Paula Deen fired from Food Network for racist comments

[crazy canuck]

So I guess goodbye to most foods that one can store for more than a day. And an increase in disease you get from raw milk. Yay!

  From one extreme to the other.

[garbon]

Well, "unprocessed" is kind of a broad brush. Practically nothing has no "processing" involved.

Yep, exactly my point.

[garbon]

So I guess goodbye to most foods that one can store for more than a day. And an increase in disease you get from raw milk. Yay!

  From one extreme to the other.

There's a reason humans have been processing food for millenia.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Mm, I can't be sure the science supports that CC. I think it's best to eat wholesome foods, but there are good processed foods. Processed foods are loaded with cheap sugar (HFCS in the U.S. from the corn glut) and also are specifically formulated by legions of food scientists to hit all kinds of pleasure centers in the brain. To do this you basically need lots of sugar, lots of salt, lots of empty calories that don't fill you very much and lead to overeating.

That being said, food processing is scientifically neutral. So I have to break it down into "reasonable objections to processed food" and "woo-based crystal energy healing objections" (we'll call those "crazy" objections.)

Reasonable objection: Foods like the cheeto (puff version especially). Highly processed corn glop, full of salt, no real nutritional value, no resemblance to any natural food, not very filling, high calories relative to satiety provided etc. It's reasonable to say that is junk food you either should abstain from or eat almost never.

Unreasonable objection: You can buy these "pre-mixed" smoothies in the frozen food aisle here. Basically it's a bag of frozen slush, you put it in a blender and blend and it turns into a creamy cold smoothie. If you look at the ingredients for the good ones, it literally just lists fruits and fruit juices. Nothing else. But purists will say "it was processed!!!!!!!! it's not real food unless you bought the fruit from the produce aisle and blended it yourself!" Now, the pre-mixed smoothie falls into the same category as pre-boiled eggs and "microwavable potatoes" (a regular potato sold in cellophane wrap at a markup over normal potato price) in that they're doing a small amount of work for you and overcharging for it, but there is nothing unhealthy about those pre-mixed smoothies just because they've gone through industrial processing.

If you're the first type of objector I'm in agreement, the second, not so much.

[crazy canuck]

Mm, I can't be sure the science supports that CC. I think it's best to eat wholesome foods, but there are good processed foods. Processed foods are loaded with cheap sugar (HFCS in the U.S. from the corn glut) and also are specifically formulated by legions of food scientists to hit all kinds of pleasure centers in the brain. To do this you basically need lots of sugar, lots of salt, lots of empty calories that don't fill you very much and lead to overeating.

This is mainly the type of foods I am talking about.  I agree that it is possible to have some degree of processing and still have healthy food.  The problem is that most processed food is not.

[garbon]

I actually think portions might be a bigger issue. Most places I go, they give be double, if not triple, the amount of food that I actually want. Combine that with guilt over wasting food and...ugh.

[crazy canuck]

I actually think portions might be a bigger issue. Most places I go, they give be double, if not triple, the amount of food that I actually want. Combine that with guilt over wasting food and...ugh.

Portion size is also obviously a problem, which is why I did not claim that processed foods are the only reason there are fat people in North America.

[Admiral Yi]

To pick a nit, the use of HFCS in the US is not a result of a corn glut (plenty of other uses for corn), but rather because of the import quotas on cane sugar.

[MadImmortalMan]

We all got convinced back in the day that meat and fat were bad for us and started shoving corn flakes down our throats instead. Don't forget this:



Nothing but air, sugar and empty carbs.

[crazy canuck]

To pick a nit, the use of HFCS in the US is not a result of a corn glut (plenty of other uses for corn), but rather because of the import quotas on cane sugar.

Dont those two things work together to create cheap fructose and dear sugar?

[Jacob]

Nothing but air, sugar and empty carbs.

But it has 8 essential nutrients! It says so, right on the bag!

[Caliga]

Great, now I want some of her gooey butter cake.  THANKS Y'ALL

[katmai]

@otto,

Had one if those burgers with the Krispy Kreme buns once.


Was at state fair.

[Maximus]

I actually think portions might be a bigger issue. Most places I go, they give be double, if not triple, the amount of food that I actually want. Combine that with guilt over wasting food and...ugh.

Most places I go give me half as much as I want.

[Tonitrus]

@otto,

Had one if those burgers with the Krispy Kreme buns once.


Was at state fair.

Inhuman monster.