Some quick answers to several of the questions posed in responses (I will try to spend more time in this thread later today):
The expense of good quality food -- agreed wholeheartedly. It's one of the many reasons for solving (as PG says) "the money problem." There are also policy changes we could make -- subsidizing fresh produce instead of corn and sugar would help.
Organic food is prohibitively expensive to many, and contributes to class divide. There's also some ethical argument regarding whether a class division across food should exist at all. Is it appropriate for the wealthy to create a separate variety of more healthful food which only they can afford? Having done so, what incentive do they have to improve the food supply generally? In the US, the demand for organic food has always exceeded supply.
Regarding the suitableness of agave nectar as a sweetener: Yes, it's fructose, but not all fructose containing substances are the same. Agave has the useful quality of being very low glycemic -- lower than a peanut. This means it's absorbed slowly over hours instead of minutes like refined sugar. As a result, it avoids causing insulin spikes and blood glucose instability.
However, ideally health conscious people will become accustomed to less sweet foods over time. I think eventually tastes recalibrate. Personally, I now find broccoli and cashews to be very sweet, but I didn't years ago when I used to frequently eat sugar.
Regarding nitrites -- their safety is mostly argued by the meat packing industry (no surprise.) For (one of many) authoritative references, see the World Cancer Research Fund's report: "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective" (2007). http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/
Artificial colors -- Take note of the history of colors approved by the FDA. We've spent decades approving substances and then later finding significant problems with them. I'm not ready to trust the current batch, and evidence against them is accumulating. Ironically, some of the safest color adding substances right now are made from ground insects! http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/bugjuice.asp
The expense of good quality food -- agreed wholeheartedly. It's one of the many reasons for solving (as PG says) "the money problem." There are also policy changes we could make -- subsidizing fresh produce instead of corn and sugar would help.
Organic food is prohibitively expensive to many, and contributes to class divide. There's also some ethical argument regarding whether a class division across food should exist at all. Is it appropriate for the wealthy to create a separate variety of more healthful food which only they can afford? Having done so, what incentive do they have to improve the food supply generally? In the US, the demand for organic food has always exceeded supply.
Regarding the healthfulness of MSG, please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excitotoxicity
Regarding the suitableness of agave nectar as a sweetener: Yes, it's fructose, but not all fructose containing substances are the same. Agave has the useful quality of being very low glycemic -- lower than a peanut. This means it's absorbed slowly over hours instead of minutes like refined sugar. As a result, it avoids causing insulin spikes and blood glucose instability.
However, ideally health conscious people will become accustomed to less sweet foods over time. I think eventually tastes recalibrate. Personally, I now find broccoli and cashews to be very sweet, but I didn't years ago when I used to frequently eat sugar.
Regarding nitrites -- their safety is mostly argued by the meat packing industry (no surprise.) For (one of many) authoritative references, see the World Cancer Research Fund's report: "Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective" (2007). http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/
Artificial colors -- Take note of the history of colors approved by the FDA. We've spent decades approving substances and then later finding significant problems with them. I'm not ready to trust the current batch, and evidence against them is accumulating. Ironically, some of the safest color adding substances right now are made from ground insects! http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/bugjuice.asp