Voges 1

Brianna Voges
Mary Petty
ENG 102
March 31, 2014
What Happens When You Are What You Eat
When I was younger, I loved to drink milk with everything. In fact, my entire family
loved milk so much that we drank over a half a gallon a day. My dad had to make a rule that you
could only have milk once a day because my parents just could not afford to buy milk that often.
There was however, one person who didnt drink any milk at all. My mother always claimed that
she was lactose intolerant, so when the entire family was eating cereal and milk, she would eat
bacon and eggs. There was a time, once, where I caught my mother drinking some milk at my
grandmothers house. I was convinced that I had been lied to all these years and I confronted her
confused. She told me that this was whole milk and for some reason, the less pasteurized it was,
the easier it was for her to drink it.
In fact, there are a lot of food allergies today, including milk, that are caused only by the
human intervention used to produce them. The fact is that a lot of the foods we eat today are
having a large negative effect on the way we live and our health in general. Aside from allergies,
many other medical problems have come into notice. An analysis done in China recently in 2013
has shown a distinct correlation between red or processed meats and gastric cancer. The word
cancer seems to make everything more serious.
Voges 2

The problem of over processed and pasteurized food goes far beyond a simple obesity
and allergy problem and the solution is going to take a little more work on everybodys part. The
food industry makes millions of dollars every year by selling foods that are harming people and
the majority of Americans are helping contribute to this deadly cycle by buying these foods.
Over processed and pasteurized foods are a serious problem in the United States and to start
solving this problem, people are going to have to make a lot of changes.
One of the largest problems with the processed food cycle is that most people do not fully
understand the risks that are involved in buying overly processed food. Processed food make up
over 70% of the average U.S. Citizen diet (Ryssdal 2003). These foods are shown to be very high
in sugar and salt content. Their unhealthy amount of these ingredients is because without them
they would fall apart. Most processed food is made to last a long life on the self, so in general
they are loaded with preservatives and other harmful chemicals to make it seem as though they
are ready to eat and fresh. These preservatives, however, are not meant to rest in the human
body. They corrupt the natural abilities and defenses that the human creates.
With a problem so vast and all consuming, how could there ever be a solution? How can
we as a people come back from such destructive actions against ourselves? Many people have
made it their goal to answer this question. Some people would suggest that you cut out any and
all processed food from your diet and go organic. They suggest that you eat only food that is
properly prepared with completely natural ingredient and that you do not eat any food with an
ingredient that you cannot pronounce. Some even go as far as to say that you should grow your
own vegetables.
Voges 3

Some people go the completely opposite direction in attempting to address this growing
problem. They believe that as a race, humans will adapt to the chemicals that are put into their
bodies and suffer no real lasting effects from the processed food cycle. To be fair, humans have
been known to adapt to a great deal of unnatural experiences. They believe that through exercise
and taking vitamins, we can overcome the harm that out bodies are experiencing.
I say that while both of these ideas have some initial merit, they do not completely
address the entire issue. To find a true solution to this problem, we are going to have to go about
this problem a different way. The first step to finding a lasting solution is to eat less of the
processed food just as many people are implying with their go organic campaigns. However we
do not need to go so far as to cut out all processed and pasteurized food out of our diets. These
processes were put in place for a reason and there are a small variety of foods that are made
better through the processing cycle.
Secondly we do need to exercise and take in more vitamins and nutrients. Through the
processing and pasteurizing cycle, a lot of vitamin rich foods are stripped of their natural
nutrients. It is because of this that many children and adults get food allergies. These nutrients
help the body break down the food in a healthy way. By exercising and consuming nutrients and
vitamins we can attempt to reverses these effects.
The biggest factor however to stopping this cycle is becoming aware. By educating
yourself and those around you, you are more likely to take a notice of the foods you eat and the
things you do. Maybe as a whole, this could affect the food industry as well. If everyone were to
avoid the processed foods in the stores, the food industry would have no choice but to start
Voges 4

catering to the needs of the populace. Through education and avoidance we can start to change
the world view on processed foods.




Voges 5

Reference Page
Ryssdal , K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/big-book/processed-
foods-make-70-percent-us-diet
Zhu, H., Yang, X., Zhang, C., Zhu, C., Tao, G., Zhao, L., & ... Sun, X. (2013). Red and
Processed Meat Intake Is Associated with Higher Gastric Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis
of Epidemiological Observational Studies. Plos ONE, 8(8), 1-10.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0070955
Fight back! 10 things the processed food industry doesn't want you to know, and body ecologys
2 powerful tools to help you fight back!. (2009, January 21). Retrieved from
http://bodyecology.com/articles/10-things-processed-food-industry.php


Voges 6

Brianna Voges
Mary Petty
ENG 102
March 26, 2014
PA Outline
I. Introduction
I am sure that no one could ever have imagined that through innovation and modern technology,
we as a human race have come to a point where we knowingly subject ourselves to harmful
chemicals because it is more convenient. Food coming out of the food industry nowadays is
doing more harm than good to the people who consume it.
a) There was a case study done in China in 2013 that links processed meat with an increased
risk of gastric cancer
b) Processed food is consumed by the majority of the U.S and nobody is safe from the
hazards it possesses.
c) The over processing of food in the United States is leading to serious health issues and is
entirely unnecessary because the problem is very simple.
II: Further Examination of Problem
a) Everyone consumes processed food nowadays. Over 70% of the average U.S citizens
diet.
Voges 7

b) These foods are usually high in salt and sugar content because without them, the
products would just fall apart. Processed foods have been shown to
c)
3. Last sentence of each paragraph should cue the topic/subject of the next paragraph. What
should be cued? Either further detailed discussion of problem, or begin to explain alternative
solutions that have not worked.
III: Examine Alternative Solutions
a) One solution would be to completely cut out any and all processed food.
b) Another solution would be to wait for our bodies to adapt
c) Neither of these solutions address the entire issue.
IV. Your Solution
a) Find a balance between complete removal and complete ignorance of the processed
foods.
b) Through this knowledge and avoidance we can change the food industry as a whole.
V. Conclusion
a) The processed food mad by Americas food industry is harmful to those who consume it
in more ways than one.
b) Through knowledge and avoidance, we can change this problem together when it seemed
too big to comprehend.
Voges 8