Weapons of mass consumption, part 2
Feeding us poison
Part one of this series looked at how the dopamine effect played a huge part in growing the tobacco industry and then followed the transition of the world’s leading tobacco barons into becoming pioneers of the processed food industry.
I also showed how the most powerful corporations on the planet have acquired such a dominant position in the industry that they effectively decide exactly what the majority of the planet eats and provided scientific evidence that consuming hyper-palateable foods triggers the exact same ‘craving’ effect as tobacco.
I then identified the 6 most widely used additives and gave an outline of the potential risks they are known to pose to human health.
In part 2, I will examine these 6 toxic additives more closely, looking at their potential effect on our health as well as highlighting the extent of their use by identifying the most popular foods they are added to.
All of these products are obviously approved for human consumption by the Food and Drug administration (FDA) in the US and by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the UK.
Let's look at these bodies that are, officially at least, responsible for ensuring our food does not contain anything harmful.
Over half of the FDA’s annual budget comes in the form of payments from the processed food and drug manufacturers!
https://today.uconn.edu/2021/05/why-is-the-fda-funded-in-part-by-the-companies-it-regulates-2/
Are they really going to bite the hand that feeds them?
Can they honestly be viewed as impartial?
In the UK, the FSA’s own website admits that processed food leads to poor health yet they continue to approve food additives because, as they explain, they don't know if the detrimental effect on our health is due to the contents of the products or the way they are manufactured!
https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/ultra-processed-foods
What is the point of a regulatory body that approves products they admit are killing people if not, quite simply, to provide regulatory permission to the food industry to sell their products?
Whilst it is accepted by most experts that the quality of food sold in the UK is higher than in the US we should take note that the FSA are becoming more heavily funded by interests within the UK pension industry. The biggest player in the UK pension industry is BlackRock, the same company that has recently set up a multi million pound hedge fund to buy up UK farmland, mirroring their practice in the US.
Given that the evidence that follows shows the toxic and dangerous nature of food additives, how comfortable are you with the same massive corporations that own the food manufactures also owning the majority of our farmland?
The cherry on this ‘conflict of interests cake?
The UK General medical council invests millions of pounds into the food industry! https://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/news/concerns-over-conflict-of-interest-general-medical-council-invests-us1m-in-fast-food-firms.html
Now that you know how these additives actually manage to get regulatory approval, let's examine the harm they do.
1. Artificial Sweeteners
Although the FDA maintains that aspartame is safe, studies worldwide suggest otherwise.
In their 2022 statement the WHO admitted that there is no scientific consensus that Non sugar sweeteners (NSS) play any part in helping people lose weight and in their most recent statement they went further, stating that NSS do not play a role in weight loss and advised against their use as an aid to losing weight.
The UK’s FSA gives the same advice.
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) and sucralose (Splenda) are linked to a variety of health concerns, including:
• Possible carcinogenic effects
The US government's own website confirms the link between NSS and cancer in humans. Whilst not all NSS have been directly linked to cancer, they have been shown to contribute to obesity which in turn, is a red flag for the increased likelihood of developing numerous cancers.
Independent research carried out by the prestigious institute BioMed Central goes further and advises all health agencies to revise their guidance on the use of NSS. Their research showed a 93% malignancy rate in rodents!
https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12940-021-00725-y
• Neurotoxicity
The US government National Centre for Biotechnology information recently published a paper by the Department of Pharmacology, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, that showed a clear link between the use of NSS and behavioural and neurological conditions. They suggested a change to advice given by the FDA and noted that the processed food companies are not required by law to report to the FDA when they witness evidence of this being the case!
The following article, highlighting a research paper by the International Association of Dietetic Nutrition and Safety, a non-profit collaboration based in Spain, highlighted a clear link between NSS and the following critical conditions;
type 2 diabetes
cardiovascular disease
birth defects
Infertility in both males and females
coronary heart disease
Brain tumors
Alzheimer’s disease
Diabetes and obesity
Migraines and memory issues
https://iadns.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/efd2.184
To fully understand just how difficult it is to avoid these toxins, they are used extensively in the production of baked goods, soft drinks, powdered drink mixes, puddings, canned foods, jams and jellies, dairy products, and many other foods and beverages.
2. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
High Fructose Corn Syrup is a highly refined sweetener and one of the leading sources of calories in the American diet. Although both the FDA and the FSA assert that HFCS is safe for human consumption, they also advise limiting its intake.
HFCS is favoured by food manufacturers for one reason, it is less expensive than natural sugar. It's as simple as that.
Even studies by the main regulatory bodies have determined that it is not a more healthy alternative to sugar and may actually contribute to weight gain, research has shown that the consumption of diet sodas may be directly linked to increased levels of hunger!
On a side note, the majority of the world's corn crops are treated with pesticides containing glyphosate, even the genetically modified strains which, we are told, are resistant to pests.
Glyphosate is found mainly in products such as Round Up. I will cover the use of products such as glyphosate later in the series, for now it is worth noting that its owners, Bayer, have paid over $10 bn to settle lawsuits brought against it related to non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Our good friends Vanguard are one the biggest institutional investors in Bayers parent company OAKIX.
When we look at research not carried out by agencies concerned with cost, or linked to the regulatory bodies, the evidence is very different.
A study by research nutritional biologist Dr Kimber Stanhope showed that the use of HFCS is linked to
• Obesity
• Type 2 diabetes
• Increased LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels
https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(23)23392-4/fulltext
Research carried out by the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Suleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey suggested a link between HFCS and tissue damage in the heart, leading to a range of cardiovascular diseases.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11442503/#Sec1
HFCS is used in many processed foods and beverages, especially soft drinks, and is found in items like baked goods, cereals, canned foods, and condiments.
3. Sodium Benzoate
Despite approving the use of this preservative, commonly used in soft drinks and food colourants, the FDA has ruled that the total amount used can not exceed 0.1% of the total product by mass!
In the UK, the FSA, although approving its use, have given their support to a University of Southampton paper that claims that the use of E211 (Sodium benzoate) can, when mixed with other E numbers, lead to ADHD and hyperactivity in children!
The report goes on to express the FSA's astonishment at the food industry’s reluctance to remove these toxins.
Although the presence of Sodium Benzoate in our food is legally required to be shown on food labelling, the public have complained that the labelling system is extremely difficult to understand which is not surprising when you realise that there are hundreds of E number preservatives in use.
The next time you check your labels, take note of how minute the list of chemicals is.
Clearly public safety is not a priority of the food industry.
Numerous independent, peer reviewed studies have shown that sodium benzoate can become a carcinogen when combined with Vitamin C.
https://akjournals.com/view/journals/2060/103/3/article-p334.xml
NB. To read the full article you will need to purchase it, however the extract I have linked to confirms the suggestion that the use of sodium benzoate does have
Potential cancer risks
Links to ADHD in children
As I have mentioned, the use of sodium benzoate is legally required to be indicated on the label.
What no one has to tell you is that it is regularly added to animal feed!
It is commonly used as a common food preservative, is found in acidic foods like carbonated drinks, fruit juices, jams, pickles, salad dressings, and condiments.
4. Trans Fats
On the subject of Trans fats, often labeled as “partially hydrogenated oils”, the US is, for once, ahead of the UK, advising total avoidance. In the UK the advice is to limit as much as possible.
There is scientific consensus linking trans fats to:
Increased LDL (bad) cholesterol and reduced HDL (good) cholesterol
Heart attacks, strokes, and heart diseaseType 2 diabetes
Inflammation, diabetes, and obesity
In spite of this, universally condemned, artificially manufactured trans fats are legally contained in:
Processed Baked Goods:
Cakes, cookies, crackers, and pastries often contain trans fats to enhance texture and shelf life.Fried Foods:
Fried potatoes, potato chips, and other fried snacks can contain trans fats, especially if fried in oils that have been partially hydrogenated.Margarine:
Margarine, a spread made from hydrogenated vegetable oils, is a common source of trans fats.Shortening:
Household shortening, used in baking and cooking, can also contain trans fats.Non-Dairy Creamers:
Some non-dairy coffee creamers and whiteners contain trans fats to achieve a creamy texture.
Dyes and Colourants
Both the FDA and the FSA regulate the use and labelling of these additives carefully. In the US certain artificial food dyes require certification. In the UK certain additives are required to be identified as being harmful to humans.
Yet they are still legally added to the food we eat even though the British Journal The Lancet linked dyes to hyperactivity in children!
Yellow No. 5 and 4 (tartrazine) have been linked to asthma symptoms and yet are still used.
Red Dye No. 2 was banned in the 1970s after being found carcinogenic in rats, but other dyes like Red No. 40 and Blue No. 1 are still widely used!
6. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Both US and UK regulatory bodies advise limiting our MSG intake yet class it as being safe for human consumption. MSG enhances flavor but acts as an excitotoxin, potentially damaging or killing cells.
In independent research, MSG has been linked to:
• Depression and fatigue
• Headaches and migraines
• Obesity, as it overrides the brain’s satiety signals
Most of these studies have been animal based and there is not enough evidence based data to claim definitively that MSG poses a risk to the population as a whole. Where human studies have been conducted the above mentioned side effects have been detected in a small section of the test groups and may be linked to other physiological characteristics.
As you can clearly see from the evidence,and data I have referenced, the processed food industry is at least, very likely to be a serious threat to human health and well-being, both physically and mentally.
Why then do the regulatory bodies responsible for ensuring that the food we eat is fit for human consumption continue to ignore both peer reviewed evidence and empirical data showing otherwise?
As I have already pointed out, there are huge conflicts of interest within the food industry and the way it is regulated.
For avoidance of doubt, take a look back the part 1 of this series where I identify the global, institutional mega corporations that control the industry.
In case you still have any lingering doubts, here are some more examples;
In 2021, the director of the African Research University Alliance Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of Pretoria was appointed to the board of the transnational food corporation Nestlé.
At the time a group of more than 200 senior academics wrote an open letter, about conflicts of interest. Nestlé’s portfolio of foods, by its own admission, includes more than 60% that don’t meet the definition of healthy products.
In December last year, the same centre announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Nestlé. It signalled their intent to “forge a transformative partnership” to shape “the future of food and nutrition research and education” and transform “Africa’s food systems”.
This is not an isolated case.
Across African universities, companies with products that are harmful to health fund health-related research and education.
Nestlé, for example, “shares expertise” with “eight universities in Africa”.
These include the Institute of Applied Science and Technology at the University of Ghana and the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques in Côte d’Ivoire.
Activities funded under agreements with universities include internships, seminars and training programmes as well as sponsorships for graduate research students.
In South Africa, Nestlé has funded a prize in paediatrics for final year medical students at the University of the Witwatersrand. It also funds a two-year paediatric gastroenterology fellowship at Stellenbosch University.
In a Business today report Nestle admitted 60% of its food products are unhealthy.
https://nutritionconnect.org/news-events/nestle-says-majority-its-food-portfolio-unhealthy
The Phiilip Morris foundation for a smoke free world funded the university of CT psychiatry department. The Phillip Morris corporation has identified smoke free alternatives such as vaping as the future of the industry.
https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/sa-linked-to-global-scandal-as-pmi-extends-big-tobacco-reach/
A WHO webinar in September 2022 looking at the infant food industry identified the huge influence of the infant food manufacturers on global guidelines on milk allergies.
Clearly the food processing industry has an unhealthy and dangerous level of influence over the foods we eat, often sidestepping or ignoring regulatory guidelines.
The result? Much of the food we eat is not safe for human consumption and is actively making us ill.
Part three of this series will look at the farming industry, the use of dangerous toxins such as Glysophate and the insidious widening of farm ownership in the UK and US by the big players of the Military Industrial Complex.
