re: Another Fake Meat Joins Ranks of Junk Food

Almond — 11/1/2019 12:12:01 PM

We occasionally eat out when traveling or for social reasons. Not all that often. An occasional bad meal will not hurt a healthy person and their body has the resources to recover quickly. There are still kinds of restaurants we will not visit, esp. fast food. Even though we try to choose healthier restaurants, we are well aware that store bought and restaurant food is not the same quality as homegrown. Profit is the motivation.

The way food has become adulterated and denatured has taken much of the fun out of eating away from home. We often prefer to stay at home and eat. A home-cooked meal is often faster than a sit-down restaurant, too. Often better and much cheaper.

The main problem with restaurant food has been govt intrusion and the influence of the food industry that makes it easier to comply with laws by selling processed or portion-controlled units of food that can be reheated or microwaved. many people do not understand that freshly cooked soups may be nothing more than package mixes.

There used to be more excellent family-run restaurants, ethnic restaurants and even "road houses" where produce would come from the garden out back. With few exceptions, bureaucracy and compliance expenses have put many of these out of business.

I recall attending summer school in college. It was in an isolated rural area. The cooks were not dieticians. In the summer, the farm women would come in to do the cooking and the foods served would be local. Every Sunday evening, the food service shut down. The farm women who wanted to make a few extra dollars would bring in homemade food in hot trays and coolers, set up on long tables and sell to hungry students. You might have your choice of several different entrees and women tried to be competitive. I don't recall anyone ever getting sick from uninspected or non-permitted food.