How the FDA lets chemicals pour into America's food supply

[Cope]

You think diet's the be-all and end-all? That's laughable. You're acting like exercise doesn't even factor in like a marathon or half marathon is the only way to burn calories. Ever heard of consistent, moderate activity? Your pizza logic's shaky too; it's not a straight calorie-to-mileage equation. Metabolism, muscle mass, all that jazz matters more than you're letting on. And dropping it? Nah, I'm not done yet. Why do you think diet trumps everything else got any real proof, or just vibes?

You keep attempting to take a myopic view of this issue.

If you stop trying to see the minutae, and look instead at big picture, you would clearly see that diet is the 800 lb gorilla in the room. After you get there, we can discuss the minutae.

 

[NOLA Dude]

 

[Fledermaus]

What does Atlantic salmon contain?

 

[MauiMan]

You keep attempting to take a myopic view of this issue.

If you stop trying to see the minutae, and look instead at big picture, you would clearly see that diet is the 800 lb gorilla in the room. After you get there, we can discuss the minutae.

Nah, you're dead wrong. Focusing on the big picture like diet being the 800 lb gorilla is just lazy thinking. It's the details the minutiae that actually matter, because that's where the real cause and effect hide. You can't just gloss over specifics and pretend you've cracked the code. What's your proof that diet trumps everything else? Lay it out.

 

[MauiMan]

You keep attempting to take a myopic view of this issue.

If you stop trying to see the minutae, and look instead at big picture, you would clearly see that diet is the 800 lb gorilla in the room. After you get there, we can discuss the minutae.

Obesity in the U.S. stems from an interplay of poor dietary habits, reduced physical activity, socioeconomic disparities, genetic predispositions, policy-driven food systems, and cultural norms-all converging to disrupt the balance between calories consumed and calories burned.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

Nah, you're dead wrong. Focusing on the big picture like diet being the 800 lb gorilla is just lazy thinking. It's the details the minutiae that actually matter, because that's where the real cause and effect hide. You can't just gloss over specifics and pretend you've cracked the code. What's your proof that diet trumps everything else? Lay it out.

This.

We've all been told since the 70s, "diet is making you fat and sick! Eat less." Or eat more veggies...or eat fewer carbs...or eat low fat...or eat more small meals a day, eat one meal a day, eat vegetarian, eat carnivore, "just eat sensibly," etc. etc. etc.

And where has it gotten us?

Fatter and sicker...

How about investigating why that is? What if it isn't because we have blue food dye in our cupcakes? (Although I have no problem with taking that shit out, who needs it. Then again, I'm all for removing toxins from the air and water, but let's leave that alone for now b/c MAGAs are sidestepping it.)

What if it's more basic than that? Like maybe how we are told over and over again basically from the time we're out of the womb that we're the biggest and the greatest just for having been born Americans (or X overweight, sick nation) so we deserve whatever we want now, now, now, that doing without is a huge crisis and very scary and might just mean we aren't big and huge and great after all, that we should grab our biggest slice of the pie at every opportunity...literally and figuratively, that greed is good, that doing without is for chumps and sheep, GET YOURS NOW and make it the biggest, the tastiest, supersize that bitch or you're just not getting what you "deserve" just for breathing.

That couldn't have anything to do with how we teach ourselves to gorge from preschool onward, now could it? And condition us to think that any feeling at all of not being overstuffed is a crisis feeling? That any food that doesn't literally blast us into the stratosphere isn't "good enough" for us "better" people, so grab the one that fires on all cylinders, three meals a day plus a minimum of three snacks.

Why not start there, for instance? Our complete inability to ever feel the slightest twinge in any way, shape or form without freaking out? By not forcing a culture on one another that we must have it all, at all times, the bigger the better?

And then how about movement? Real movement, not sweating appropriately to the appropriate painful movements while measuring our O2, CO2 and heart rate. Bikes were coming back for a while, now all that died again, why? Maybe because we deserve to get what we want NOW NOW NOW, we're better than that, jump in a car and go down the block, don't walk...and God forbid our kids walk down the block either, they "need" their giant SUV ride with their own little TV coming down from the car ceiling and their own adjustable air conditioning vent or they'll just die. Worse...they, oops, scratch that, we won't seem as big, as cool, as important.

I know I sound like an old woman (I am, actually) but Christ. We have lost ALL humility, we are the biggest, we are the best, we should have the biggest and best over everything every minute and we should never have to lift a finger unless absolutely necessary and yet MAGAs are saying we're all fat because there's canola oil in prepared foods (that we absolutely must have over, like, God forbid, an apple)?

Dudes.

 

[MauiMan]

This.

We've all been told since the 70s, "diet is making you fat and sick! Eat less." Or eat more veggies...or eat fewer carbs...or eat low fat...or eat more small meals a day, eat one meal a day, eat vegetarian, eat carnivore, "just eat sensibly," etc. etc. etc.

And where has it gotten us?

Fatter and sicker...

How about investigating why that is? What if it isn't because we have blue food dye in our cupcakes? (Although I have no problem with taking that shit out, who needs it. Then again, I'm all for removing toxins from the air and water, but let's leave that alone for now b/c MAGAs are sidestepping it.)

What if it's more basic than that? Like maybe how we are told over and over again basically from the time we're out of the womb that we're the biggest and the greatest just for having been born Americans (or X overweight, sick nation) so we deserve whatever we want now, now, now, that doing without is a huge crisis, that we should grab our biggest slice of the pie at every opportunity...literally and figuratively, that greed is good, that doing without is for chumps and sheep, GET YOURS NOW and make it the biggest, the tastiest, supersize that bitch or you're just not getting what you "deserve" just for breathing.

That couldn't have anything to do with how we teach ourselves to gorge from preschool onward, now could it? And condition us to think that any feeling at all of not being overstuffed is a crisis feeling? That any food that doesn't literally blast us into the stratosphere isn't "good enough" for us "better" people, so grab the one that fires on all cylinders, three meals a day plus a minimum of three snacks.

Why not start there, for instance?

And then how about movement? Real movement, not sweating appropriately to the appropriate painful movements while measuring our O2, CO2 and heart rate. Bikes were coming back for a while, now all that died again, why? Maybe because we deserve to get what we want NOW NOW NOW, we're better than that, jump in a car and go down the block, don't walk...and God forbid our kids walk down the block either, they "need" their giant SUV ride with their own little TV coming down from the car ceiling and their own adjustable air conditioning vent or they'll just die.

I know I sound like an old woman (I am, actually) but Christ. We have lost ALL humility, we are the biggest, we are the best, we should have the biggest and best over everything every minute and we should never have to lift a finger unless absolutely necessary and yet MAGAs are saying we're all fat because there's canola oil in food?

Dudes.

See my other post:

Obesity in the U.S. stems from an interplay of poor dietary habits, reduced physical activity, socioeconomic disparities, genetic predispositions, policy-driven food systems, and cultural norms-all converging to disrupt the balance between calories consumed and calories burned.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

See my other post:

Obesity in the U.S. stems from an interplay of poor dietary habits, reduced physical activity, socioeconomic disparities, genetic predispositions, policy-driven food systems, and cultural norms-all converging to disrupt the balance between calories consumed and calories burned.

Agreed, with caveats to the bolded:

Socioeconomic disparities: These obviously don't apply to anyone on this board, at least to hear people tell of their lives. Greater than 60% of the U.S. is now overweight and a fair chunk of this board is overweight too, guaranteed. At one time the middle class and the wealthy were a tiny sliver of the overweight and obese category, but that category is now, pardon the pun, growing, particularly the middle class (or what would once have been called the middle class). We all see, and many live the lives of, families of three with a giant honking bells and whistles McCar, kids who literally never walk anywhere, having to keep up with the Joneses and believing that if they do without anything, anything at all, they're not living the dream.

Genetic predispositions: Undoubtedly; in fact, searching for and eating the most fat- and calorie-dense food allowed us to survive for 2.5 million years. But until the 70s or so, we sure as heck weren't a whopping 60% overweight, and many first-world nations still aren't. People are blaming it on what's in food. As you stated and as I also focused on, that's not likely the singular cause. IMO one giant elephant in the room for our group here and for millions of non-impoverished Americans, is increasing greed, increasing entitlement, and having "get yours now" instilled in us in increasing rates. This leads to significant, very real fear if we feel the slightest bit as if we are "doing without."

 

[Cope]

This.

We've all been told since the 70s, "diet is making you fat and sick! Eat less." Or eat more veggies...or eat fewer carbs...or eat low fat...or eat more small meals a day, eat one meal a day, eat vegetarian, eat carnivore, "just eat sensibly," etc. etc. etc.

And where has it gotten us?

Fatter and sicker...

How about investigating why that is? What if it isn't because we have blue food dye in our cupcakes? (Although I have no problem with taking that shit out, who needs it. Then again, I'm all for removing toxins from the air and water, but let's leave that alone for now b/c MAGAs are sidestepping it.)

What if it's more basic than that? Like maybe how we are told over and over again basically from the time we're out of the womb that we're the biggest and the greatest just for having been born Americans (or X overweight, sick nation) so we deserve whatever we want now, now, now, that doing without is a huge crisis and very scary and might just mean we aren't big and huge and great after all, that we should grab our biggest slice of the pie at every opportunity...literally and figuratively, that greed is good, that doing without is for chumps and sheep, GET YOURS NOW and make it the biggest, the tastiest, supersize that bitch or you're just not getting what you "deserve" just for breathing.

That couldn't have anything to do with how we teach ourselves to gorge from preschool onward, now could it? And condition us to think that any feeling at all of not being overstuffed is a crisis feeling? That any food that doesn't literally blast us into the stratosphere isn't "good enough" for us "better" people, so grab the one that fires on all cylinders, three meals a day plus a minimum of three snacks.

Why not start there, for instance? Our complete inability to ever feel the slightest twinge in any way, shape or form without freaking out? By not forcing a culture on one another that we must have it all, at all times, the bigger the better?

And then how about movement? Real movement, not sweating appropriately to the appropriate painful movements while measuring our O2, CO2 and heart rate. Bikes were coming back for a while, now all that died again, why? Maybe because we deserve to get what we want NOW NOW NOW, we're better than that, jump in a car and go down the block, don't walk...and God forbid our kids walk down the block either, they "need" their giant SUV ride with their own little TV coming down from the car ceiling and their own adjustable air conditioning vent or they'll just die. Worse...they, oops, scratch that, we won't seem as big, as cool, as important.

I know I sound like an old woman (I am, actually) but Christ. We have lost ALL humility, we are the biggest, we are the best, we should have the biggest and best over everything every minute and we should never have to lift a finger unless absolutely necessary and yet MAGAs are saying we're all fat because there's canola oil in prepared foods (that we absolutely must have over, like, God forbid, an apple)?

Dudes.

We know why that is.

All the issues have been discussed and brought up ad nausea, but for some reason, people (currently on your side of the aisle) don't want to address ANY of them if they can't identify and fix ALL of them. YOU, US, the government don't have control over all of them. Adjust/change the ones we DO have control over, DIET being primary.

@MauiMan 's current position is just the above

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

We know why that is.

All the issues have been discussed and brought up ad nausea, but for some reason, people (currently on your side of the aisle) don't want to address ANY of them if they can't identify and fix ALL of them. YOU, US, the government don't have control over all of them. Adjust/change the ones we DO have control over, DIET being primary.

@MauiMan 's current position is just the above

Restriction by an outside source just...never works to fix anything. The initial cause of the desire to indulge is still there.

You're saying: don't start with the actual cause, just start anywhere. No, LOL. How is anything going to work if the cause of people wanting the food that's worst for them and wanting a lifestyle that's the worst for them isn't addressed?

That's leaving alone the whole ridiculous "toxins" argument that still addresses just food and tiptoes around the fact that a few years ago RFJK was all about environmental toxins, especially industrial emissions, and now has fallen silent on them.

It's MAGAs who want just one solution...because RFJK, approved by Trump, wants just that one solution. It isn't a starting point, it isn't taking things one at a time. Restricting what's in food and restricting medicines is the whole MAGA plan. It tiptoes around toxins literally nobody can escape no matter what they eat or don't eat. That's why this is all obviously hypocritical and an agenda.

It's my and others' mistake to take this seriously and look for real solutions to actual health when, given the above, it all goes back to: this is an agenda, not "one step" toward health.

 

[Cope]

Restriction by an outside source just...never works to fix anything. The initial cause of the desire to indulge is still there.

You're saying: don't start with the actual cause, just start anywhere. No, LOL. How is anything going to work if the cause of people wanting the food that's worst for them and wanting a lifestyle that's the worst for them isn't addressed?

Not at all, YOU said that as that never crossed my lips. But it's ok, you can sit in denial all year/decade/lifetime long. I make the changes necessary for me and mine.

That's leaving alone the whole ridiculous "toxins" argument that still addresses just food and tiptoes around the fact that a few years ago RFJK was all about environmental toxins, especially industrial emissions, and now has fallen silent on them.

Again, baby with the bath water. Just because you disagree with someone's stance on one thing precludes you from agreeing with them on ANYTHING.

It is much akin to the TDS proudly displayed here on the regular. I'm no fan of Trump, but I can agree when his administration has a good idea. Others simply cannot.

It's MAGAs who want just one solution...because RFJK, approved by Trump, wants just that one solution. It isn't a starting point, it isn't taking things one at a time. Restricting what's in food and restricting medicines is the whole MAGA plan. It tiptoes around toxins literally nobody can escape no matter what they eat or don't eat. That's why this is all obviously hypocritical and an agenda.

It's my and others' mistake to take this seriously and look for real solutions to actual health when, given the above, it all goes back to: this is an agenda, not "one step" toward health.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

Not at all, YOU said that as that never crossed my lips. But it's ok, you can sit in denial all year/decade/lifetime long. I make the changes necessary for me and mine.

Again, baby with the bath water. Just because you disagree with someone's stance on one thing precludes you from agreeing with them on ANYTHING.

It is much akin to the TDS proudly displayed here on the regular. I'm no fan of Trump, but I can agree when his administration has a good idea. Others simply cannot.

Starting with the actual cause is not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

It is the only way to address a problem.

Go ahead, take canola oil out of foods. Americans will just stuff canola oil-free foods instead. Then what?

 

[Cope]

Starting with the actual cause is not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

It is the only way to address a problem.

Not in this case.
You'll search for millenia attempting to perfect the issue.

Go ahead, take canola oil out of foods. Americans will just stuff canola oil-free foods instead. Then what?

 

[NOLA Dude]

Wow. Thus way worse than I thought it was. Don't let your kids eat school lunches!

A jaw-dropping investigation led by Zen Honeycutt, executive director of the nonprofit Moms Across America, tested school lunches across the country. The results are disturbing,

The organization tested 43 school lunch samples collected from 15 states, revealing striking food contamination. The study found that 10% of the samples contained Nicarbazin, a known avian contraceptive. Even more alarming, 93% of the school lunch items tested positive for glyphosate, a carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemical linked to liver disease. And 74% of the samples contained at least one of 29 different harmful pesticides.

The testing uncovered additional concerns: nine of the samples contained four different veterinary drugs and hormones.

But perhaps most shocking was the finding that 100% of the school lunch samples contained heavy metals at levels up to 6,293 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum allowable levels in drinking water. Beyond the chemical contamination, researchers noted that the majority of the samples were critically low in nutritional value, further compromising the potential health benefits of these meals.

It’s time the US ensured the safety of school lunches | GUEST COMMENTARY

School lunches that contain dangerous substances may do more harm than good, writes Debra Sheldon.

www.baltimoresun.com

 

[NOLA Dude]

Wow. Thus way worse than I thought it was. Don't let your kids eat school lunches!

A jaw-dropping investigation led by Zen Honeycutt, executive director of the nonprofit Moms Across America, tested school lunches across the country. The results are disturbing,

The organization tested 43 school lunch samples collected from 15 states, revealing striking food contamination. The study found that 10% of the samples contained Nicarbazin, a known avian contraceptive. Even more alarming, 93% of the school lunch items tested positive for glyphosate, a carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemical linked to liver disease. And 74% of the samples contained at least one of 29 different harmful pesticides.

The testing uncovered additional concerns: nine of the samples contained four different veterinary drugs and hormones.

But perhaps most shocking was the finding that 100% of the school lunch samples contained heavy metals at levels up to 6,293 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s maximum allowable levels in drinking water. Beyond the chemical contamination, researchers noted that the majority of the samples were critically low in nutritional value, further compromising the potential health benefits of these meals.

It’s time the US ensured the safety of school lunches | GUEST COMMENTARY

School lunches that contain dangerous substances may do more harm than good, writes Debra Sheldon.

www.baltimoresun.com

This should be very concerning to everyone

 

[Fledermaus]

This should be very concerning to everyone

Oh, no..

More X-spamming.

 

[vanceen]

Allergen =\= toxin.

There is nothing toxic about avacados.

They’re perfectly safe.

But I’m allergic to avocados. To ME, they are an allergen. They create a harmful allergic reaction. That doesn’t make them a toxin. They are not poisonous or harmful - it’s MY body’s reaction to them that causes harm, not the avocado itself.

I won't commit myself on the "allergens are toxins" argument. I do think equating the two is pretty broad brush.

But this argument doesn't work.

The reason sodium cyanide is bad for you is that your body's reaction to it is to die, because the ferric iron in a vital enzyme all binds to the cyanide molecule. So the problem is the body's reaction, not the cyanide itself.

In fact, I can't offhand think of a toxin that is harmful for any other reason than the body's reaction to it.

Perhaps a better way of arguing this is to say that toxins are generally bad for anybody, but allergens often have adverse effects for some individuals and not others.

DISCLAIMER: This is one of the silliest threads I've seen on here for a while, and that's saying a lot. As @Hamish Howl alluded to above, all matter is chemical, and throwing aroung the word "chemical" is a scare tactic to promote a conspiracy theory. Europe has all kinds of reasons for its copious food bans. Some of them are based on scientific studies, some are going along with populists scares, and some are protectionist. The FDA seems to have done a pretty good job on the whole, and I'm all for it continuing its work to regulate additives.

 

[NOLA Dude]

Great pick for the FDA!

 

[Metric Mouse]

Man…that map has all the Trump states in dark red.

Why do MAGAs eat like crap?

Poor, racially diverse states have known issues...

Diet is just one of them.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

Poor, racially diverse states have known issues...

Diet is just one of them.

Oh, here we go.

Brown people don't know how to eat...cool story. Racially diverse states are just trouble...cool story.

The most racially diverse states don't match up with the poorest states, first of all.

Most racially diverse states in 2025:

California
Texas
Hawaii
New Jersey
New York
New Mexico
Florida
Maryland
Nevada
Arizona

Most Diverse US States 2025

Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

worldpopulationreview.com

The poorest states in 2025:

Mississippi
West Virginia
Louisiana
Arkansas
Alabama
New Mexico
Kentucky
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee

The fattest states in 2025:

West Virginia
Kentucky
Alabama
Oklahoma
Mississippi
Arkansas
Louisiana
South Dakota
Ohio
Iowa

Most Obese States 2025

Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

worldpopulationreview.com

The most unhealthy diet-wise and poorest are almost overwhelmingly red-voting.



And have their fair share of "issues," BTW. Many are struggling like hell.

 

[Metric Mouse]

The poorest states in 2025:

Mississippi
West Virginia
Louisiana
Arkansas
Alabama
New Mexico
Kentucky
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee

The fattest states in 2025:

West Virginia
Kentucky
Alabama
Oklahoma
Mississippi
Arkansas
Louisiana
South Dakota
Ohio
Iowa

Most Obese States 2025

Discover population, economy, health, and more with the most comprehensive global statistics at your fingertips.

worldpopulationreview.com

The most unhealthy diet-wise and poorest are almost overwhelmingly red-voting.

Yes, poor, racially diverse states tend to have unhealthy diets.

Rich states don't have the same issues.

This is well known.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

Yes, poor, racially diverse states tend to have unhealthy diets.

No, poor states tend to show the effects of the worst diets in the U.S.

Racially diverse states do not.

Many of the poorest states are the LEAST racially diverse states.

The poorest and fattest states are red-voting and non-racially diverse compared to other states.

Rich states don't have the same issues.

The richest states are in the Top 10 most racially diverse states.

This is well known.

By bigots?

 

[Metric Mouse]

No, poor states tend to show the effects of the worst diets in the U.S.

For sure.

Racially diverse states do not.

So it's an economic issue?

Many of the poorest states are the LEAST racially diverse states.

So it's an economic issue?

The poorest and fattest states are red-voting and non-racially diverse compared to other states.

But they are incredibly racially diverse, according to your list? Far higher than the average, and just a few points from top ten?

The richest states are in the Top 10 most racially diverse states.

And a wonderful mix or red and blue...

By bigots?

They will always blame poor people for being fat. Happens all the time.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

For sure.

So it's an economic issue?

It certainly seems to be.

So it's an economic issue?

It certainly seems to be.

But they are incredibly racially diverse, according to your list? Far higher than the average, and just a few points from top ten?

No, you can see from the list that the poorest states are overwhelmingly not the most racially diverse.

So no..."the most racially diverse" states are not the ones who struggle with poor dietary habits the most. Seems you just kinda threw that in there...I'm not quite sure why. But, nope. Overwhelmingly, the states that are poorest and red have the unhealthiest eating habits. Race doesn't figure in.

And a wonderful mix or red and blue...

Not really. The poorest states and the states with the unhealthiest eating habits...overlap red.

They will always blame poor people for being fat. Happens all the time.

"Blame"? I don't know how to "blame" someone for being poor.

However, you seem to blame obestity on "racial diversity," which doesn't appear to be a factor in obesity.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

Here is an interesting report because it gauges healthy diet by more than obesity, which obviously is important. The link to the report is in the article. This report also based healthy diet on consumption of fruits and vegetables, consumption of alcohol, and health conditions like Type II diabetes.

Healthiest eating US states revealed by maps

Maps show the U.S. states with the healthiest diets, based on fruit and vegetables, alcohol, food insecurity, and diseases.

www.newsweek.com

It shows, once again, that the majority of the unhealthiest states are poor -- but not notably racially diverse -- and are mostly red-voting, and many are in the south. Poor communities have the hardest time getting access to fresh, healthy foods, overall. And if they do have access, it can be very unaffordable.