Sunday, February 8, 2009
Fugu is a delicacy in Japan. It is a large, gray blowfish prepared by the finest chefs and eaten by the bravest customers. The reason this succulent fish comes with a side of danger is because, if it is not prepared properly, eating it can kill you. The liver and gonads contain a toxin called tetrodotoxin, which, if eaten, will block nerves from firing, paralyze muscles, and kill by asphyxiation. Though most people would cringe at the thought of eating something that could also be their last meal, would they still order it if it were labeled as “all-natural?”
In many, that label inspires confidence in the health or safety of a product, but the adjective “natural” on products from cereal boxes to bottles of vitamins doesn’t really guarantee any level of merit. “Natural” means only that what you are eating came from a natural source, and nature certainly isn’t looking to do you any favors. Fugu fish, after all, are willing and able to enact their revenge on the humans who eat them.
What people really want is assurance that their food is safe and healthy, and whether something is natural doesn’t really apply. Nature provides many things that can be both dangerous and unhealthy. The deadly Fugu and sticks of organic butter are “all-natural,” yet no physician would recommended going on the butter-blowfish diet. We need to rely on logic and science, not nature, to help us determine what really is healthy.
On the other hand, many artificial compounds work well as preservatives or drugs, keeping you from getting botulism from your food and treating you correctly if you do. New health foods go out of their way to state that they have been made with “no preservatives,” but the only impact the consumer will see is the product’s shortened shelf-life. Preservatives keep bacteria and other bugs from eating our food before we do, which is one of the perks of being an industrialized nation. The consumer has nothing to fear from preservatives. Because we are ingesting them in such minute concentrations, they have a negligible effect on us.
There are two authorities who should, and do, guide your health and safety choices: the Food and Drug Administration and your doctor. The former has a watchful eye over what gets sold in supermarkets, casting a large net in preventing anything harmful from entering the market, as well as recalling anything dangerous already being sold (for example, spinach with “all-natural” E. coli). The latter has a close relationship with your well-being and can tell you what your diet should contain, such as more Vitamin A or less cholesterol. This duo is really responsible for keeping all of us alive and healthy, and we should respect their opinions about any “all-natural” product. A quick purchase in the natural-foods aisle at the grocery store cannot substitute for getting exercise and truly eating right.
— Buser is a Columbia, Ill., junior in journalism and English.
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Comments
Folmsbee: ‘All-natural’ food not necessarily nutritious
I agree with the above. FDA and USDA sure do a great job in ensuring processed foods stay healthy..........uh, no. Not at all. Have you paid attention to the news at all?
Folmsbee: ‘All-natural’ food not necessarily nutritious
Thanks! I enjoy your articles quite a bit. I hope you can continue writing on subjects like this.
Folmsbee: ‘All-natural’ food not necessarily nutritious
haha.
the FDA "has a watchful eye over what gets sold in supermarkets?"
please...
at least try to question that considering recent events (unless you expect a job as their press agent or whatever)...
Folmsbee: ‘All-natural’ food not necessarily nutritious
You are so right! People who brag about only eating natural foods are such snobs and they are willing to buy quite pricey foods. This is one of the great con jobs of our time. If you wanted to be really natural you could skip the steak and go out to the pasture and nibble on the grass. Or try yanking bark off a tree with your teeth and see what happens. The companies who sell natural foods and drugs are capitalizing on cynicism about the government.
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