Noah+T’s+Final+AmEx+2014+Speech

= = What Are Cheez-its?

What are Cheezits? Have you ever looked at the ingredients of cheezits? That is the largest list of ingredients I think I have ever seen on a box. Cheezits has 55 labeled ingredients, half of which I don’t even know how to pronounce, let alone know what they are. Now think about marshmallows, it’s just another way of legally selling poison in the interest of money. A lot of us have no idea what we are eating, trusting that what the FDA deems a legal “food,” is, actually a food. What our country has labeled as a legal food and what our people are willing to call food and put into their bodies is incredible. I am being a total hypocrite right now because I know I have had a McDonald’s burger before, I have eaten a fruit roll up before, I have eaten Cheezits and marshmallows, most people have. Without even thinking about whether or not what we are eating is safe, trusting that if it came from the store, its fine. They have found a way to get to all of us. The food industry has been significantly corrupted, with only a few massive corporations controlling large portions of industry. Most of these major companies are able to slide through the weak grips of the FDA because major positions in this part of government are often times filled by persons affiliated with these industries. With political ties all over the place and bottomless pockets of money, getting away with ingredients nearly inedible only to fill their pockets with even more cash is not much of a struggle. Monsanto is most notable for its ability to make millions by legally scamming farmers with the mass spreading of its GMO products. It has been able to do so because of its political influence in the Food and Drug Administration. Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto lawyer, is now the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner of Policy and the one who granted approval of RBGH, (a growth hormone used to make cows produce more milk). Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a former Monsanto lawyer who has voted in favor of Monsanto in every case involving the company. Corruption in government like this allows companies like Monsanto to have policies passed such as the consumer-right-to-know policy allowing genetically modified foods to not to be labeled or tested prior to sales. With large corporations able to sell their products for much lower prices than all other competition using cheap artificial flavorings, chemical substitutes and natural flavors, businesses devoted to selling real food with no fake additives are unable to match the low prices. This creates a very unbalanced system and leads the average consumer to lean towards the unhealthier nutritional route. For poor families, sometimes the unhealthy option is their only option because healthier less processed foods are almost always more expensive. People love sugar, fat and salt, we are made that way to survive, but when getting a pizza and a can soda is made easier than even getting a head of broccoli, we tend to eat way too much of these substances. Well, many people have now come to the conclusion that salt, sugar, and fat are unhealthy, when, in controlled amounts these unprocessed substances are actually part of a healthy diet, regardless the industries response to that is 0 calorie and low fat products. The health risks of the chemicals Aspartame, Acesulfame K, and Erythritol, used in 0 calorie drinks are considered among the most unhealthy and dangerous substances legally used. These chemicals have the potential to cause diabetes, immune and intestinal disorders, birth defects and even cancer. While tests were done on Acesulfame K, and proved to show the potential of harmful side effects, the experiments were reported to be insufficient and the chemical was approved by the FDA without addressing the prior studies. As far as the chemicals Aspartame and Erythritol, no studies were shown to prove their health risks previous to their approval for unregulated use in food products. A colleague of my dad’s used to drink at least one Red Bull everyday while on the job and after having a stroke was told he would die if he kept drinking Red Bull because the Glucuronolactone was deteriorating his liver and causing his heart to beat at an abnormal tempo. Glucuronolactone is a stimulant; its purpose is to calm the nervous system and boost moral as well as speeding up heart rate in order to make the consumer feel more energized. It is a chemical produced in the 60’s by the Department of Defense for use in larger doses as somewhat of a hallucinogenic for soldiers in Vietnam. The chemical was eventually discontinued after multiple cases of migraines, cerebral tumors, and liver diseases were found to be linked to the substance. Fast forward a few decades and here it is, being sold to customers at almost every grocery store in the country as they unknowingly ingest a small dose of poison with every can they drink. And this is only Red Bull, most other energy drinks also contain some sort of stimulating chemical that boosts the heart rate, or calms the nervous system in order to create that false sense of energy and focus, all with side effects unlisted on the product, and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. We are all a test subjects in these food corporation experiments being used to see how far they can go to maximize profits without killing us directly. In the America I hope to grow up in, I hope to see a people who are educated about what they put into their bodies, a people who have the right to know what is in their food, a people who control the industry and do not let the industry control them. This country **Is** a democracy, the people **Do** have the power to create change, and I would like to see them care enough about one of their basic human rights as to keep it a right and not a privilege.

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