Friday
Apr302010
North America can do processed foods better
Friday, April 30, 2010
In the North American context, there always seems to be a battle between processed foods and whole foods. Processed foods are convenient, but full of sodium, sugar, preservatives, unhealthy fats, food colouring, and all sorts of crap you can't pronounce. On top of that, there is the packaging that kills the environment and also harms our bodies (e.g. BPA lined cans). Whole foods, on the other hand, are mostly healthy, but take time to prepare.
I have to admit that I am a lover of convenience. But I also hate all the crap that gets put into processed food in North America. I am a fervent reader of labels and usually don't like what I see. Before we knew about the dangers of BPA and the fact that it is in canned food, I fed Emma a lot of canned veggies. She loved the little pieces (peas, corn, carrots, beans) and having them nice and soft and right out of the can was incredibly convenient. But when I learned about the issues with BPA as well as all of the sodium that gets added, I stopped doing that for the most part. I still used it for some beans, but otherwise switched to fresh fruits and vegetables for her.
But then I arrived in Europe and went shopping at our local Bio Company. I bought my usual fresh fruit and veggies, but also gave in to the begging when we passed the jars of organic sweet corn. Yes, jars. Jars made out of glass. Jars that are not BPA laced cans (there may be some BPA in the lid...not 100% sure). It has a small amount of sea salt in it, but nothing compared to the amounts of sodium most North American canned foods are laced with. It uses lemon juice instead as the main preservative.
Then we moved on to the tomato sauce section and I found a great pasta sauce with much less sodium than you would find in most North American jarred pasta sauces. As I was choosing the pasta sauce, the begging began....I want the ketchup with the tiger on it! Of course! It attracts kids. My kids wanted it. But the secret is that this wasn't the most nutritionally void ketchup on the shelf (as it so often the case with processed foods targeted at kids in North America). Instead, it was the most nutritious ketchup option on the shelf. The main ingredient is tomato paste, followed by apple sauce. There is no added sugar. Let me repeat, no added sugar (i.e. no high fructose corn syrup).
What really bugs me about the processed food industry in North America is not the fact that it is processed. It is the fact that it could be processed AND healthy. But generally it is not. Processed foods, for the most part, are full of crap. This is my call to action to the North American processed food industry to make products with ingredients I can pronounce, that will appeal to my kids, but that will not jeopardize my kids health. It can be done. Really. It can be.
Until then, when in North America, you'll find me at the farmer's market whenever possible.
I have to admit that I am a lover of convenience. But I also hate all the crap that gets put into processed food in North America. I am a fervent reader of labels and usually don't like what I see. Before we knew about the dangers of BPA and the fact that it is in canned food, I fed Emma a lot of canned veggies. She loved the little pieces (peas, corn, carrots, beans) and having them nice and soft and right out of the can was incredibly convenient. But when I learned about the issues with BPA as well as all of the sodium that gets added, I stopped doing that for the most part. I still used it for some beans, but otherwise switched to fresh fruits and vegetables for her.
But then I arrived in Europe and went shopping at our local Bio Company. I bought my usual fresh fruit and veggies, but also gave in to the begging when we passed the jars of organic sweet corn. Yes, jars. Jars made out of glass. Jars that are not BPA laced cans (there may be some BPA in the lid...not 100% sure). It has a small amount of sea salt in it, but nothing compared to the amounts of sodium most North American canned foods are laced with. It uses lemon juice instead as the main preservative.Then we moved on to the tomato sauce section and I found a great pasta sauce with much less sodium than you would find in most North American jarred pasta sauces. As I was choosing the pasta sauce, the begging began....I want the ketchup with the tiger on it! Of course! It attracts kids. My kids wanted it. But the secret is that this wasn't the most nutritionally void ketchup on the shelf (as it so often the case with processed foods targeted at kids in North America). Instead, it was the most nutritious ketchup option on the shelf. The main ingredient is tomato paste, followed by apple sauce. There is no added sugar. Let me repeat, no added sugar (i.e. no high fructose corn syrup).
What really bugs me about the processed food industry in North America is not the fact that it is processed. It is the fact that it could be processed AND healthy. But generally it is not. Processed foods, for the most part, are full of crap. This is my call to action to the North American processed food industry to make products with ingredients I can pronounce, that will appeal to my kids, but that will not jeopardize my kids health. It can be done. Really. It can be.
Until then, when in North America, you'll find me at the farmer's market whenever possible.
Reader Comments (23)
And this is why I miss Europe every day of my life. I have been here in Canada for 18 years and I miss the way I was raised by Europeans grandparents in Venezuela. My mum was #1 enemy of can food, she never say other that "Why eat something out of the can when you can have it for real and fresh" We ate food cooked in a daily basis, everyday we have salads at the table, many vegetables (as a french descendent) my mum loved to cooked egg plant, ommelettes and any kind of rice and pastas. I have a great childhood, unfortunately I haven't been as good with my children, theiir favority food is pizza however they eat beans, and lentils, rice, pasta, but salads just if is Cesar's, as we know not the best option of all. By the way I want to let you know that you are such an inspiration to me taken that big adventure, your kids will benefit tremendusly from it. Keep your good work!
I wonder how readily North American consumers would adjust to less sodium and sweetening? Probably well in the long term, but I'm sure manufacturers would claim not in the short term. Do you think the government needs to legislate/incentivize here, or is there a way to mobilize consumer demand?
I find frozen veges - peas and sweeetcorn - are generally far superior to canned and much less processed, although of course one needs a freezer. I always think I'm a big user of convenience foods but a pantry audit says otherwise: we buy canned tomatoes and legumes, jarred curry paste and spaghetti sauce... not too bad. I do admit that things like making stirfry from scratch instead of buying commercial noodle sauces is more a taste and cost decision than a health one. And I think that for busy parents that is often the case - is it quick, cheap & tasty? trumps is it healthy? And the manufacturers and marketers sure know how to take advantage of that.
I'd love to see convenience foods like that here. I don't buy many precisely because I know how unhealthy they are. But there are days...
Even just cutting down on the salt used could be a big help. I'm sure that companies would strongly resist making big changes all at once, but spreading it out would be a start. Or even offering the healthier versions alongside the traditional ones and giving those of us who read the labels a chance to show we care.
I think that, at least in part, they make the foods because we buy them. If we didn't, then they wouldn't be on the shelves. While the processed food industry definitely needs to clean up its act, as consumers we also need to vote for change with our wallets. Don't like what's in the frozen dinner? Don't buy it. Like you, I'm doing this already. And I believe that if enough of us do, change is bound to follow.
Yes, the additives. I don't shop at a Farmer's Market very often (due to cost), but I stick to the outside aisles of the supermarket. That keeps me fairly honest. Unless I accidentally wander down the salt-and-vinegar chip aisle as I make my way to the check out.
Enjoying your expat posts...because I miss living abroad!
Once again the Germans get something right. They are light years ahead in sutainable, environmentally friendly options and now it seems their food is better.
We need a revolution in North America. If the people demand it, the companies will provide it. After all, they want to line their pocket books, right?
Ack! Now you've made me want to move to Europe!!
My sister and I were talking about this the other day - she said "well, the American consumers have demanded the crap diet, and the manufacturers are giving us what we want."
But it's a vicious cycle - the manufacturers drive down the price of crap food (by making so much of it), the American public needs to stick to a small food budget, and so they continue buying the crap convenient food.
It's hard to know where change begins.
How I wish I could be back in Europe...
It's so interesting that you posted about ketchup because I just had a conversation about ketchup with my husband tonight. I was telling him that I didn't like the high levels of glucose-fructose in it and I was thinking I should try to make my own ketchup. As far as I know there is no healthier ketchup option here in Canada...although I might be wrong.
Enjoy Berlin!
I wonder about the argument that "the American public needs to stick to a small food budget". The average American home has three TVs, pays $60 a month for cable and most have considerable numbers of DVDs and video games. Seems to me that Americans could actually spend more on food and less on plastic crap that they sit in front of.
You mean there are people in the world who can make convenience foods from actual foods?
I wonder how much of this has to do with the whole corn subsidy thing, which gives us the massive glut of corn, and the apparent drive to put corn syrup (and other corn derivatives) into freaking everything. I mean, the other day I was reading the labels trying to find a package of cottage cheese that wasn't full of weirdo additives, and it was virtually impossible. And I believe pretty much ever additive was most likely originally derived from corn.
I find this really interesting because I don't have a hard time finding packaged foods that are also pretty healthy. It just goes to show how where you live and the stores you have available can change everything.
Kayris: Can you give me some examples of healthy packaged products/brands that you like to buy? I'm always looking for more good examples of companies that are doing it right.
I'd love to know what "average" family that is. Especially in this recession, people are cutting down on everything. I know my local farmers market prices are double what I pay in the grocery store. Guess where I am shopping.
There's lots of sources for the average number of TVs. And the number actually increased from 2009 to 2010, just as the recession was at its peak. Go figure. The best source is the Nielson poll which is taken annually.
http://www.dailymarkets.com/economy/2010/05/02/more-tv-sets-293-than-people-per-us-household-254-average-tv-sets-per-home-sets-new-record/
There are actually more TVs per household (2.93) in the US than there are people (2.54). And note point 5 on the link:
5. Despite the “greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression,” the number of American households with three TV sets increased to the highest level in U.S. history [in 2010], and the number of households with only one TV set decreased to the lowest level in history.
Sounds to me like food (and other essential items) took a back seat to plastic boxes.
I'll have to dig up the cable TV costs.
The big ones, like Kashi and Cascadian Farms. I shop most often at Safeway, which has it's own lines of store brands that I LOVE, particularly the Lucerne dairy products, which are as good or better than name brands. The O Organics makes great pasta sauces and ketchup. You still have to read labels though. The "Eating Right" cereal bars contain HFCS, so I don't buy those, but I do like the "Eating Right Kids" wheat O pasta, which I use to make faux-ghettios with plain unsalted tomato sauce and shredded cheese for my kids.
Arrowhead Mills and Bob's Red Mill. Smuckers or Crazy Richards for all natural peanut butter. Smart Balance products (although we didn't care for the mayo). Stoneyfield Farms with caution (yes, it's organic, but some of the stuff is really loaded with sugar, which I like to avoid, organic or not).
It also TOTALLY depends on what store you shop at. Target carries a lot of the brands I mentioned, and some of the super Walmarts do too. Safeway has 4 shelves of peanut butter, some healthy and some not so much, but another local chain carries 2 or 3 brands and that's it. I'll have to pay attention the next time I shop for other brands, my cabinets are a little bare right now and I can't remember what I buy.
We also have a Whole Foods and a Wegmans that have a huge variety of choices. Oh, and the Asian market, which is enormous and has such a variety of stuff you won't see in the regular store.
Cable TV costs a heck of a lot more than 60 dollars per month where I live.
Which is one of the reasons we don't have it (and never have had it).
But, I think it's complicated. A lot of people hang onto their cable and Internet because they've cut out going out to the actual theater or eating out to keep costs down. And for kids in school, access to Internet is almost a requirement now, and library hours (which have also been cut) don't always meet that need. Especially if there are a lot of kids waiting to use the limited number of machines.
I'm perfectly able to entertain myself without the TV, and if our TV blew up tomorrow, I seriously would consider not replacing it. BUT, I also live in a city with poverty and crime issues, and for some families, having kids at home in front of the TV or video games is certainly better than being out on the street involved in gang activity.
Willkommen nach Berlin! Isn't it great? I have found, in a pinch, sometimes even the regular stores (like netto and Aldi) also carry some products which have little or no "extras" added. The Farmer's Markets are plentiful. Overall, I think Germany does a good job. However, the obesity rate here is still high (not as high as the US on average) but I believe last time I looked, it hovered around 20% although from looking at the general population, it is hard to tell. They love their KaffeeKuchen here! :)
I'm so excited you wrote about this! My husband was born and raised (until age 13) in southern Germany. A year and a half ago, we were able to go visit his grandparents and some other family for a month, and like you, I was struck by how different their "processed" food was from ours. High fructose corn syrup was almost hard to find: the cereals we bought, the Ovaltine my hubby insisted on having, most of the candy. And imagine my surprise when we bought the kids popsicles after dinner one night (the Popsicle brand, exactly like we have in the US) and they had no hfcs OR artificial colors; the coloring came from things like spinach, beets and turmeric! And all of the produce in the store we shopped at stated what chemicals it had been treated with! It was amazing! Their personal care products were dramatically different, too, so many fewer chemicals that you couldn't pronounce.
My poor husband was so sick of translating labels for me!!! :)
I'm so excited for you and your kids that you're there though! We're planning on my husband doing a three-year civilian contract with the military, so that we can take the kids over and have the experience, also. We're just waiting a little for the housing market, so that we can rent to cover our mortgage, or just sell the house. Have fun!!
Also, quite expensive, but available in my local supermarket, "Annie's Naturals" makes canned goods [soup/chili/etc] and a big variety of frozen meals. I just can't justify the price unless it is on sale, though!
I'm curious about how the kids reacted to the healthier convenience foods. Did they notice a difference? Did they like the foods more or less than those they're used to? Will they beg for the jars of corn and tiger ketchup next time?
Also, anyone have suggestions for healthier convenience foods in Canada? We have Kashi which I like, but find a lot of the other brands are not that great or very expensive.
Annie--You might be interested in an article in the latest issue of Prevention magazine, about healthy packaged foods for women.
And FWIW, I mentioned what you said about the applesauce ketchup at my kids' school. And one mom said ketchup anywhere but in the US is gross. I have to agree with her that the idea of ketchup with applesauce in it sounds icky. I'd rather do without.
Kayris:
They have the same ketchup here as in Canada (e.g. Heinz), but they also had the one with the tiger on it, which is what my kids wanted.