Hello Katiebug! As I may have told you already I am taking a class on industrial foods. We recently were assigned a project where we have to send a person in our life an email about Pandora’s Lunchbox, and I chose you as that person. Yippee! What is Pandora’s Lunchbox you may ask? Well, It’s a book that goes into great detail about the processed food world. The book is written by Melanie Warner, a mom, writer, and amateur food scientist whose interest in processed food all started with home science experiments. These experiments involved saving processed food past the expiration dates, and to her (and my) disbelief, these burgers, fries, and more did not decompose as food should. Experimentation is only the beginning, as you keep reading Warner dives deeper into the world of soybean oil, “cheese product”, vitamins, and more. She questions food assembly in a scientific manner only adding to her credibility and logos, however her terminology isn’t overwhelming to the average reader, like me. Warner expresses the amount of additives in our food that lack benefit and can even be harmful, and while she blames the food industry at large, it is ultimately our responsibility as consumers to be informed. I appreciated that Warner shied away from urging readers to stop eating processed food cold turkey. She writes with reason, and understands that if everyone shopped at Whole Foods there wouldn’t be enough to go around. While I compel you to read her book and learn more about what’s on your plate (or should I say in your package), I acknowledge that you’re a busy college student. So to save you a bit of time, I’m sharing the most notable parts of the book. I’ll frame it as a highlight reel, rather than a summary. We’ve gone to subway together, and walking to the one by our house was a common activity. You and I know that Subway’s slogan is “eat fresh.” This is a common marketing strategies amongst companies, to advertise their product as farm fresh or natural, as publicized in the documentary food INC. After hearing this slogan you’d expect a subway sandwich’s contents to be wholesome. I used to look at my sandwiches and see ten to twelve ingredients in it. Lettuce, cheese, meat, and bread How complicated can that be? Well, in Pandora’s Lunchbox Warner reveals that one Chicken Teriyaki Subway sandwich contains 105 ingredients (11). Of the 105 ingredients, a whopping 55 are additives (11). I’ve concluded that an additive is any substance supplemented to enhance taste, color, texture, ease production, or preserve the product. I uncomfortably read the pastes and powders that had been added to my seemingly simple sandwich, skimmed paragraphs about additives that had names like gum Arabic, azodicarbonamide, and maltodextrin (12). When I continued on, I realized azodicarbonamide is an ingredient not commonly found in food, but rather on the soles of your shoes or gym matts (103). I was disgusted and alarmed I knew so little about what I was eating. The horror of food additives is the ease at which they are approved by the FDA as safe. Corporations have manipulated the system, finding loopholes to avoid the lengthy process of FDA tests in order to get their product approved. This loophole is called GRAS list (generally recognized as safe), intentionally made for additives like salt and spices. Food companies realized the simplicity of adding an additive to the list instead of going through the lengthy food additive approval process. The FDA let companies take safety assessments for these new “GRAS” additives into their own hands. Meaning, most additives on the list have not been tested for safety by the FDA (107). It’s minding blowing that the system has failed us, and yet nothing has been done to fix it; I shouldn’t be so shocked that gym matt ingredients are in my sandwhich. You’ve heard fuss about additives from your Whole Foods-loving, vegan-eating, save the Earth type of friends. While, Warner sheds light on the horrific sides of food industry, she also covers the good and not-so-bad, and I’ve decided to do the same for you. The greatest benefits of additives is their ability to add nutrition to the processed foods we know and love. Warner exemplifies this in her favorite breakfast snack, a Penford Biscotti. The biscotti contains 13 grams of fiber, which is great when you consider that it’s recommended you have 25 to 38 grams a day (184). Warner gives you an idea of what she would have eat in order to gain the same amount of fiber, “one pear, a large carrot, a banana, a half cup of broccoli, one cup of black beans and brown rice” (185). Biscotti becomes a great short-cut into getting much-needed fiber; we all love our shortcuts. Warner’s example gives us a sliver of hope that the same science that is putting azodicarbonamide into my subway, can be used for good. In the front of the book lies a quote by Harvey Wiley the father of FDA, “I have always stood for food that is food.” I remember reading that before I began the book and finding it so odd. What did he mean by, “ food that is food”? I hope that this email hasn’t pushed you to stop eating all the foods you usually do. Instead, I want you to be conscious of what you are putting in your mouth, and question if this food is even food at all. What we eat now is so far away from the source it once came from. It’s taken apart, disfigured, mixed with additives, pushed through machines, and then sewn back together. Additives started with good intentions, to preserve our foods and make them taste better. Yet, look where we are now. Ever since the fifties, there has been a shift in the pre-packaged food industry, which we read about in Shapiro’s something from the oven. Fresh has become a marketing gimmick rather than a reality. Food has become a science, a technology, and above all a business. Noted by Shapiro, it wasn’t even a business we asked for, but rather one that was pushed on us by big box corporations. So do we evolve our definition of food as our culture evolved the business? Or should we as consumers demand a return to our roots? Enjoy your azodicarbonamide, Anna Warbel