Frankenfood

We are eating so much processed food these days. Preservatives, added "stabilizers", genetically engineered food substitutes.

I go to the local market and I can find all kinds of stuff that people eat on a regular basis. I have to admit that I occasionally partake in some of these things, just because they're so readily available and convenient. But I'm trying to eat a little better, a little less preservatives, etc.

We have not just one, or two ... but 3 different major brands of sugar substitutes! All of which has a strange aftertaste. I don't care what they say or rave about ... that stuff is still weird.

There are garden burgers (non-meat hamburger patties). These are actually not too bad, taste-wise. I think it has some nuts, soy and other stuff in it to keep the whole thing together. There are soy dogs (soy-based hotdogs wieners). I would not recommend these as they have been quite nasty in the past. I don't think I want to try them again anytime soon ... stay away from these unless you like chewing on plastic, which is roughly what they taste like. Yes ... a salty rubber glove!

Reading the ingredient lists, I have a hard time trying to find savory snacks without MSG in them. I'd always thought that being Asian gives me immunity to MSG sensitivity, but I changed my mind after getting violently ill after ingesting 2 bags of shrimp chips once upon a time.

There is pesticide on my fruits and vegetables. At least I assume there is. They sell detergent for fruits and vegetables now. They supposedly rinses away pesticides and wax (they put a coat on hard fruits and vegetables like apples, bell peppers, etc. to give them a pretty glossy shine).

There are reports of newly "developed" fruits or vegetables every now and then. The market sells the "regular" tomatoes for less than a dollar a pound (they're just kind of there. Looks like tomatoes, have the texture of tomatoes, but taste-wise ... they could be anything). Heirloom tomatoes (they're kind of weird looking with lumps everywhere and sometimes multicolored too) - what tomatoes USED to be like, are selling for at least $3 a pound. Most of the time, more. They smell like tomatoes, tastes like tomatoes ... why are we subjecting ourselves to eating the mutant tomatoes? Is it the price (less likely that they will get infected by disease, insects, etc. grows larger, faster, etc.)? The public is never really officially informed that these are not "regular" fruits or vegetables ... just that there are more expensive varieties that you can buy from the "organic section".

I've read somewhere that Japan is developing slightly soft shelled eggs that are square, so that they can stack them easier. What are they going to "develop" next? Skinless chicken???

I think people are getting a little more conscious about these things, especially those who are in higher income brackets who can actually afford to eat organically. Who knows what the longterm affect will be? Will we grow a third eye or develop super powers from eating these things? I think I would like to be able to fly. Beats being stuck in traffic all the time.