Have you ever read the labels of the foods you purchase? Specifically, do you ever read the label? Even if you haven’t, you probably noticed that the ingredients are a paragraph’s length. Why is that? Because several ingredients in your favorite snacks, junk food, and even non-junk food are loaded with additives and preservatives.
Many of these preservatives are also commonly found in industrial products. Yet the FDA claims that consuming these products is safe. How does this tie in with Europe’s food standards? The food standards in European countries greatly differ from America’s.
Have you ever seen the ingredients in Mountain Dew or McDonald’s versus the same brands in Europe? The European version of these products has a sliver of the number of ingredients than that of America. Let’s look at both Mountain Dew and McDonald’s in America and England and you can get an idea of how they differ.
Mountain Dew (U.S.): Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, concentrated orange juice, citric acid, natural flavor, sodium benzoate, caffeine, sodium citrate, erythorbic acid, gum arabic, calcium disodium EDT, brominated vegetable oil, yellow 5
Mountain Dew (U.K.): Carbonated water, sugar, citric acid, ascorbic acid, caffeine, flavorings, potassium sorbate, gum arabic, beta carotene
McDonald’s French Fries (U.S.): Vegetable oil (consists of canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and hydrogenated soybean oil), dimethylpolysiloxane (aka the main ingredient found in Silly Putty), “natural beef flavor,” sodium acid pyrophosphate
McDonald’s French Fries (U.K.): Potatoes, oil, dextrose, salt
I know Americans love to tease England whenever they talk bad about the U.S. But after what I have learned here, I have more respect for England and Europe than the United States. At least Europe isn’t poisoning their own citizens with these toxic products. I’ve been hitting the gym and eating right since the end of April, cutting out most junk food places and limiting how much sugary foods/drinks I take in. I don’t get the same cravings for junk food anymore.
Eating organic and proper exercise is the way to go! I don’t have a desire to go to Taco Bell or Burger King anymore. There needs to be more discussion on dropping unhealthy fast food that will cause several health problems and focus on the importance of eating right and exercising. Nobody in the FDA will talk about this because big pharma profits from obesity and health problems.
