What is Food Pollution?
By Dr. Renae Norton
Pollution is often defined as: “The introduction of harmful substances or products into the environment.” Along those lines I’ve coined the phrase “Food Pollution,” which I define as: “The introduction of toxic substances into the U.S. food supply that have been shown to be obesogenic, diabetic, carcinogenic, neurotoxic, psychogenic, autogenic, and, in many cases, highly addictive.”
While most people know what pollution is, very few people know that there is such a thing as “food pollution”. US foods are polluted with GMOs, hyper-hybridized grains, MSG, neurotoxic sweeteners, addictants, carcinogens, obesogens, autogens, allergens, psychogens, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, damaged fats, and toxic chemicals.
The combined effect of these pollutants is an increased risk of obesity, epidemic levels of many diseases, premature aging, and the decreasing life expectancy of Americans—especially U.S. children. Food pollution is an epidemic in the United States. It is shortening our lives, fattening our children, and costing us a fortune in medical expenses.
I also refer to “clean food” in my work, which I define as: “Food that is organic, wild-caught, or grass-fed, that has not been denatured by processing, and that is not polluted with insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemicals, carcinogens, heavy metals, or damaging additives or addictants.”
Based on the definitions above, the majority of the U.S. conventional food supply is polluted.
Whether we’re looking at polluting the world’s oceans, the atmosphere, or— in this case—the country’s food, pollution seems to have several things in common:
- It is driven by shameless greed, in as much as a few profit while many suffer. In other words, we’re talking about poison for profit.
- It is not apparent to the masses until it has done significant damage. I.e. making America the most obese country in the world.
- Its impact is often irreversible—on both the micro and macro level. It causes cancer, diabetes and high cholesterol to name a few.
- It relies upon a lack of information or misinformation that goes unchallenged—or, if challenged, is driven back by the power of big business.
As I’ve mentioned before, defining the problem is important. You can’t solve a problem if you can’t define it. The problem in the US is that our food is polluted for profit.
For me, it’s been a journey with many ups and downs. I was as naïve as most Americans when I started looking into why Americans rank so low in health compared to other wealthy nations. I had a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that the farming, food, and pharmaceutical industries would so willingly pollute our foods and drugs. Once I came to terms with that reality, it was much easier to embrace the solution: clean food.
The good news is that, although polluted food is killing us, clean food can cure us. It really is like medicine, as Hippocrates said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” He was so right. That’s why it’s imperative that we protect our food supply. To do that, we must get involved with the food we eat.
My distrust of U.S. food hasn’t always been there. Until I was 50, I was aging normally for an American—read: poorly. But when I discovered the connection between clean food and good health, I was able to reverse the aging process, recover from life-threatening conditions, and dramatically improve the quality of my life.
I owe much of that to clean food, which, in some ways, is the love of my life. My relationship with clean food is one I’ve invested in, committed to, nourished, and even defended—especially to those who make fun of my passion for it.
I can’t tell you how often I have to defend my eating preferences. I vigorously defend my choice to eat in rather than dine out. (We don’t have an organic restaurant that serves “regular” food within 100 miles. We do have one vegan restaurant with some organic-ish items…)
I don’t meet for drinks because I don’t drink—though I’m happy to sip on a Pellegrino while you poison yourself with alcohol. I’m not kidding about the poisonous effects of alcohol.
Think I am being too judgey? If someone handed you a mug filled with a liquid and said, “Drink this, but just so you know, it’ll make you dizzy, drowsy, and woozy; you’ll have trouble walking, it’ll be illegal to drive, you might throw up and pass out—and the next morning, you’ll have a headache and nausea because the drink damages your brain,” would you drink it?
I would hope not. But millions of Americans do—every week, or every night, depending on how addicted they are to alcohol.
I’m also a nightmare to travel with because I bring so much of my own food: Paleo Valley beef sticks and protein bars, Hu Chocolate, Jovial Foods Einkorn flour crackers, Organic Valley raw cheddar cheese, cinnamon and green leaf stevia powder for my coffee, Lesser Evil organic popcorn… the list goes on. It all comes with me.
I know, I know. But you know what? No one who travels with me ever turns down my treats. 🙂
Do I have to work at clean eating? Of course, it takes work, a certain amount of sacrifice, and definitely commitment. When my grandsons visit, they know we won’t be eating out. We even make our own popcorn to take to the movie theater. (They love sneaking it in.) They are officially my favorite movie dates!
And when we eat at home, we truly enjoy making clean meals and eating them together. Sometimes it’s more work than conventional food, but we’ve got it down to an art—and the results are vastly better. Clean food is scrumptious. Just ask the guys.
I know most of the people at my local Whole Foods by name, and they know me. We have an understanding: I want my food to be as clean as possible. The closer the food is to the way it was meant to be, the better it works for me. It’s truly magical what clean food can do to heal the body and reverse aging.
A very good friend, upon seeing me after a five-year break, asked what my “secret” was. I told him: clean food. The expression on his face made it clear he thought I was holding out on him.
To benefit from this information, you must at least entertain the idea that your food may be aging you—or worse, killing you slowly and painfully. If so, you may want to consider establishing a new relationship with your food as well.
What do I mean by this? As a rule, Americans don’t shop for their food much anymore—or prepare it, eat it at home, let alone sow the seeds, tend the crops, and harvest the fruits of their labor. Maybe we should.
