Food For Thought

- Isn’t it much easier to find prejudice if you are always looking for it?

- Watching the Women’s World Cup games between teams from various countries with various commentators, I noticed that they use many of the same expressions as the men use:  “a two-man wall,” “separate the man from the ball,” “she beats her man,” and several others.  Since these commentators are former players, we must assume that players on the field likewise use these expressions.  Could it be that no one is offended by such sexist talk because first, it is a woman using these expressions and second, these women are confident enough in their abilities not to make themselves victims over something so petty?

- We have in the house three grocery items from same baking company.  The loaf of bread has on the package the reassuring label “Non – GMO.”  The package of English muffins says that there are “0g of transfats per serving.”  The hamburger buns’ claim to fame is:  “No high fructose corn syrup.”  This proves one thing.  There are so many different groups of food advocates trying to scare us about so many aspects of the food supply that labeling of packages is a grab bag of promotional choices.  Pick one scary thing that’s not in your food and post it proudly on the box or package to try to increase sales to a gullible public.

- Staying on the subject of food, for years people have been telling me that the daily Diet Coke is going to kill me.  The latest study on aspartame differs.  According to this recent video from the American Chemical Society that criticism is completely unfounded.  To come even close to an unacceptable level of consumption as set forth by the FDA, a person would have to ingest “97 aspartame sugar packets or more than 17 cans of diet soda in less than 24 hours.”  I think I’m safe.  (If taking 17 aspirins a day is dangerous, does that mean I should be afraid of taking aspirin?)

- That brings us back to the reality that everything, everything in the universe, is made of chemicals.  A synthetic chemical has exactly the same effect as the same chemical from nature.  (The tree doesn’t know if the nitrogen came out of a bag or the back end of a cow!)   Someone who is scared of chemicals or tries to avoid chemicals or thinks chemicals is a warning sign is playing a losing game.  It is fairly certain that critical thinking never killed anyone.