Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Banned Foods We Eat Every Day

 
  Countless countries around the world have taken a much more proactive approach to regulating their food system, in comparison to how things work in the US.

  They've taken a more 'natural' approach, if you will. I say natural, in quotations, because here in the US, natural really doesn't mean much when it comes to food. It sounds like it should mean something: that a product is close to its natural state, unprocessed, no chemicals. But it doesn't.

  A result, of this more proactive approach to food systems, is that these countries around the globe have taken the initiative to ban food items they deem as harmful products. Something we also do in the US, but our 'banning bodies' must not agree with their counterparts.

  In many cases, those same products are not banned in the US. In fact, they're products we continue to consume on a regular, and far-too-frequent basis.

  I've made two graphics that detail the ten items in the US Food Supply that have not been banned from our shelves, even though they have been deemed harmful by much of the rest of the world.

  For me, in the previous ten years, I've spent the majority of my time overseas in Europe. During that time period, I grew accustomed to those stricter, more hands-on food laws. And I grew to appreciate them. A safer food supply was fine by me.

  In the summers, when I would return home to the US, it would take some adjusting, but not much. Summertime is relatively easy. Fresh fruits and veggies, barbecues; you can't go wrong there.

  Now that I'm living in the US full time again, and the summer crops have been picked clean, I'm having to relearn a few things. What food items I need to work to avoid, for example. What I have grown-used to not needing to think about, I am now having to put to the forefront of my mind.

  Hopefully these graphics help me, and you, decipher the foods we should be steering clear of. And hopefully, with stricter regulation, are things we won't have to concern ourselves with much longer.


  What do you think, would you like tighter food regulations? Are you happy with our food system? Who is responsible for putting safe, healthy food on our shelves?

  For more detailed information on the banned items and their effects, see the links below.


RELATED LINKS:
10 Banned Foods Americans Eat Every Day
11 Banned Ingredients We Continue to Eat

RELATED POSTS:
M&M Analysis: Altered Recipes For European Consumers
Banned Ingredients Remain in US

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