In the 20th century, World War II and the rising consumer society contributed to the growth of the processing of food – using such advances as spray drying, juice concentrates, freeze drying and the introduction of artificial sweeteners, colouring agents, and preservatives such as sodium benzoate. The second half of the 20th century saw a rise in the pursuit of convenience foods.Shirley Conran famously said “Life is too short to stuff a mushroom” and food processing companies marketed their products especially towards middle-class working wives and mothers. Frozen foods (like the famous fishfingers credited to Captain Birdseye) found their success in sales of “TV dinners”. Processors utilised the perceived value of saved time to appeal to the postwar population, and it is this same appeal which makes the use of convenience foods so seductive today, despite the fact that so many TV programmes are about baking from scratch.I suppose if we did all make each meal from scratch we wouldn’t have the time to sit on the sofa to watch other people doing exactly that.
Jamie Oliver this week upset many when he commented on the fact that we have come to accept as the norm, processed low quality food. He said, “The fascinating thing for me is that seven times out of 10, the poorest families in this country choose the most expensive way to hydrate and feed their families. The ready meals, the convenience foods.I meet people who say, ‘You don’t understand what it’s like.’ I just want to hug them and teleport them to the Sicilian street cleaner who has 25 mussels, 10 cherry tomatoes, and a packet of spaghetti for 60 pence, and knocks out the most amazing pasta. You go to Italy or Spain and they eat well on not much money. We’ve missed out on that in Britain, somehow.” It is true that when food is processed we rarely think about its provenance-does anybody want to imagine the origins of the meat in a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie? The horsemeat scandal could never have happened if we were strict about the sources of our food.If we read the ingredients for instance on a tub of cheap ice cream and don’t understand the words or what the E numbers mean, chances are it is not a nutritious food that is going to do us any good. But we are all guilty of turning a blind eye to this stuff.It was only after having children that I became much more aware.I soon found out that phosphate additives which magnify taste, texture, and shelf-life are carcinogens which also cause rapid aging, kidney failure, and weak bones. And that refined sugars, processed flours, vegetable oils are not only addictive but also increase your chances of heart disease, dementia, neurological problems, respiratory failure, and cancer.
With processed foods though, despite all the drawbacks we know about, the genie is out of the bottle and most households would struggle without them, even if we are talking about tinned peas or a bottle of ketchup. Modern supermarkets would not exist without modern food processing techniques as lengthy transportation of goods would not be possible.Our varied diet is only possible because of food processing. I think the answer is to buy fresh when possible and food that has been processed to a minimum. But anybody who wants to buy a Findus ready meal on a plate would probably be better of eating the plate-for nutrition as well as taste!
I love Jamie Oliver, if he doesn’t receive a knighthood at some point in his life, it will be a poor do!! And he talks such sense as well. This week, I had a very limited amount of cash in my purse to buy the evening meal with and after I had bought laundry liquid, loo rolls and coffee (the essentials that were screaming at me from my shopping list!!), there was even less money to spend on food for that night. Ready meals would have been completely out of the question and it always amazes me how these and takeaways are supposed to be the cheap option!! In the end, I bought fresh fish which I cooked in the oven with milk and onions and beans from the garden and was delicious.
My mother was the queen of ready meals and when I was growing up, our weekday dinners were either, Findus fish fingers, Birds Eye chicken pies, Findus Crispy Pancakes, frozen pizza or some other kind of fare from the freezer center. All served with mash and frozen sweetcorn and with the telly perched on the edge of the table!! Weekends were better as my father would buy a load of meat from the butcher and we’d always have a roast on Sunday night (completely spoiled by having to sit respectfully and watch Songs of Praise on the telly while we ate!!).
I reckon that if you took cardboard, soaked it in corn oil and seasoning and then deep fried it, the taste would not be unpleasant and wouldn’t contain many less nutrients than a lot of the cr*p that is allowed to be sold as food. The footage of Jamie Oliver, recreating the process of making chicken nuggets plays forever in my mind!!
That said, I do give in sometimes. If we go out to eat (always with all the children in tow) and the children ask for chicken nuggets off the menu, well, I will let them as it’s not a regular thing and the alternatives aren’t always any healthier and yes, we do have the odd takeaway when I’m feeling tired. But I try to make our meals as fresh as I can otherwise. I don’t use ready-made sauce in my pasta dishes, I make up my own sauce which always tastes nicer (and is a lot cheaper!) and I am very fastidious about buying only British meat. As you say, there are many items that we use that are very processed, but I think starting with the main ingredients and working your way back is a good way to start.