Why Part 2

This is my daughter, Christa. She is 9 months old and I feed her real pureed foods.

She eats organic oatmeal for breakfast. For lunch and dinner she eats any of the following pureed foods: kidney beans, chicken, pork, ham, spinach, green beans, sweet peas, and sweet potatoes.

Every other week or so I try to introduce her to a new food. Carrots did not go over very well. :)

In every case, I try to choose, when available, organic, free-range, antibotic free, hormone free, grass-fed foods. Since this stuff can be mighty expensive, for the moment, my family (my husband and my adult stepdaughter) eats the hormoned, pesticided, and generally available crap. I do intend on switching the rest of the family to eat like my baby girl, but I admit it will take some doing. But I am committed.

In the meantime, it's more important that I make sure Christa starts eating right from the start. My husband and I both feel we will sacrifice what we can to make sure she grows up healthy, happy, well-adjusted, and most importantly, loved. And part of that is the food!

Cochineal Extract (Carmine) vs FD&C #40

I'd like to introduce you to the cochineal bug. They originate from South America and Mexico. You may not know that you've already been acquainted with the females. Her known aliases are cochineal (pronounced coach-in-EEL) extract, carmine, E120, carminic acid, crimson lake, natural red 40, and C.I. 75470. Chances are, you have eaten this bug.

If you'd like to see a picture, I found some great ones. Take a look: http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/hemipt/Dactylopius.htm

The female bugs are killed, ground, and used for pigmentation in food, clothing and cosmetics. Various shades of red are derived from this bug: pinks, reds, and oranges. Believe it or not, this has been done for thousands of years all over the world.

Here, in America, this kind of dye is considered a natural additive and is included in products such as Tropicana Orange Strawberry Banana Juice.

Because of consumer complaints - from those individuals that have an allergy to cochineal extract as well as vegetarian and kosher groups, the FDA now requires all manufacturers to list cochineal extract or carmine in the list of ingredients. This law becomes effective January 5, 2011. The "guidance", a FDA document that describes how to do this, can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/ForIndustry/ColorAdditives/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm153038.htm

At first, I have to admit I was horrified. Bugs! Really! But then, I thought about it a bit more as I researched. Americans, as a culture, do not eat bugs, but that is not the same all over the world. Bugs, in fact, are a great source of protein! So I think Americans (myself included) tend to be horrified at the thought of "eating a bug", when, if you think about it, we also eat: chicken & fish embryos (eggs & caviar), chitterlings (intestines, aka "chitlins"), pate (liver), and escargo (snails).

Some companies have reacted to the backlash by replacing cochineal extract with artificial colors such as FD&C Red No. 40, which is derived from petroleum.  Dannon did this with their strawberry yogurt.

Yum, what a choice: bugs or petroleum.

I believe that it is always better to go natural -- but I also have to question: why bother adding color to foods? Why can't we just get used to their natural color? I realize there is a lot of marketing and science to answer these questions, and food companies want to sell as much product as they can.

But really, I don't NEED my food to be red or pink.

Verdict: If I had to choose, I'd choose the bug. But in a perfect world, I wouldn't have to choose at all.

As much as I can help it, no bugs or petroleum for Christa.

Food Fraud

Just when I thought my my problems would be figuring out what is safe and healthy to eat, I find this: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36093999/ns/business-washington_post//

Scary.

To sum up, the article says that various foods have been intentionally mislabeled or represented as something else. Farmed fish represented as wild, caviar that was not, sheep's milk cheese that was really made from cow's milk, and moldy tomato paste that was marketed as a higher-grade product to companies like Heinz and Kraft are the most notable examples.

The FDA apparently has a lot of issues on their hands, and this kind of fraud is low on the list.

On the good side (wait....there's a good side?) individual consumers aren't the only ones who are scammed -- big industry is too. So that means that the food industry and multi-million dollar corporations are part of the effort to get the FDA to do something about this.

I tried to think of ways that as consumers, we could possibly avoid this happening to us, but I couldn't think of any. If big corporations like Heinz are being scammed, then how are we to know? Wouldn't it be great if there were individual do-it-yourself DNA kits that you can test foods on the spot with?

The only thing I can think of to help protect ourselves is:

1. Be aware.
2. Buy expensive items from sources you trust. That can't prevent fraud completely, but it does help.
3. Where possible, when buying natural, organic foods, buy from local farmers with good reputations. So if you are in the market for sheep's milk or grass-fed beef, for example, you have a pretty good chance of getting what you buy.
4. Try and buy from the "lowest common denominator" and make processed foods yourself. For example, ketchup is pretty easy to make, and, although it may take more time out of your day, you know you are using real tomatoes instead of moldy tomato paste.

Easier said than done? Of course! I don't do all of these things myself -- but I'm working towards it. But, like anything that's worth it, it's always easier said than done. *sigh* That's life, I guess.

Why

I am greatly disturbed. Almost disturbed enough to never eat again! Now, I know that's impossible, but the way I feel right now is that the only thing stopping me from never eating again is death.

From the water we drink to the food we eat --- and all the conflicting data out there --- how do we know what's good for us? What's safe to eat? What do I feed my infant daughter!!

Since it is in my best interests to eat, eat I shall, but the fear remains.

I hope, through this blog, to sort through all the information out there and to get the facts -- real facts, not opinions, mind you -- and try and figure out how to feed my family. Hey, maybe I can help you, my internet reader friend, out there too.

What makes me an expert? Absolutely nothing.

I have a bachelors degree in marketing, I work as an I.T. project manager. I am an author of a published eBook. I love to write, and I am relentless in my research when a topic is important to me.

So, I'm like most Americans. No special degrees, no scientific background, just a regular person trying to sift through the data. But I don't have something that gives me the advantage.

I have NO hidden agenda.

I don't believe anyone with a religious fervor. I am not paid by any food manufacturer - or anyone except my job and eBook sales (which has nothing to do with diet or food, btw). I'm not afraid of being sued.

I simply want to know what it is I'm putting in my mouth and the mouths of my family. I want to be healthy while doing it.

Now I will tell you that I eat lowcarb, and have been on and off for the past, oh, about 13 years. I have had a lot of success with it, and through my own research, I tend to believe that is a healthy diet for myself and my family. You may see me write about various lowcarb topics (it is quite the debate!) and I will have links to lowcarb sites that I frequently read.

However, I do NOT believe in a "one size fits all" mentality about diet. I do on occasion eat sugar and some starchy carbs. I am an admitted chocoholic, and I am sure to write about my own personal diet failures. LOL

Anyway, as I learn about this whole "food thing", I'll let ya'll know what I've learned. I welcome comments, I welcome the debate. And I welcome INFORMATION, so you have it, let me know!

My goal is to go on a journey in search of the truth - whatever that is. And I hope you'll come along with me.