(ANTIMEDIA)
Much of the mainstream American food supply is laden with unhealthy
additives, artificial flavorings, coloring, dyes, preservatives,
hormones, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and toxins. Not
everyone agrees that GMOs have been proven harmful to humans, which is
why the food chains listed here were selected specifically because they
are responsible for a wide variety of health violations—the GMOs and
their concealment from public knowledge are included for informational
purposes.
As with all things, I urge you to read with your head on a swivel, adjusting your worldview based on new information.
#1: ConAgra Foods
ConAgra—whose brands include Hunt’s, Healthy Choice, Marie
Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher, Slim Jim, Reddi-wip, Egg Beaters,
Hebrew National, P. F. Chang’s, and Bertolli—labels many of their
products under the confidence-inspiring statement of “
made with all natural ingredients.” Their slogan, “
Making the food you love,”
is equally charming and disingenuous. Unless you contextualize them in a
world of Orwellian doublespeak, these statements are the antithesis of
truth. ConAgra
was found guilty of “
health
code violations and bacterial contaminations at its food processing
facilities, which have endangered consumers and in some cases been
linked to deaths.” They’ve also concealed the use of GMOs in their products and practice unethical factory-farm sourcing.
In 2003, it was revealed that
for two years, ConAgra had been poisoning Americans with E.coli-tainted beef, which the USDA was complicit in covering up.
#2: General Mills
Trisodium Phosphate (also known as TSP) is an
additive
and flavor enhancer found in thousands of frozen and processed foods,
including kids’ cereals. It also happens to be an ingredient that was
used in industrial cleaners—that is, until the EPA declared it unsafe
for human exposure. Still, that doesn’t stop General Mills from using
it. It’s okay, though, because GM states: “
In our food products we use very small amounts [of TSP]”. Phew! Only a small amount of poison, thank God!
Up until just this year, General Mills’ foods
also used BHT, or butylated hydroxytoluene, which animal tests have proven to be toxic.
General Mills has also come under fire for
the widespread use of GMOs
in nearly all of its foods. The company actively lobbies against any
required labeling of GMO ingredients and it spreads disinformation
concerning the safety of GMOs.
#3: Kraft Foods
There’s a reason why Kraft’s Mac N’ Cheese has such a beautifully golden hue to it: it’s the artificial coloring agent
Yellow No. 6,
which has been linked to hyperactivity, asthma, skin conditions and
even cancer. In 2013, Kraft bowed to pressure and removed the artificial
coloring, but tens of thousands of people have already consumed their
products. Kraft also
hides the presence of GMOs in their foods
while actively fighting against regulations to require the labeling of
these potentially dangerous ingredients. And, of course, their highly
processed, pre-packaged products contain high amounts of fat, sugar and
sodium.
Oh, and one last thing: as of March 18th, 2015, Kraft was in the process of
recalling 6.5 million boxes of Mac N’ Cheese because some of them contained fragments of metal.
#4: Heinz
Heinz recently lost a lawsuit over
false advertising.
They’ve been busy lying to the public by labeling products made from
GMOs as all natural. Whether you tolerate GMOs in your food or not, the
fact is that this company has a proven track record of lying to the
public.
Furthermore, Heinz products contain the following ingredients: tomato
concentrate made from non-organic tomatoes, distilled vinegar,
high fructose corn syrup (HFCS),
corn syrup, salt, and variety of spices and flavorings. Each squirt of
that classic ketchup contains pesticides, HFCS (a neurotoxin), a
particularly unhealthy type of sugar, and table salt, which dehydrates
the body and depletes minerals.
You don’t have to stop eating ketchup—just switch to a healthy organic brand. The same goes for all of these foods.
#5: Campbell’s Soup Company
Is it a prerequisite for success that all large food companies must
actively lie to their customers? Campbell’s soup, forever emblazoned in
our minds by Andy Warhol’s iconic prints, has been a staple in most
American homes for decades. Unfortunately,
Campbell’s has been sued
for hiding the presence of GMOs and for labeling foods as low-sodium
when they contain as much salt as regular products. The average cup of
Campbell’s soup contains a staggering 850mg of
sodium.
Unless that’s your only major meal of the day, consuming it means
you’re risking heart attacks, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Just as importantly, if not more so, is the fact that for many
decades, Campbell’s has lined its epoxy-resin cans with the toxic
chemical, bisphenol A (BPA). “BPA has been linked in lab studies to
breast and prostate cancer, infertility, early puberty in girls, type-2
diabetes, obesity, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,”
according to
Breastcancerfund.org. Only recently did the company finally bow to pressure and
phase BPA out of its production.
#6: Coca-Cola
Does this really surprise anyone? By this point, you should be aware
of the myriad health problems that Coca Cola and Diet Coca Cola cause,
but sometimes it’s helpful to break it down to the specifics. Coca Cola
has
over a half dozen chemical additives
that are detrimental to your health: E150D, a food coloring agent;
E952, or Sodium Cyclamate, a synthetic sugar substitute that was
actually banned by the FDA in 1969 and then inexplicably reinstated by
WHO a decade later; E950, or Acesulfame Potassium, which is 200 times
sweeter than sugar, very addictive, and is bad for the cardiovascular
and nervous system; E951, or aspartame, a sugar substitute that has been
linked to brain tumors, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), epilepsy, Graves’
disease, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, mental deficiency and
tuberculosis; E338, or Orthophosphoric Acid, which can cause irritation
of the skin and eyes; and E211, or Sodium Benzoate, a compound that,
according to one study, damages human DNA.
#7: Nestlé
Nestlé is one of three companies using
GMOs in their infant formula.
Okay, so maybe you want to trust corporate-paid scientists about the
safety of GMOs— but Nestlé also has the additional track record of using
traces of the industrial poison melamine. For context, this is the same
chemical that sickened at least
50,000 Chinese infants in 2008.
Purina, which is owned by Nestlé, also had a lawsuit filed against it
for the use of propylene glycol, a known animal toxin and component of
automotive antifreeze in its dog food. After over 3,000 dogs became ill,
Purina responded on its website
that propylene glycol is “an FDA-approved food additive that is also in
human foods like salad dressing and cake mix.” How reassuring.
#8: Kellogg’s
Kellogg’s has been the target of a nationwide ban over GMOs after
spending over $1,012,552 on
pro-GMO, anti-organic media propaganda
in California, Washington, and Oregon in order to defeat GMO labeling
initiatives. Did the nationwide ban impact Kellogg’s corporate ethos?
Unfortunately, the company actually doubled down and its products now
contain 100% GMO corn that contains traces of
glyphosate and BT toxins.
#9: PepsiCo
Following the lead of Coca Cola, Pepsi vowed to changed its formula after a California law mandated a
carcinogen warning for soft drinks. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Pepsi still contains 4-methylimidazole, or 4-Mel, which has been
linked to cancer in humans.
Another
major opponent of GMO labeling laws,
PepsiCo invests millions in celebrity endorsements to make sure you
don’t equate their products with obesity, diabetes or cancer.
A 2014 study has shown Pepsi has even more sugar fructose than previously believed.
#10: Hershey’s
Along with many other chocolate companies, Hershey’s was
recently found to have unsafe levels
of lead—which can lead to neurological damage and learning
disabilities—as well as cadmium, which can cause reproductive harm and
damage to the kidneys, liver, and bones.
Additionally, Hershey’s has
spent more than a million dollars
to make sure you can’t be certain whether or not the candies you are
eating contain GMOs. Their most popular treats contain many modified
ingredients, a fact they obviously hope stays unknown.
This article (10 Worst Food Companies that are Poisoning You Daily and Lying About It) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TheAntiMedia.org. Tune in! The Anti-Media radio show airs Monday through Friday @ 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. Image credit: faerie-angel. Help us fix our typos: edits@theantimedia.org.
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