives (preservatives, flavorings, colors, and other ingredients that are added to U.S. foods.” Many of these foods are banned in other countries due to research indicating toxicity and hazardous health effects, highlighting adverse effects on children’s behavior specifically.
The next and most alarming food is chicken; “arsenic-based drugs are approved for use in animal feed in the U.S. because they make the animals grow quicker and make the meat appear pinker and therefore fresher”. These are simple yet very damaging shortcuts that the food industry has come to increase profit.
The readings perpetuate the FDA claims that these products are safe because they contain organic arsenic, which is supposedly less toxic than the other inorganic form, which is a known carcinogen. But Dr. Mecola states; “studies show that organic arsenic can transform into inorganic arsenic which is found in store bought chickens sold all over the U.S.” This is unpretentious evidence the regulations in comparison to other countries are not up to par as far as chemicals and preservatives that we allow into our foods. Dr. Mercola alleged “In fact, many of the foods you eat are BANNED in other countries.” The reason is because of how detrimental they have been found to be towards the public’s well being.
