When you walk down the supermarket aisle, you are surrounded by products that are back read like a chemistry textbook. You hear so many people concerned about the chemicals in our food, longevity, diseases and then you read the back of many products that contain life threatening chemicals.
The United States currently allows food manufacturers to use thousands of additives. These substances are added to enhance flavor, appearance, texture, or shelf life. Some of these chemicals have raised health concerns. According to research published in medical journals, certain additives and pesticides have been linked to increased health risks when consumed in large quantities over time, though the extent of these risks remains a subject of ongoing scientific study.
As Hackley students, we have a very plentiful amount of food and so many options in our food. Maggie Sichel-Outcalt about how she felt after she ate lunch. She said, “I don’t feel very full after I eat and I don’t feel like lots of nutrition comes into my body.”
A food that many students including Maggie say makes them feel bad is the mac and cheese. It’s because of the “very buttery and extremely cheesy stuff in there.”
The issue begins before food even reaches processing plants. Conventional farming relies heavily on pesticides and herbicides to protect crops from insects and weeds. Critics argue that these chemicals can remain as residues on produce, and that modern farming practices may reduce the nutritional content of fruits and vegetables compared to those grown decades ago. However, studies on nutrient decline show mixed results, with some nutrients decreasing while others remain stable.
Having growing students and teens eating this food everyday can be detrimental to their growth and development. Some food even affects the nervous system because of the chemicals in them.
What can we do?
We can try to cook at home more so we minimize the amount of chemicals we are exposed to with prepossessed food. We can also try to get organic foods so that we minimize the chemicals and artificial additives in our meat and fruits.
We can also try to watch more documentaries and videos that educate us and bring awareness to this issue. Watching Michael Pollan’s Masterclass on this really helped me bring awareness to what I am eating and how I can be more healthy myself.
