# 14 Dark Secrets Of How Your Groceries Are Made Apologies in advance



## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/dark-secrets-how-food-groceries-are-made


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

Ummm, That makes me hungry gonna go grab a Hebrew National....And to think I have been using Coffee Mate for last 10-12 years everyday in 3 cups plus a day habit...


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

Think I'll just go eat the neighbor's dog.lil bastard eats better than I do.LOL


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I found nothing disturbing about that article other than the mere existence of veggie burgers. On a side note: I also don't use any products discussed in that article except a small amount of milk.


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## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Mmmmm. Dog...
I heard that cat has a rather sweet taste. Meat is meat I would eat any kind without a problem. Hotdogs are NOT included in my meat reference.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

faithmarie, I appreciate all info and am glad you posted so don't take this as personal it is about the article only.

1. Whey is a toxic waste *ARE YOU [email protected]#$*&% KIDDING ME!* Even this specific "acidic" whey from greek yogurt (and other dairy products) is a wonderful resource for livestock feed and many others. If you dump it in a river it is bad, so is manure, so is table salt.
"No one knows what to do with it" they say, that is just ridiculous.

2. They use orange oil and orange extract in commercial orange juice, ok.

3. Dark secret? That they mix it in large(ish) batches? Veggie burgers as a concept disturb me a little though.

4. How do people think that they get different grades of milk (1%, 2%) if not by separating and recombining? 1% cows and brown ones for chocolate, now that would be a dark secret.

5. If anyone on the planet thought marashino cherries were a healthy food their illusions have been dispelled

6. MSG apparently is like legal crack to food scientist and they will put it in everything they can. Terrible stuff intended to make bad food taste better.

7. They use big carrots for canned soup, ok.

8. Food scientist love carrageenan, at least it doesn't seem particularly harmful.

9. If what goes into hot dogs is a secret it must be the worst kept secret on the planet. But this article is concerned about cereal fillers like oatmeal, breadcrumbs and flour like in meatloaf, burgers, and meatballs

10. "extra-virgin" olive oil may not be so virginal, scandalous

11. That's pretty cool

12. Coffemate is gross, not really much of a secret there.

13. Liquid smoke is creepy? It is just the compounds in wood smoke dissolved in water. The dye they speak of is actually centuries old preservative.

14. Cellulose is not harmful, it just has no value.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*What is real food anyway?*



cowboyhermit said:


> faithmarie, I appreciate all info and am glad you posted so don't take this as personal it is about the article only.
> 
> 1. Whey is a toxic waste *ARE YOU [email protected]#$*&% KIDDING ME!* Even this specific "acidic" whey from greek yogurt (and other dairy products) is a wonderful resource for livestock feed and many others. If you dump it in a river it is bad, so is manure, so is table salt.
> "No one knows what to do with it" they say, that is just ridiculous.
> ...


I looked at that list and agree with cowboyhermit. Not really any surprises to me.

1. The whey left from the yogurt is toxic? I think that over the years, all the by products of processed "food" becomes part of a future generation of food products. Whey? You can buy whey powder as a diet supplement for smoothies. I believe that nothing like whey ever gets dumped. There are probably chemists and food scientists who work on how to translate it to $$ and something that we will eat.

2. If you are not making your own orange juice, or any juice, expect that you are subject to all kinds of additives, dyes, etc. Convenience? Convenience has caused food in America to be far removed from what food was 50 or more years ago.

3. Veggie burgers-- leftover substances added to make something natural? I think we could make our own veggie burgers that would be healthier, such as black bean burgers, black bean and corn burgers, oatmeal veggie burgers. In the future, meat may be very difficult to have and these can be used as complete protein replacements. But premade veggie burgers could contain lots of surprises and mysteries.

4. Milk has been messed with for a number of decades. No surprises here!

5. Marashino cherries are white by nature and dyed with a red dye. The bleaching before the dying, no surprise. I have probably not eaten 5 of these in my entire life. The red color is not really a natural red.

6. MSG-- my guess is that there are many other substances that are added to processed foods that we have no idea about. I have been on a no MSG mission for decades due to migraines.

7. What difference does the size of a carrot make?

8. Carageenan might cause allergic reactions that people are unaware of. Or it might be good for us. Years ago I heard that ice cream is made with a substance that is also used to make plastic. I have never figured out how much truth there is to that.

9. Hot dogs? I have never liked them. I trust my body to know why I don't like them. They are at the bottom of the processed food. When they have some food product that they don't know what to do with, add it to hot dogs!

10. Olive oil and all other cooking oils which are necessary are all probably not what they are said to be.

11. Cochineal extract--might be a cause of allergic reactions.

12. Coffeemate--I used it for years because of the convenience. Someone pointed out how chemical like it tasted. Right! It does. Anything that is a mystery powder like that should not be in our cupboards or our bodies.

13. Bacon--as a much loved food, my guess is that we would stop eating it if we realized what all went into making it.

14. Good, a way to eat non food with no calories that will make foods smoother. Another non surprise!

I think there are many other "surprises" when it comes to processed foods.


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

LOL
That was fun though wasn't it... 
We should just try and eat food in its most natural state anyway...


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Yeah Im with you guys, none of that is surprising to me. I think its cool they can grow carrots like that, wish I could. Mine came out about an inch long last year. I like mine to be extra crunchy. Yeah try giving up processed foods for a while. After a few weeks in the Amazon I came out and eat like 8 $1 size bags of Doritos in one day. One of my classmates said my system was frekin out with out the MSG.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I don't see what the big deal is with any of those. Nothing shocked me or horrified me. Of course, I don't live in mortal fear of MSG or Pasteurized milk or the stuff that's made into hotdogs.


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

12. Coffeemate--I used it for years because of the convenience. Someone pointed out how chemical like it tasted. Right! It does. Anything that is a mystery powder like that should not be in our cupboards or our bodies.


And it's flammable too. Try a pinch over a flame.


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

Sorry.. I have to add this... I have canned mushrooms in my preps LOL


Mushrooms

Fresh is always better than canned. The plastic lining of those cans contain BPA, a chemical linked to heart attacks, obesity and cancers. Canned mushrooms have an extra surprise.

Ick Factor: The FDA allows 19 maggots and 74mites in every 3.5 ounce can off mushrooms. YUM! While maggots won’t hurt you, they aren’t very appetizing. Choose fresh mushrooms instead, and wash them.mushrooms


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/10/9-unhealthy-foods.aspx

canned tomatoes are a staple in winter...


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Faithmarie, canned tomatoes are one of those things that have been shown to have benefits over fresh, but I agree about the bpa or whatever plastic they start using next. It is not coincidence that tomato sauces and salsa are one of the few things that are still commonly found in glass jars. I wish I could buy paste in glass
But in the end I would say tomatoes and tomato dishes like chili are one of the best things to replace with home canned versions.
or we buy in jars when possible.


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

I will endeavor to buy tomatoes in jars from now on.. I have started to use tomatoes sauce from jars lately and is has not ... spoiled the dishes .. but I like stewed tomatoes .. I will find a way .. and try and use canned tomatoes up... LOL


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Stewed tomatoes are great home canned, your not going to save any money probably but they are really good


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## LongRider (May 8, 2012)

Magus said:


> Think I'll just go eat the neighbor's dog.lil bastard eats better than I do.LOL


The average American dog eats better than most people on the planet do.


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

And this is why you want to go directly to the farmer. I can't help but think that someday they will exterminate us with the same cold efficiency. Shutting off the supply for one thing.

http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch...6_minute_short_film_will_make_you_speechless/

I will still eat meat ... I will always strive to get it from a local farmer of raise my own and I will strive.... to eat everything in MODERATION!!!!!!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

faithmarie said:


> And this is why you want to go directly to the farmer. I can't help but think that someday they will exterminate us with the same cold efficiency.


Without opening the video I am pretty sure I have seen similar. Slaughterhouses are definitely all about speed and efficiency.


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

Yes.. then fast forward to "us" shopping and then "us" eating and then ... the doctor marking a guys tummy for his operation... 
This video is much more tame than the videos you must have seen because I have seen videos like this that the raw vegans make ....lol I was vegan after watching those videos for 3 years... LOL


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## smaj100 (Oct 17, 2012)

Weedy, Wow I think you are the only other person I know of who gets migrains from MSG. It took ME years to figure out why I had a constant headache as a young man, and even after joining the military, almost kept me from going to flt school. It wasn't until I had been without a headache for a few days after an exercise when I came back to base and immediately hit the vending machine. To get a crippling migraine within an hour and started putting 2 n 2 together. Now I can eat a small amount of it and not get a headache, but if I sit down with a bag of doritos or eat chinese food in large amounts i'll pay for it...

I look forward to being able to provide more natural healthy food for me and my family both meat, dairy and grains. It took a little doing when the DW figured out that farm fresh really didnt taste like the stuff from the store in more ways than one. We have slowly moved away from packaged meat from big stores period, and try to buy only from local farmers and meat markets so we know a little more where the meat comes from.


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## adml1 (Aug 23, 2012)

For all the other migrainers out there msg is a big culpret, but also watch out for chocolate.


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## BlacksmithKevin (Jan 15, 2013)

I have eaten many MREs over the years ( since 86). Wonder what's in them?


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## TechAdmin (Oct 1, 2008)

And that's why I make as much of my own food as possible.


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## gun_nut (Jan 31, 2009)

> Mmmmm. Dog...
> I heard that cat has a rather sweet taste. Meat is meat I would eat any kind without a problem. Hotdogs are NOT included in my meat reference.


Ever see a dead cat along the roadside? NOTHING eats it (not even buzzards)
I wonder why?
Now if it was near a Chinese restaurant.... HMMMM


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

I went back an re-read the thread and watched the video. The only one that surprised me was No. 11, but I have no problem with it. Besides, my son refers reverently to ketchup as "The Elixir of Life". I once read how margarine was made, and it seemed very nasty. We use butter and if you even try to tell me what bad things they do to my precious butter, I'll just cover my ears and make loud noises until you stop talking.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Don't worry, all butter is still made the old fashioned way, vigorously churned by buxom young milk maids.


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## k0xxx (Oct 27, 2011)

cowboyhermit said:


> Don't worry, all butter is still made the old fashioned way, vigorously churned by buxom young milk maids.


THANK YOU! I needed to hear that. :thankyou:


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

adml1 said:


> For all the other migrainers out there msg is a big culpret, but also watch out for chocolate.


Also, watch out for sulfates. My mil is allergic/sensitive to all 3, but the Chinese places around here don't use msg anyway.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

One of my very good friends from college moved to Wisconsin after school and got a good job as a mechanic at an Oscar-Mayer plant. He likes his job and has no aversion to the products that they make. He's a homesteader and he and his wife grow a lot of their own foods and raise chickens for meat and eggs. In many regards, they are like those of us on this forum.

That being said, he told me last year that every single meat product that his facility makes is pumped from one part of the plant to another. It's all goo. 

I asked him how much mechanic work a processed food plant needs and he told me that every 12 hours every machine on every line is broken down, cleaned and sanitized, then reassembled. He uses latex gloves and cleans his standard mechanic's tools (combination wrenches, sockets/ratchets, etc.) after every use.

I'm not for or against any of this stuff. We are trying to cut way back on processed foods and fake sweeteners and stuff like that, but we'll never be rid of them completely. I've always heard that people who work in restaurants don't like to go out to eat because they know what it's like behind the scenes, and I'm sure it's similar with food production.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Nothing is better than when you do it yourself, when I butcher a deer or beef I know exactly the history of that meat. Even when I take it to the local butcher who is extremely clean and professional I never really know.

When I butcher a deer the heart or tenderloin goes right to the pan, sorry if that grosses anyone out.
Except chickens, when we would butcher a lot of chickens in a day nobody wanted any that night.


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## Toffee (Mar 13, 2012)

Jason said:


> I've always heard that people who work in restaurants don't like to go out to eat because they know what it's like behind the scenes, and I'm sure it's similar with food production.


I've heard that from some, but it usually is not high end restaurants or places that are not corporate. I know about 90% of my coworkers eat at least one meal at the place I work. And we often eat at other places, but the biggest reason actually tends to be that they don't have the time or the energy to leave the house, so a lot of food gets ordered into my house if I don't plan ahead for it.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

That makes sense, Toffee. 

Anyhow, we're moving toward growing/raising more and more of our own food so hormones, pink slime, and fake additives can become smaller parts of our diet.


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## crabapple (Jan 1, 2012)

There is now a world wide food regulation & it is tighter then ever in the history of man kind.
This regulation is so you will get the same product no matter what country you buy it from.
The world is getting smaller every minute.


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## bigg777 (Mar 18, 2013)

Thank God the Chinese found that fox DNA in the donkey meat being sold at Wal-mart China. I feel so much better about all of the $hit we import from China now!


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