There is a lot more to being a true chef than just putting together a good meal, following a recipe, or running a restaurant. It means I have a responsibility to promote good food and proper eating habits. There are a lot of issues involving food that are just coming to surface in the last few years such as what is actually in the food we eat and how it is prepared behind closed doors.
I have never been an extremist so I don’t want to push eating habits on you. I don’t want to tell you what you should or shouldn’t eat. I feel however, that I should at least pass on knowledge and try to make eating a little more fun for you while making good food choices. I also don’t think that any one particular style of eating should be a main focus such as raw, vegan or no nitrates. You know your lifestyle and what works for you and being aware of what goes into your body and how it directly affects you.
With new technologies out there today, large companies are finding more and more clever ways of making you think you are eating something. They find loop holes in the legal system with labeling products to hide ingredients and what it is you are actually eating.
Farmers are trying to stay afloat with the rapid inflation so that they can keep pace and earn a living. Things like GMO’s (Genetically Modified Foods) are being added to produce so that farmers can increase their production and sell more products.
I find it so frustrating when I just want to buy something and want it to be what it says it is.
If that doesn’t get your attention then maybe this will. Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older were over- weight. Sixty-five per cent of the world’s population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. More than 40 million children worldwide under the age of 5 were overweight. Last year alone 2.8 million people worldwide died due to over- weight issues.
There was a study covered by CBC Radio, done at UBC where a father (doctor) and daughter (nutritionist) took multiple samples of fast food burgers and put them under a microscope and what they discovered was scary. On average they found that the patty’s contained between 4 per cent and 14 per cent meat. This means that there is up to 96 per cent of anything but meat products. They contained fat, in sinew, silver skin, bones, parasites, plants, and other tasty goodies that do nothing good for you. To put it into perspective for you a rib eye would be one of the fattiest cuts of meat you would eat and that is somewhere in the high 80 per cent to low 90 per cent meat content.
The issues are results of pre-packaged, flash frozen, GMO’s and in-proper eating habits. Our society is more focused on materialistic things and forgetting about what is really important to us. I have said it before and I will say it again. The food you eat has a direct impact on your body, both short and long term. Think of what you put in your mouths before you eat it. Think of the direct benefits it will have on your body, your moods and your health. I have seen more people worried about the type of gas they put in their vehicle than what they put in their mouths. Just some food for thought for you Nelsonites who are already healthier than most places I have visited if not the healthiest. Have you ever wondered what makes produce stay fresh looking, or beef look deep red, or why breads don’t go mouldy for 2 months. That being said, what do you think those disguised ingredients do to our bodies? Sure they may be cheaper but they do come with more cost in other areas.