by: Leah Kaylor

Healthy substitution board in the nutrition room. Photo by: Leah Kaylor

Over 60% of Americans are affected by some type of ailment, according to the CDC, and most are largely believed to be connected to obesity.   

In the US, 60% of Americans are clinically obese or have chronic illnesses due to what they consume. Americans are more likely to develop illnesses such as cancer, food allergies and diabetes because of ingredients being consumed daily. These ingredients in particular are banned in other countries according to CNN.   

In Europe carcinogens and preservatives are all banned because of the effects they have on someone’s overall health. Americans do not follow the same food guidelines as Europeans do, according to the nutrition website called focusforhealth. When it comes to food supply, Europeans have a mindset of “better safe than sorry,” while the US has a motto of “innocent until proven guilty.”  

An ingredient used in the US called Azodicarbonamide is used in flour which makes dough spongy and rise, but it just so happens the same ingredient is used to make yoga mats and flip flops, the CDC states.   

“It’s sad to think we don’t even think about some of the things we consume, but so much of what we have is unhealthy,” junior Bryonna Macioce said.  

Macioce looks at the photos that are advertised of food to make it look appealing and healthy, but sees photos of food from other countries and the realness of it.   

“I think people really need to take a step back and think about having balance in what you eat,” junior Grace Shrum said.  

Shrum believes some people will consume mostly junk, but they don’t look at the bigger picture of what people eat every day without balance.  

The US food quality crisis is partly because of the government relying on companies producing the products to prove their own guilt. The US uses a system called GRAS, generally recognized as safe ingredients, which essentially means companies are protected from lawsuits from being held liable, which other countries do not have according to focusforhealth.com.  

“When I think about how we are consuming an ingredient that is made in yoga mats and rubber, it’s sad how no one knows that because no one looks at what they are eating,” junior Alethea Tressler said.   

The topic of Americans’ health is shaded and minimized by the fact there is a hysteria that healthy food tastes gross and junk food tastes better. New Food Magazine had an article that states that healthier food is more expensive because it’s less likely to have preservatives. Junk food in America is photoshopped to make it seem more appealing to the human eye, and it is typically cheaper than healthy food.   

“It’s shocking to think that many people are not aware of this problem, but it’s also sad,” Mrs. Morgan Ferczak said. “There is a known problem with the food quality, and it needs to be addressed.”    

Ferczak believes most people don’t have a clue as to what is being consumed into every day diets, nor do people look at the ingredients in the food itself. Ingredients tend to be hard to even pronounce on the back of most processed food and contain about 30 ingredients, whereas in Europe there tend to be five ingredients, all real.   

“Other countries’ ingredients are able to be read, whereas I read something on the back of a product and there are over 20 ingredients I can’t even pronounce,” Ferczak said.