Fran ▪ ken ▪ food
1 a: a food like product that looks like, smells like and tastes like real food.
b: semi-digestible foodstuff filled with chemicals, sugar, preservatives, trans fats, sodium, and other artificial junk.
Just for kicks and giggles, I researched “what is food?” The results were both humbling and surprising. I expected to find a bunch of definitions about what food is. The first two results were insights on what food means to various people and how we have been taught to eat food over time. For example, people who are starving see food as a means of survival. People who are proud of their culture consider traditional foods to be a part of their heritage. Members of some faiths regard certain foods as religious symbols. People who are entertaining guests see food as a sign of hospitality. Many references define food as nutrition.
When switching to the “images” tab for my search “what is food,” a bunch of vibrant images illustrated beautiful colorful fruits, vegetables, seeds, etc. Pun intended—here is some food for thought as you continue to research ingredients that you are feeding you and your family. When you type in “what is food”, not one article or image popped up showing cookies, mac ‘n cheese boxes, snack packs, pudding cups, frozen pizzas, yogurt tubes, candy, taco seasoning packages, and the many items we see lining our grocery store isles. Surprised? Could it be that these products are not in fact “food”?
It is crazy to me that the term “food” is not very well defined, but none-the-less, you get the idea. Here is a definition of “food”:
food
- Edible substances that nourish the body and provide essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals.
- Substances consumed by living organisms to sustain life, promote growth, provide energy, repair tissues, and regulate bodily functions.
In contrast, here is the definition of “junk food”1:
junk food
- The term junk food usually refers to foods with little nutritional value, high in calories, fat, sugar, salt, or caffeine, and can include candy, chips, cookies, French fries, chewing gum, hamburgers, hot dogs, shawarma, ice cream, juice (especially sweetened carbonated beverages), and many packaged sweets.
- These food products are found especially within the category of ultra-processed products, rich in food additives.
- Junk food products are products with a low nutritional value, and are hypercaloric, with the risk of causing a food addiction to develop and significantly alter the state of health, especially when they predominate in the diet, and are accompanied by an unhealthy lifestyle.
So there we go! We have been conditioned to believe that junk food (or Frankenfood) is food—but in fact it is not truly food that contains the nourishment that we need to sustain life, promote growth, and repair tissues. All a silly play on words maybe, however as consumers we are lured into buying this crap and eat it as if it is keeping us alive!
As for me, I will continue to painstakingly read the tiny print on ingredient labels and to shop the perimeter of the grocery store as much as possible—all in an effort to bring real “food” home to my family. Better yet, I will do what I can to support local farmers and growers in our area or the places we visit.
References
1 Mititelu, Magdalena et al. “Evaluation of Junk Food Consumption and the Risk Related to Consumer Health among the Romanian Population.” Nutrients vol. 15,16 3591. 16 Aug. 2023, doi:10.3390/nu15163591. Accessed 16 Mar 2024. Summarized. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Photo by Courtney Cook on Unsplash