American Kids vs. European Kids - And the Best Foods Go To....
1:36 PM Posted by jo
Did you know that the kids in Europe eat food with less chemicals than the American kids? You see, other governments around the world have decided that certain chemicals are harmful and should not be added to food sold to their citizens. Things such as food dyes are allowed to be sold. Several studies have linked food dyes to hyperactivity and other behavioral problems, so Europe requires a warning label on products with artificial food dyes. Naturally this is something that companies don't want to put on their products since it may reduce sales. Several companies solved the problem by making special products for the European market. Say what? Yep, it is true.
FDA is useless
It is obvious that the huge corporations are listening to consumer demands overseas, so how come we haven't been able to make them sell better products to us? Does FDA ring a bell? FDA decided that more research is needed in order to confirm the dangers of food dyes, so it's business as usual here in the states. Mac & Cheese, breakfast cereals, candy and medicine will keep their artificial food dyes that have been linked to hyper activity (ADHD), cancer and allergies.
Over in Europe on the other hand, the Food Standard Safety agency in UK funded a study called The Southampton Study, which tested the children on the combination of the preservative sodium benzoate and yellow number 5 (tartrazine). So, keep this in mind, one study funded by the British government, made the American corporations remove artificial colors and preservatives in products marketed to children in Europe.
Four companies that have no problem making better products for children overseas
Coca-Cola, Kraft, Wal-Mart, and Mars have removed artificial colors and sodium benzoate from their products in Europe. Some even removed aspartame. The Nutri-Grain in Europe contains beet root red and paprika extract while the American version has synthetic food dyes instead. A strawberry shake at McDonald's actually has strawberries in Europe while our version has nothing but artificial junk. Their nuggets have less chemicals too.
While I rant
Something important happened in the beginnings of the 90's, a new protein was engineered into our food supplies. Sadly, no human trial was conducted to see if they were safe for consumption.
Milk allergy, the most common allergy in this country today
It is interesting to note that in 94 a new genetically modified protein, a synthetic growth hormone, was created to increase the milk production in cows. Manipulating the natural process is not a good idea and this growth hormone made (makes) the animals very sick, so the usage of antibiotics was increased to fight the sickness in the cows. (Antibiotic resistance and super bug someone? )
USA said yes but the rest of the world said NO
Our government said that it had not been proven dangerous so they approved it to be used here. Other governments around the world such as Australia, Canada and all the European countries took precaution due to the fact that the new genetically modified protein had not been proven safe. So they decided not to use it in their countries. As you can see, the children in Europe and the rest of the world are allowed food without nasty ingredients while American kids have to consume milk that is making them sick. This synthetic hormone have been linked to elevated hormone levels that may cause prostate and breast cancer.
Soy, one of the top allergens
In 96 soy was genetically modified and as it turns out, it is one of the top allergens today. Once again, the governments around the world took precaution to prevent onset of disease from genetically modified soy that had not been proven safe. I don't think it comes as a surprise that our government took the same approach as before. They allowed the genetically modified soy since it had not been proven to be dangerous. There was no concern that genetically modified proteins were not tested in human trials, so it was allowed to be consumed by American kids. Yep, our kids were being used as guinea pigs while other kids around the world were protected from this evil product.
And here is corn - regulated as an insecticide by EPA
In the late 90's an insecticide was engineered into the corn. As a result EP regulated it as an insecticide!
1 out of 17 kids under the age of 3 has food allergies, and 9 out of 10 breast cancers are environmental and not genetic. When is it going to stop?
American companies are making different products for other countries just because they don't allow many of the toxins that are allowed here. If they can make better products for other countries they can make better products for us. They listened to consumer demands from other countries, so we need to let them know that we are fed up with the big corporate influence when it comes to our food. Start small and stop buying food with synthetic junk. Support the farmers market, local farmers, and buy organic when you can. There were several non-GMO protests held a while back. Get involved and learn as much as you can about the dangers of the fake food we are being exposed to.
When it comes to GMO, the big corporations are pushing for growing their seeds in Europe. Keep your eyes open.
Information taken from TED and Enviroblog
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Johanna is an aromatherapist and an independent distributor of Young Living Essential Oils. She is passionate about educating people about health, essential oils, real food, natural remedies, and nutrition so they make healthier choices in their lives.
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This post is linked to:
Eco Kids Tuesday
Monday Mania hosted By The Healthy Home Economist
Real Food Wednesday hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop
WFMW hosted by We Are THAT Family
Simple Lives Thursday
Fresh Bites Friday hosted by Real Food Whole Health
Fight Back Friday hosted by The Food Renegade
