The physical body requires food in order to sustain itself; of which, it would so appear, that never has so much food, and so many food choices, been so readily available for so many people. The fact that food is abundant as well as typically being reasonably priced is a great benefit to humankind; however, as might be expected in any business that has to deal with the logistics of obtaining that food and then the distribution so of, there are going to be tendencies to take shortcuts or to “game” the system, so as to favor those that are trying to make a consistent profit at the unfortunate expense of the public, in whole.
For instance, fresh food, even if properly cared for, has a finite life and therefore does not last forever, for it begins to decay and eventually that food will reach the point where it is subsequently not fit for human consumption. To this point, is the salient fact that the producers of food goods, have a clear vested interest in producing food goods that have a strong shelf life, and that can therefore withstand reasonable periods of time, without that food becoming stale, rancid, or unsafe. There are many means for food producers to avail themselves of so as to extend food shelf life or to add to the profit of a given item, of which not all of these are legal or sound, such as the deliberate adulteration of a product, in which, some cheaper substance replaces a more expensive substance, but still sold to the public as if this has not occurred. Additionally, processed foods are frequently subject to an incredible array of chemicals so added for necessary things such as the coloring of, or for the extension of shelf life, or for palatable taste, as well as for appearance.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating the food industry. However, when that department is susceptible to being co-opted by the very industry that it so regulates, by virtue of the “revolving door” between private enterprise and government regulation, then it is the general public that therefore ends up with the short end of the stick. So too, the sheer amount of chemicals being added to food items, in conjunction with the fair and comprehensive testing of such, is one of those areas in which no shortcuts to thorough testing should ever be permitted. The issue with chemicals so being utilized in the food industry, is that chemicals, such as those that are meant to extend and to preserve shelf life, may or may not be something that the human body is able to always successfully assimilate and to therefore break down appropriately in the digestive tract; so then, good discretion is the better part of valor and should therefore never take the back seat to that which is harmful.
All those people that do not have the means to afford anything other than primarily eating processed foods should not be placed into a situation in which those foods have been prepared in a way in which the continual and consistent usage of eating those foods are harmful to them; of which, therefore it is up to the FDA to make sure that the producers are always held accountable to the safety of their foods, as contrasted to those producers being permitted to prioritize profits and outright greed over appropriate food safety.