Processed Foods - Then and Now

It's funny how today, most products you find in the supermarket are highly processed and full of crap. What the packaging says may not be the truth and a lot of advertising are just lies. This is upsetting because when these same products were first introduced they were amazing to everyone. People didn't realize how bad some of this stuff really was! Let's just take a small look back in time. Thanks to the April issue of Real Simple we can catch a glimpse of history way back when and see how things have changed for some of these products.

Kool-Aid (once known as Kool-Ade)
This powdered drink mix was invented by Edwin Perkins and his wife Kitty. They originally created Fruit Smack which was a liquid concentrate. Problems with the packaging and high production costs let to the idea of Kool-Aid. It was made a powder in 1927 and later sold to General Foods in 1953. Notice how the packaging changed once it went to a commercial company. That vintage appeal was lost. Ingredients that were once listed were no longer printed. In came the big fat Kool-Aid guy all happy like he smoked crack. Did they need to make him break through walls? Of course, the advertising was focused on children and after seeing the commercials what kid wouldn't want to drink it? The crap is pure sugar! Even the sugar-free versions are horrible considering they contain aspartame. Just another highly processed and toxic product for our kids. They even started to print labels that said "sensible selections" on the packaging. Are they crazy! You can't go wrong with cheap crap that makes your kids happy, right? Unfortunately, you can!

The original drawings of the Kool-Aid guy were cool. Being an artist I can appreciate that. But when you use something that is cool in a negative way its simply a waste of creativity.



Minute Rice
We all want to make dinner faster and easier right? Well, General Foods first introduced Minute Rice in 1949. It was pre-cooked, easy to make and ready fast. They have a lot of varieties which is good but I am just wondering where all their rice comes from. You see, I like to buy my rice in a bag that doesn't get boiled. A bag that tells me where it came from. I don't mind it taking 20 minutes or so to cook. Big deal! This was one of the products that slowly helped American families stop cooking real food and make dinner in 10 minutes. Something I do not support. The packaging sure as hell changed too.



Hamburger Helper
Another great friggin idea! Hamburger Helper is one of the worst products out there. The amount of crap in it is horrible. Created in 1971 it was intended to help stretch the amount of meat a family bought due to the escalated prices. What ever happened to just making real macaroni and cheese and adding meat? Oh I forgot, American families are lazy. And what's up with the hand dude? He doesn't even make sense. I get the whole "helping hand" idea but its still pretty lame. General Mills also sells frozen versions too. Yuck! They even have the nerve to put "home-cooked skillet meal" on the package!



Campbells Soup
Honestly, the first thing I think of when Campbell's comes to mind is Andy Warhol. Not how good the soup tastes. What does that say! First of all, the idea to condense soup might have been good at the moment but there really is nothing great about it. Of course, today they have normal soups as well. Sadly enough, most of them are high in sodium, contain msg and are really bad for you. In 2008, they started to make label changes so the packaging would appeal more to the public. Just last year the company finally lowered 50% of the salt content in their products. It took them that long! Geez, people have been complaining for years. Just so you know, they own a lot of other brands as well: Pace, Pepperidge Farm, Prego, Swanson and V8. Talk about big business. That doesn't include the brands they own from other countries.

Campbell's line of soups was introduced in 1897 with the original Tomato Soup. They added new flavors as the years passed. They started to add the Campbell's Kids to their ads in 1904 which are now collectors items. That ended in 1958 but showed up again in a 1990 commercial where the kids were rapping. Huh? Anything to get your children's attention. In all their ads they mention how cheap it was, how fast it was to cook and how healthy it is. Hmmm..I would rather make my soup from scratch.



If you want to check out all the products listed in the article then check out the Food section on page 251 of the April issue.

If you haven't noticed, a lot of products aim their advertising toward children. Parents really need to look out for this. Even when you go to the movies! A new study from Pediatrics found that 55% of all product placement in films rated PG and PG-13 are sugar-sweetened drinks. That is horrible! Your kids should not be drinking soda or any of that other crap. Why do think diabetes and obesity is such a big problem in the United States? This is why I support the NY drink tax. I think its a great idea and I hope that all states follow through. Its called "real" juice people, not powder!

I just hope that everyone reads the ingredients of what they buy. I bet most of it has a huge list of things you can't pronounce. Thats bad! Put it back and stop buying it. Don't believe the packaging because its cute and don't buy into the lies the ads throw in your face. Be smarter and eat healthier! You are what you eat :)