Chapter 2.1: From Natural to Artificial - The Role of Chemicals

From Natural to Artificial - The Role of Chemicals

Look again at the words listed above:
Scarce
Seasonal
Natural
Fresh
Hard work

These words are very different from the way most people would describe food today. Our relationship with food has changed so dramatically that our ancestors would be surprised by our beliefs and habits. This shift in perception has had negative consequences, and we are only now beginning to understand the extent of these consequences. It is important for us to understand these changes, as I believe that many health problems, including many cases of ADD/ADHD, can be traced back to poor food choices. In this section, we will examine the abandonment of the belief that food should be natural.

It is common for food to contain chemicals that were not part of the original composition of the food source. This is due to a number of factors, including the use of pesticides and other chemicals in food production, the addition of preservatives and additives to processed foods, and the use of chemicals in food packaging. As a result, it is difficult to avoid consuming these chemicals when eating modern food. These chemicals can have negative effects on our health, and it is important to be aware of them and take steps to minimize our exposure to them.

They include:

The protection of food sources has been a concern for humans throughout history. This is evident in the use of scarecrows, which date back millennia, as a way to protect crops from pests. In modern times, the use of pesticides has become a common way to protect food sources. While these pesticides can be effective at protecting crops, they can also have negative consequences for human health and the environment. The use of pesticides can contaminate soil and water, and can also lead to the development of pesticide resistance in pests. Additionally, pesticides can be toxic to humans and other animals, and can have negative effects on our health when they are consumed through the food we eat. It is important to consider the potential risks and benefits of using pesticides in order to protect our food sources in a way that is sustainable and safe.

The desire for "perfect" food has led to the widespread use of chemical methods to produce uniform products. In the past, people understood that the shape of a tomato, for example, had no bearing on its taste or nutritional value. However, modern consumers often demand perfect-looking produce, which has led to the use of chemicals to create uniform products. This quest for perfection results in significant food waste, as imperfect produce is often discarded. Additionally, the use of chemicals in food production can have negative consequences for human health and the environment. It is important to consider the costs and benefits of this desire for perfect food in order to strike a balance between meeting consumer demands and protecting our health and the environment.

The hunt for profit: One of the easiest ways that a farmer can increase profits is through increased yield i.e. the more grain that you can harvest from a field, or the more meat you can cut from an animal, the more money you make. It is only a short step from this basic principle of economics to the use of tools like chemicals and/or growth hormones to make increased yield possible.
The result of all of this is that most of the food that we eat could hardly be described as ‘natural’ by any stretch of the imagination. Most people are not too fazed by this fact since they realize that they are only taking in a tiny amount of a given chemical or pesticide.

The problem is, however, that they are not taking into account the cumulative effect of such products. Most of the chemicals in our diet are completely unnatural and our bodies are therefore very ill equipped to deal with them. This could result in a buildup of those chemicals in our system. Bottom line: A few bites of food with minute amounts of harmful chemicals will probably not do too much harm. Thousands of bites over an extended period is another matter however!

The damage that the chemicals in our food wreak does not stop at the plate. We might be getting infinitesimal amounts but the environment isn’t. Many scientists believe that the true extent of the pollution to soil and water sources caused by pesticides will affect human health for generations to come.

It is a sad irony that our society’s blind rush to an endless supply of perfect looking foods have yielded such, if you will pardon the pun, bitter fruits! Our obsessions with wholesome looking food may have created visually appealing shop aisles but at what price?

Our grandparents used to say: “You are what you eat!” If this is the case then most modern people need to take a long hard look at the chemical composition of what is on their plates. This is especially relevant in the case of people dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD. When you consider that many cases of ADD/ADHD can be traced back to defective neurotransmitter activity and that neurotransmitters are extraordinarily sensitive to the influence of ‘foreign’ chemicals it just makes sense to carefully monitor the possible sources of such chemicals.

It is true that the widespread use of pesticides made a significant contribution to the superabundance of food that we see around us. The fact that they allowed farmers to bring ‘healthy’ crops to the market with clockwork-like regularity means that food security is much less of an issue today than it was a century ago. This perception of security came at a huge price however. It does not take a medical genius to work out that something that is used to kill a certain organism could also be harmful to other life forms!

How pervasive are pesticides and what are their effects?
Many companies do their best to assure us of the fact that they only use ‘safe’ pesticides. The fact is however that the build-up of even supposedly safe chemicals in our systems can be extremely harmful over the long run. The potential for harm will obviously increase with the amounts to which an individual is exposed and the length of exposure. The news is very bad on both counts! The Pesticide Action Network of North America (PANNA) estimates that North Americans can experience up to seventy daily exposures to traces of the most harmful form of pesticides namely ‘Persistent Organic Pollutants’ also known a POP’s. So pervasive are POP’s in our diets that analyses of chemical residue data found traces of them in all food groups.

The pervasiveness of these chemicals are hugely troubling since some of these chemicals have been linked to:
Nervous disorders
Reproductive problems
Hormonal disruption
Suppression of the immune system
Fetal disorders

You may think that our exposure to POP’s will lessen over time since the most pernicious one’s like DDT, DDE and Deildrin) have been banned in the US and Canada. The problem is that they have not been banned in the places where we get most of our food from! Globalization means that chemical laden foods can be picked halfway across the world and be on your plate within a week. Our increasing dependence on imported foods is therefore making the problem much worse.

The fact that many of the pesticides that make their way into our diets impacts neurological functions should be especially troubling to those dealing with the effects of ADD/ADHD. The ADD/ADHD brain needs to be treasured and powered with the best possible combination of beneficial foodstuffs. Adding harmful pesticides to the mix is certainly not recommended!