A few years ago, I found out that I was one of the growing number of people with food sensitivities including wheat intolerance. I learned that industrial-milled mass-produced wheat had been linked to chronic digestive and inflammatory illnesses in many people like me.
But since I still craved the taste and texture of foods made with wheat, I decided to take a chance and try the Baltistani version of donuts called “arzuq” during my trip to the northern part of Pakistan last summer. Locals told me they were made from organic wheat grown in the valleys of the Karakoram Mountains.
To my surprise and delight, I was able to eat the deliciously rich, lightly sweet, flaky pastries in arguably one of the most scenic places in the world, without the usual side effects of stomach cramps and nausea.
In his best selling book “Wheat Belly,” Dr. William Davis says the vast majority of wheat we consume is mass produced for maximum yield and profit rather than nutrition. It’s planted in synthetic fertilized soil; saturated in toxic chemicals; harvested; stripped of healthy oils, bran, fiber and nutrients; and lastly, reassembled with chemicals and other unhealthy ingredients before being packaged for sale.
It’s no wonder so many of us are getting sick.
Modern wheat isn’t the only thing that’s causing problems. To prolong their shelf life, highly processed food often contains additives such as flavor enhancers, sweeteners and industrial chemicals that are introduced during production or leach into food from packaging.
In February, Democratic California Assembly Reps. Jesse Gabriel and Buffy Wicks introduced a bill that would ban the sale, manufacture and distribution of foods containing chemicals currently banned in the European Union that have been linked to health concerns including decreased immune response, hyperactivity in children and increased risk of cancer.
The chemicals have been controversial for years, especially because they are in foods like candy, drinks and baked goods that are widely marketed to children, according to Consumer Reports. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration allows companies to categorize their own ingredients as “generally recognized as safe” and effectively bypass federal safety checks.
Government food agencies have often prioritized the interests of corporate food giants over our health. This needs to stop.
To be sure, for the first time in more than 30 years the U.S. Department of Agriculture is tightening regulation of organic products and putting “layers of protection” around the agency’s organic seal, thanks to the lobbying efforts of The Organic Trade Association. USDA certified organic foods must be produced without toxic pesticides, synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones or genetic engineering.
Even still, critics of the new organic regulations claim the USDA historically hasn’t stepped up its game on organic food oversight despite being aware of prevalent fraud.
Organic certification programs began in the early 1970s, when small producers using natural and sustainable farming methods in states such as Oregon and California banded together to establish minimum standards for themselves and their peers. Ironically, high fructose corn syrup, which has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, fatty liver disease and dyslipidemia, was introduced to the food and beverage industry around that same time.
In our Pakistani-Canadian household, we readily bought into the cheerful and misleading marketing campaigns of Kraft, General Mills and Post. We chugged down artificially flavored water concoctions like they were going out of business and spread layer upon layer of processed meat and cheese food onto sandwiches, blissfully unaware of their detrimental health effects.
For decades, Americans have been allowed to eat a long list of foods banned in other countries. The USDA’s strict new organic rules are a step in the right direction, but people’s health and well-being needs to be prioritized over the interests and influence of profit-oriented corporate food manufacturers without exception.
As consumers, we can do our part by supporting the Organic Trade Association and other groups such as The Non-GMO Project that advocate for higher standards and better health through our food chain. We are what we eat, and buying clean, organic and minimally processed foods whenever possible may be one of the best things we can do for ourselves, our planet and the well-being of future generations.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Tanya Jogee is a communications consultant, writer and public voices fellow through The OpEd Project. This column was produced for the Progressive Perspectives, which is run by The Progressive magazine, and distributed by Tribune News Service.
