A secular debate about eating meat.

[maiforpeace]

Eeek! Just what we need, more processed food.

[Coito ergo sum]

Nothing inherently wrong with processed food. I have a food processor at home that I use a lot.

Processing of food has been a boon to the health and safety of food, generally speaking. And, it allows more people to eat better food around the world than would otherwise be possible. The benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases seasonal availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms. Modern supermarkets would not be feasible without modern food processing techniques. Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long distance transportation from the source to the consumer. When they were first introduced, some processed foods helped to alleviate food shortages and improved the overall nutrition of populations as it made many new foods available to the masses.

Processing can also reduce the incidence of food borne disease. Fresh materials, such as fresh produce and raw meats, are more likely to harbour pathogenic micro-organisms (e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses. The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of food processing. Transportation of more exotic foods, as well as the elimination of much hard labour gives the modern eater easy access to a wide variety of food unimaginable to their ancestors.

Processed food freed people from the large amount of time involved in preparing and cooking "natural" unprocessed foods. The increase in free time allows people much more choice in life style than previously allowed. In many families the adults are working away from home and therefore there is little time for the preparation of food based on fresh ingredients. The food industry offers products that fulfill many different needs: From peeled potatoes that only have to be boiled at home to fully prepared ready meals that can be heated up in the microwave oven within a few minutes.

Modern food processing also improves the quality of life for people with allergies, diabetics, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients such as vitamins.

There are, of course, drawbacks to food processing. However, it would be essentially impossible to feed the world today without it, and it would certainly be impossible for most of us to live our modern lifestyles without processed food.

[Pappa]

I'm sure it would be possible to feed the world without the use of unprocessed foods, though the means of production would need to change significantly to allow for much greater food production from within the cities themselves (as was common in the past). It would be neither technically nor economically unfeasible to do. I've read that in order to keep up with the demands of our growing cities, we may be forced to move food production sites into the cities anyway.

[maiforpeace]

Nothing inherently wrong with processed food. I have a food processor at home that I use a lot.

>snip<

There are, of course, drawbacks to food processing. However, it would be essentially impossible to feed the world today without it, and it would certainly be impossible for most of us to live our modern lifestyles without processed food.

So, when you cook at home with your food processor, you add chemicals and ingredients to what you are processing that you can't identify, much less pronounce?

I can cherry pick and quote Wiki too CES, but I'll just go ahead and post the entire link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_processing

[Warren Dew]

I'm pretty sure the actual percentage of people who are carnivorous is even smaller than those who are vegan.

[Warren Dew]

I'm sure it would be possible to feed the world without the use of unprocessed foods

I hope that was a typo ... it certainly sounds nightmarish to me!

[Coito ergo sum]

Nothing inherently wrong with processed food. I have a food processor at home that I use a lot.

>snip<

There are, of course, drawbacks to food processing. However, it would be essentially impossible to feed the world today without it, and it would certainly be impossible for most of us to live our modern lifestyles without processed food.

So, when you cook at home with your food processor, you add chemicals and ingredients to what you are processing that you can't identify, much less pronounce?

No, but processing food doesn't have require additional chemicals and ingredients, and not all added ingredients are unhealthy. Not all natural foods are healthy either.

I can cherry pick and quote Wiki too CES, but I'll just go ahead and post the entire link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_processing

I thought I linked to it, as I usually do. Must've forgotten. The points are valid, don't you think?

[Coito ergo sum]

I'm pretty sure the actual percentage of people who are carnivorous is even smaller than those who are vegan.

Yeah, but it's funnier than if they used the word "omnivore."

[hadespussercats]

Nothing inherently wrong with processed food. I have a food processor at home that I use a lot.

Processing of food has been a boon to the health and safety of food, generally speaking. And, it allows more people to eat better food around the world than would otherwise be possible. The benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases seasonal availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms. Modern supermarkets would not be feasible without modern food processing techniques. Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long distance transportation from the source to the consumer. When they were first introduced, some processed foods helped to alleviate food shortages and improved the overall nutrition of populations as it made many new foods available to the masses.

Processing can also reduce the incidence of food borne disease. Fresh materials, such as fresh produce and raw meats, are more likely to harbour pathogenic micro-organisms (e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses. The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of food processing. Transportation of more exotic foods, as well as the elimination of much hard labour gives the modern eater easy access to a wide variety of food unimaginable to their ancestors.

Processed food freed people from the large amount of time involved in preparing and cooking "natural" unprocessed foods. The increase in free time allows people much more choice in life style than previously allowed. In many families the adults are working away from home and therefore there is little time for the preparation of food based on fresh ingredients. The food industry offers products that fulfill many different needs: From peeled potatoes that only have to be boiled at home to fully prepared ready meals that can be heated up in the microwave oven within a few minutes.

Modern food processing also improves the quality of life for people with allergies, diabetics, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients such as vitamins.

There are, of course, drawbacks to food processing. However, it would be essentially impossible to feed the world today without it, and it would certainly be impossible for most of us to live our modern lifestyles without processed food.

But... Soylent Green is people!

[Coito ergo sum]

I'm sure it would be possible to feed the world without the use of unprocessed foods, though the means of production would need to change significantly to allow for much greater food production from within the cities themselves (as was common in the past). It would be neither technically nor economically unfeasible to do. I've read that in order to keep up with the demands of our growing cities, we may be forced to move food production sites into the cities anyway.

For some folks, the only way they could get things like orange juice would be through food processing (like orange juice concentrating/freezing). The fact that we have such a varied supply of food from all over the world is in large part a result of food processing. Our diets might have to become more limited again, I guess.

[Coito ergo sum]

But... Soylent Green is people!

[Gallstones]

• 

[hadespussercats]

But... Soylent Green is people!

Seriously, though-- I saw some film footage of man-made meat on TV, and, well, I wouldn't want to eat it.
It doesn't look as good as SPAM, if that gives you an image.
I guess if I was starving, and that was what was there...

[Gallstones]

Nothing inherently wrong with processed food. I have a food processor at home that I use a lot.

Processing of food has been a boon to the health and safety of food, generally speaking. And, it allows more people to eat better food around the world than would otherwise be possible. The benefits of food processing include toxin removal, preservation, easing marketing and distribution tasks, and increasing food consistency. In addition, it increases seasonal availability of many foods, enables transportation of delicate perishable foods across long distances and makes many kinds of foods safe to eat by de-activating spoilage and pathogenic micro-organisms. Modern supermarkets would not be feasible without modern food processing techniques. Processed foods are usually less susceptible to early spoilage than fresh foods and are better suited for long distance transportation from the source to the consumer. When they were first introduced, some processed foods helped to alleviate food shortages and improved the overall nutrition of populations as it made many new foods available to the masses.

Processing can also reduce the incidence of food borne disease. Fresh materials, such as fresh produce and raw meats, are more likely to harbour pathogenic micro-organisms (e.g. Salmonella) capable of causing serious illnesses. The extremely varied modern diet is only truly possible on a wide scale because of food processing. Transportation of more exotic foods, as well as the elimination of much hard labour gives the modern eater easy access to a wide variety of food unimaginable to their ancestors.

Processed food freed people from the large amount of time involved in preparing and cooking "natural" unprocessed foods. The increase in free time allows people much more choice in life style than previously allowed. In many families the adults are working away from home and therefore there is little time for the preparation of food based on fresh ingredients. The food industry offers products that fulfill many different needs: From peeled potatoes that only have to be boiled at home to fully prepared ready meals that can be heated up in the microwave oven within a few minutes.

Modern food processing also improves the quality of life for people with allergies, diabetics, and other people who cannot consume some common food elements. Food processing can also add extra nutrients such as vitamins.

There are, of course, drawbacks to food processing. However, it would be essentially impossible to feed the world today without it, and it would certainly be impossible for most of us to live our modern lifestyles without processed food.

Is all this totally your own words? Nevermind.

[Gallstones]

Nothing inherently wrong with processed food. I have a food processor at home that I use a lot.

>snip<

There are, of course, drawbacks to food processing. However, it would be essentially impossible to feed the world today without it, and it would certainly be impossible for most of us to live our modern lifestyles without processed food.

So, when you cook at home with your food processor, you add chemicals and ingredients to what you are processing that you can't identify, much less pronounce?

I can cherry pick and quote Wiki too CES, but I'll just go ahead and post the entire link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_processing

Cooking is the mingling and mixing and manipulation of chemicals. Whether one can pronounce any given chemical is not a factor in determining whether that chemical is good or bad.

I find a lot of people mispronounce cumin and!--(it gets worse)---don't even know what it is.