This is a picture of me on my first birthday. My father was clearly holding me back from taking a chunk out of my cake with my hand. Now I don’t remember this day exactly – but I do remember this Pepperidge Farm Golden 3 Layer cake because we had it more than just on my 1st birthday, we ate it all of the time. I also remember having the worst asthma and allergies as a child too, but of course did not realize those symptoms were related to what I was eating…
My parents were the first people in their respective families to come to America from India and did not have a slew of homemade family cake recipes to choose from when celebrating events. Growing up, my Mom did make the BEST Indian desserts ever, but that didn’t matter. My family wanted to celebrate like everyone else in America – with cake! I remember this cake so vividly and can almost taste it in my mouth right now. We had it countless times throughout the years. It came out of the freezer section in a white box and I will never forget having to wait for several long grueling minutes for it to thaw on the counter.
Little did we know at the time, but we were clearly being duped. What we thought we were getting and what we actually ended up consuming were 2 totally different things. My poor unsuspecting foreign parents figured it was frozen because it had been baked fresh (probably on a farm like the label suggested) and needed to be preserved. They were clueless to the fact that it was actually preserved not by freezing, but by a slew of chemicals and other artificial ingredients that helped keep it from breaking down, and to keep it “fresh.”
GMOs were not in production or even invented yet on my 1st birthday – so this cake went from pretty bad to REALLY bad in the late 1990’s when food companies like Pepperidge Farm started sneaking GMOs into our food. This was right around the time I left the house for college and discovered Costco cake, which I thought was better (but that’s another story) and stopped eating this cake.
Looking back at this photo, I wanted to understand why the heck a company named after a farm would sell junk food filled with garbage like this? I was downright shocked when I learned the history of Pepperidge Farm and how it started.
The founder Margaret Rudkin had a son who was asthmatic and had an allergy to commercially baked products that contained preservatives and artificial ingredients. He would have terrible reactions when he ate the bread sold in their town’s local bakery, so she decided to make her own bread without additives. The son’s doctor saw an immediate improvement in her son’s allergies after making the switch to home baked bread and started to recommend her bread to his patients with asthma. He eventually convinced Margaret to sell the baked goods to small grocers throughout the area. She named the company after her family’s farm – “Pepperidge.” Her baked goods became very popular especially after she visited Europe to discover what is known as the Milano cookie and Goldfish cracker from Switerzerland and brought it back to the states to sell her own licensed version. Campbell Soup bought her company in 1961 and Margaret continued as the head of the company until she died in 1967. I am not sure when Campbell Soup completely destroyed the integrity and quality of her products – but looking at the ingredients in Pepperidge Farm products today, there is NO WAY these ingredients would be considered natural, free of artificial ingredients, additives and preservatives, like Margaret originally intended for her products.
Case in point – Gold Fish is being sued right now for misleading labeling and false advertising. On the label of Gold Fish it states “Natural” and “No Artificial Preservatives,” however, the product is made with genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs) – namely canola or soybean oil. How can a company claim something is natural when they are using ingredients made in a laboratory? Remember there is nothing natural about taking DNA, a virus or bacteria from one species and inserting it into another. GMOs are man made, not tested for long term human safety and pose disastrous consequences to our water, land and the entire food supply.
I’ve been quoted before saying that I think Gold Fish is one of the most dangerous products on supermarket shelves. The reason I say this is because they are so friendly, unassuming, “made with smiles” and look “natural” enough for millions of families to feed them to themselves and their children. In actuality, they are nothing more than refined white flour colored with annatto, made with GMO oils and a certain special ingredient called “autolyzed yeast” that is actually a hidden form of MSG. This ingredient is probably the most disastrous because it stimulates the brain cells to remember a taste, make you want more and enhance the flavor of something that would other wise not taste as addicting. This is the first cracker that millions of children eat… and this has to stop.
When I saw a new product on the shelf from Pepperidge Farm called “Baked Naturals” – I thought it was a pretty daring move considering the recent lawsuit and all the potential GMO ingredients it contains in the form of various oils, cornstarch and soy lecithin.
Recently, I was delighted to find out Pepperidge Farm removed artificial coloring from their line of Gold Fish and created a new Mac & Cheese product that is colored naturally. However, it would have been nice for them to leave out the yeast extract – another form of hidden MSG and possible GMOs in the form of maltodextrin.
There is even Gold Fish shaped 100% whole wheat bread that is full of GMOs, preservatives and other ingredients like carrageenan that are seriously questionable because of their link to intestinal inflammation. So many moms are buying this product for their children thinking it is natural and healthy, but that can’t be farther from the truth.
Pepperidge Farm’s Light Style Wheat bread has fooled me in the past. I thought I hit the jackpot, getting to eat two slices of bread for 80 calories, but the only person hitting the jackpot was Pepperidge Farm by taking my money and millions of other people’s money and selling us cheap ingredients in the form of GMOs, high fructose corn syrup, dough conditioners (DATEM is linked to asthma), preservatives and artificial sugars.
The artificial sweetener “Sucralose” (a.k.a. Splenda) is added to keep the calories down, make it unnaturally sweet and get you addicted. Recent research out of Europe showed rats developed leukemia after consuming Sucralose. This is obviously an ingredient no one should be consuming… especially if you are trying to lose weight.
Diet breads are worthless when they contain artificial sweeteners because they increase sugar cravings and promote weight gain. That’s right – consuming artificial sweeteners actually increases your appetite. Think about it – when someone consumes something that is sweet, but it has little to no calories – their brain receives a signal to want more calories because their body is not actually getting any energy (i.e. enough calories) to get satisfied. So that person keeps looking for gratification elsewhere and ends up craving more.
The thing that makes me the most angry about Pepperidge Farm cookies is their fancy packaging. It’s like they were specially made just for me with those fancy compartments divided with paper cupcake holders. They make it seem like you are buying such a premium upscale and high quality product – it even says the word “Distinctive” on the label. These Milano cookies, along with other flavor varieties contain nothing but cheap worthless ingredients that do nothing in terms of nutrition for your body. Quality cookies do not contain partially hydrogenated oils, but instead real butter.
If Margaret Rudkin were alive today – what would she think? Do you think she would have sold her company to Campbell Soup knowing that her products would turn into the same ones that caused her son so much trouble?
Luckily, I haven’t seen any Pepperidge Farm products in my family’s pantry for a long time now and I hope it stays that way. I obviously haven’t bought this brand in a while and thankfully don’t have bad asthma or allergies anymore either.
If you know someone who still buys Pepperidge Farm products, please share this post with them. There is no more integrity left in their brand and they do not deserve anyone’s hard earned money.
Wishing you the greatest health imaginable,
Food Babe
Vani,
Don’t feel bad, as a fellow Indian when I landed in the US as a fifteen year old kid, all I did was eat Pepperidge farm cakes, drink soda, Welch grape soda and any other junk I could find. I would splurge on McDonald’s hamburgers, KFC and any other sugary junk I could lay my hands on. The Pepperidge farm tasted far better than the hard cakes I would buy from Wenger’s in Delhi so it was a step upward for me little realizing what they contained. Pizza was another of my staples. Needless to say by thirty I was grossly overweight and diabetic. Lucky for me after my PhD, I moved back to India and got hold of myself and lost all the weight and diabetes as well. Although sadly in India, people eat more junk than in the US without even realizing it. Their daily meal consists of white rice, fried items usually fried in harmful palm oil, fried dough made from refined starch, overcooked veggies usually more starch than green. Therefore the health factor of average folks here is in equally bad shape.
Palm oil isn’t harmful, it may be their saving grace, look up the Skinny on Fats http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/skinny-on-fats Weston Price studied the healthiest people in the world and compared them to their neighbors. He found saturated and animal fats to be a staple in healthy groups. Also the oilng of America http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/the-oiling-of-america
It is the refining that is the culprit.
Please re-think palm oil! it may NOT be harmful to you, but in order to grow it, thousands of acres of land are being burned and in the process, orangoutangs are burning and dieting awful deaths, not to mention the air pollution this is causing!
please do your research and BOYCOTT PALM OIL PRODUCTS!
Not the smartest response at all. Because cars can run over people we should NOT drive cars? the food you eat and your forefathers consumed came from cleared land!!!
air pollution such as smoke? that cools the earth and trees love Carbon Dioxide. Please reconsider your intellect!
Palm is harmful! My brother just came back from France and he said there are so many restaurants that actually post signs stating “No Palm Oil” all over the place. Artificial colors are banned in Europe as well.
Hello,
Thank you so much for all the wonderful (well, more like useful at times) information.
I noticed you did not highlight the “modified wheat starch” in the gold fish bread ingredients. I have been noticing a lot of “modified” ingredients in products here in Europe and I assumed it meant GMO. Am I wrong?
Kindest regards,
Pascale
I am afraid that is not the case. ‘Modified’ in terms of ingredients mean that they have been modified to change their functionality. For example, in case of starches, they could be made less or more sticky, or modified so that they will dissolve in water at room temperature or at a higher temperature, etc. They remain safe for consumption.
Do you have a good alternative to Goldfish? Maybe Annie’s crackers? I can’t always make homemade goodies and Goldfish are so easy to take along.
These look super good! http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/09/recipe-for-cheese-crackers-with-almond.html
Those look good, but the recipe includes canola oil which is undoubtedly GMO and bad for you. Maybe olive oil or expeller pressed coconut oil could be used instead.
idk how old your kid(s) are but cheese cubes and fruit slices are what I would bring on outings and if they’re old enough air popped popcorn might be an easy snack to pack. 100daysofrealfood.com has lots of great ideas!
Trader Joe’s makes “cheddar rockets”, not many ingredients on label (that’s a positive) and Trader Joe’s claims to not use GMO’s on their TJ brand products. We have used Annie’s cheddar bunnies before too, but more pricy.
Yes, Annie’s crackers are a good alternative! My little one loves them, they are Organic, NONGMO, and no harmful ingredients! They have a lot of variety as well!
With a good food processor, you can make your own everything just about. I made some great organic whole wheat cheddar cheese crackers and cut them into fun shapes with the cookie cutters. Adults loved them.
The way things are going with Monsanto, I just accept that I will have to make my own everything. It’s actually cheaper than the overpriced organics. If the organic farms haven’t used mineral balancing, their produce is low Brix (=low nutrient density). Plants need many more minerals than NPK to make proteins that fight insects and tolerate heat and frost, and make vitamins in their tissues for us and animals, by ignoring this, they are weaker and less nutritious .
Annie’s are totally safe and organic, unlike Barbara’s which contain GMos. (A hint to remember when you’re at the store_ Annie is awesome, Barbara is bad.)
I’m pretty sure I remember autolized yeast or yeast extract (forms of MSG)
in Amy’s goldfish crackers. Better check the ingredient list.
This is quite shocking and sad that pepperidge farm was in good hands before and the corporate campbell has no longer any interests in making them healthy.
A great alternative to goldfish crackers are LATE JULY cheddar crackers and they come in convenient snack packs as well. Certified organic. My kids ask for these to be packed in their school or camp lunch boxes all the time.
I have a hard time understanding why typical vegetable oils are a bad thing or autolyzed yeast? Do you even know the term autolyzed? Do you drink beer or wine? Do you eat bread? Do you eat Pizza? they contain billions of autozlyed yeast cells.
Do you eat sunflower seeds? Do you eat any soy products? Then what is so wrong with the oils from those plants?
Just asking.
Hi Chris – Most canola and soybean oil is GMO and they are cheap oils that are highly processed and we suggest avoiding. Autolyzed yeast is a form of hidden MSG – you can read more about what Food Babe says about that in the post.
Hey! Read this post from reader Mark (comment below) http://www.therealfoodguy.com/2013/05/09/the-truth-about-those-golden-fishy-crack-ers/.
Hi Krista, when you say ‘highly processed’, what exactly do you mean? Also, why is GMO generally bad, like what are the facts?
Hi Jaideep – Watch the second video to see how Canola Oil is processed. http://www.fathead-movie.com/index.php/2011/02/17/butter-vs-canola-oil-spot-the-real-food/
Here are some GMO facts. http://www.nongmoproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/GMO_Myths_and_Truths_1.31.pdf
Hope this helps clear it up a little!
Most GMO crops are “Roundup Ready” crops. These include most canola, soy, corn, sugar beets and some potatoes, zucchini and pea protein. The seeds to these crops have Roundup injected into the DNA of the cells. With Roundup being a part of the DNA of the plant, it is now resistant to being sprayed with Roundup. In the past our food crops were not sprayed with Roundup; that would have killed the crop, so the poison had to be carefully applied to that the food crops were not sprayed. Now, not only are our food crops sprayed with higher and higher concentrations of Roundup due to Roundup resistant super weeds that are being created, but the crops also have the Roundup in the DNA of the food product. This cannot be washed off. Monsanto insists that Roundup is harmless to humans, but they fail to disclose the harm Roundup does to the flora and fauna in our gut. The majority of our immune system is in our gut, and Roundup destroys the good yeast and bacteria, allowing bad versions to invade. This sets us up for a plethora of ailments, including leaky gut syndrome, food allergies, a weakened immune system, cancer and even autism is suspected to be caused by this. In addition to the health consequences, the increased spraying of Roundup is wreaking havoc on the environment. The soil we grow crops in is alive and teaming with micro organisms; unfortunately, Roundup kills the micro organisms in the soil, leaving dead soil behind. The GMO crops are also weaker than the non GMO versions of the plants and produce a smaller yield than natural crops. Farmers must buy new seed each year since Monsanto’s patent prevents farmers from saving seeds to plant next year; a practice that goes way back in our history of farming. A farmer can even be sued by Monsanto if their crop accidentally cross breeds with the Monsanto GMO product. Monsanto’s goal is to cover the world with GMO crops and have a global monopoly on seed production. The whole point of the Roundup is to maximize profits and not have to pay people to weed the fields, but we pay for the consequences. Me must support food labeling legislation so that we can choose to avoid these adulterated foods that do not fit into a healthy lifestyle and expose Monsanto and GMO products for the health hazards that they are!
Vegetable oils a very high in Omega-6 fatty acids, which, when heated, oxidize more readily than any other oil. It is this property which makes it unhealthy.
We tend to blame cholesterol for most or our heart related problems, but cholesterol is like a taxi driver, delivering fatty acids to your body’s cells for fuel. If those fatty acids are oxidized, then they will cause damage to the cells.
Just read any of the current research into choleserol and fats. Or watch the movie “Fat Head” or the youtube video, “The Oiling of America”.
Autolized yeast and yeast extract is not the same thing as the yeast that rises our bread products. Autolized yeast and yeast extract are processed dead yeasts whose proteins are modified. Any time you modify a protein you have a really good chance of making free glutamic acid, which is the active ingredient of MSG. Autolized yeast and yeast extract are a replacement for monosodium glutamate and allows food producers to claim their product has “No MSG Added.” This is a sneaky move by the food industry to hide MSG since the MSG contained within the yeast extract does not require explicit labeling. Do a google search for “hidden MSG” to find lists of the many, many food additives that are just Trogan horses for MSG. You can also learn about the many harmful effects of ingesting MSG. My autistic son suffered for years with chronic migraine headaches so bad they made him vomit, and my other son had horrible behavior problems (Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde) every time they ate foods containing MSG. Once I figured out the MSG connection, our lives are much more manageable; no more migraines and no more mood swings. Now that I think about it, my husband is a lot easier to get along with now too. I never buy anything without reading the label first. What I am really wishing for now is GMO labeling. I can’t believe California fell for the food industry propaganda and failed to pass GMO legislation.
Good, you figured it out! So did Dr Katherine Reid, unblindmymind.org or Facebook by the same name. She has an autistic daughter and reversed her symptoms with a no glutamate diet. If the MSG is under 68% as in the yeast products it does not have to say MSG on the label.
I live in TX but was in CA at the voting time. People who don’t care about what they eat were worried about all the toxins the farm workers were exposed to so voted yes to labeling!
Thanks for sharing your story food babe – we have all been there is one way or another, so we can all relate to your story. I share your DEEP concerns with Goldfish crackers and blogged about the subject a few months back http://www.therealfoodguy.com/2013/05/09/the-truth-about-those-golden-fishy-crack-ers/.
These things scare the hell out of me (for all the reasons I point out in my post) – yet every time I turn around someone is giving them to my children. Argh – they are NOT a health food y’all!!!! Thank you for spreading the word and sharing your story.
Great post Mark. I love your sarcasm!
I too have a 2 year old who loves Goldfish, I will NOT be giving him these anymore. Now I’m dying to know if his other favorite “cookie” is safe. How are Nilla Wafers? I think they add crack to them, he’s addicted!
We encourage our readers to research on their own. Go to their website (or your pantry) and look at ingredient list. Takes a few seconds and you should know immediately. NO don’t do it! Sorry Heather!!
It’s not crack, it’s called sugar. They aren’t cracker, they are cookies, which means lots of sugar. Look at the nutrition label. Avoid anything that has more than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
Read Dr Davis, Wheat Belly. The modern hybrid wheat is addictive. Unblindmymind.org says the heating of wheat makes glutamates. AND little kids have different brains!
This makes me so sad. I feel like I see gold fish in every child’s hand everywhere we go. I really want to print off this article and start handing it out like fliers everywhere I go.
i think it would be interesting to see their Ingredients List through the years.
Me too Kiko!
it’s not fair that these companies get to make these false claims about their products being natural and yet foolling everybody that are not aware of the ingredients, I wish we can file a lawsuit against all these companies ;)… ughh gets me so frustrated especially when you know how many families/kids etc fall into there trap….
Our government is also to blame for allowing these products to be pawned off on us!!!!!
Thing is, they put GMOs in the food to make us sick so they can hand us more pills. It keeps big pharma going. }:)
It is so ironic that you post about Pepperidge Farm today, because I just talked to my allergist yesterday about Goldfish crackers. For as long as I can remember, I’ve gotten this weird allergic reaction to just plain old Goldfish crackers (my lips would swell up and my throat would itch).
I do want to let you know though that, because of you (well I’d like to attribute my milestone to your advice), I no longer have asthma, and they’re weaning me off of Advair. So thank you for that!
I am still amused by people who expect and often demand that large food companies stop their profit focus and instead concentrate on the health and wellness of their buyers. This isn’t new, this isn’t surprising. It’s 2013 and we’ve known that these companies are money hungry, lying monsters for SO MANY YEARS. Of course they put happy, misleading things on their packages! If they told the truth in a way the general public could understand they wouldn’t make any money. It’s a game, people! It’s aways going to be a game. Once they are forced to label GMOs and known cancer causing agents they’ll just do it in a way that is SO confusing that you’ll give up and buy it anyway. Grow your own, buy from trusted sources, learn to live without the easy crap that has been proven to kill you. And most of all, stop getting offended when known liars lie to you. Regardless of their company’s original intent.
Hey food babe…I noticed that you have soy lecithin as one of your ingredients to watch out for, but I have seen that in many organic products I buy as well as xantham gum and others that you’ve mentioned…I try really hard to eat as much whole food as I can, and I stay away from processed foods, but how can I be sure that my organic choices are not bad as well? Thanks for your continued motivation to kick ass for our benefit!
I highlighted it here because it is not organic – therefore made most likely from GMO soy.
How do we know for sure that GMO is bad and is not a hoax?
Jaideep, After reading your comments on this post I am really starting to wonder if you are some kind of a plant.
Do you set alerts on these topics and then make comments on people’s blogs who are telling the truth about GMO and other unhealthy ingredients in common foods? I’m wondering whose payroll you are on – the other people who read this blog
Whoops, premature posting!
I have seen the likes of this strategy before, corporate interests using reasonable sounding online comments and reviews to try and plant seeds of doubt in people’s minds.
You see, when you eliminate all the brain clouding foods from your diet, your intuition becomes very very very clear.
How can fake food not be bad for you? GMO’s never should have been created! In a perfect world all that would matter to companies would be the safety and well being of their customers above all else! This world is so twisted and corrupt and all for the sake of the all mighty dollar! Makes me sick to my stomach!!!!!!!!!!!
Jaideep, all good comments here, but for the science, google GMO rats and see what the studies say. They are terrible. First, 50% infant mortality (think- hmmm? SIDS?) then the survivors are 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a nirmnal rat, and third they are infertile by the 3rd generation.
Welcome to the reality of the free market and the wonderful world of marketing. Instead of tearing apart a company’s legal practice to produce food, you should focus more on the regulatory agencies that set the GRAS status and allow these ingredients to be used. As a product developer these ingredients are the nature of the beast. While I don’t agree with using these types of ingredients it’s legal. Consumers have to be educated on the effects of these ingredients and then make their own decisions.
Please keep up the good work
People buy products and brands – not really raw material ingredients. There are several organizations I am a member of that fight at the FDA level – I will continue to spread their efforts and support them, however I love educating people about what they can do right now and every single day to fight back – i.e. voting with their dollars.
Hi, So are you saying that unless the ingrediants list that it’s organic oils, then we should assume that all vegetable, canola and soy are GMO products? What about the Wesson etc bottles of canola, vegetable etc., are they GMO’s as well. I don’t really use or buy those oils anymore as I use either olive oil for cooking baking and either olive or grape oil for dressings, but I have used them in the past and was wondering about their contents after reading your site.
Canola and soy are generally GMO, unless they are organic (legally, certified organic products can’t be GMO). Other vegetable oils are highly processed, chemically treated and deodorized, etc. Here is a website I found with more details: http://wellnessmama.com/2193/why-you-should-never-eat-vegetable-oil-or-margarine/
Virgin organic coconut oil and butter are two oils I use for cooking. Never use extra virgin olive oil for cooking as it is easily damaged by heat, and you’ll end up eating oxidized oil that’s terrible for you. Save it for your salad or use as a finishing oil once food is removed from heat.
There’s much more to say about this topic, but hope this get’s you going in the right direction!
So what foods did you find that after you stopped eating your asthma improved? My son also has asthma and he is allergic to a lot of things and if I can improve his asthma by taking certain items out of my shopping cart it will be done in a heartbeat!
Please let me know.
Thank you
Hi Jeni,
I too have asthma, as does my son. Major improvements were made with both of us once we removed artificial food dyes, and sulphite, nitrite, benzoate, and propionate preservatives from our diets. Another one to watch out for is the often-used ‘natural’ colourant Annatto (E160b). This one is known to cause inflammation of the mucous membranes, particularly in the respiratory tract.
This basically has made it compulsory for me to read the ingredients labels on EVERYTHING, and has made eating out difficult as I have to ring ahead to restaurants, often arrive early and check the menu and ask about ingredients, but the effort has been well worth it. Good luck to you in your fight for better health.
Reading about how Pepperidge Farms started as a company, and about what Campbell’s has turned it into, really struck a chord with me. I’m sure it will do no good but I submitted feedback on Campbell’s website using some of this information in hopes that someday they will have the courage to do the right thing.
Great Post!!!!
Sorry you too were innocently eating junk food as a kid….
When I was 14 years old I read a best selling book by Dr. David Ruben: :”What you always wanted to know about nutrition but were afraid to ask” …
That book put an end to eating most processed food but I continued eating “upscale” wheat products from bakerys and protein powders (with poison sugar and casein) until I started listening to the radio program of the late great Dr. Robert Atkins (who most people erroneously think of as only a diet doctor).
Although I was a muscular bodybuilder my knees were disintegrating and swollen, my skin was messy and I had severe hypoglycemia…As soon as I eliminated all starchy carbohydrates and ALL sugar all my health problems vanished….
Where would I be If it weren’t for Dr. Atkins educating us about the sickening effects of starchy sugary carbohydrates (including most fruit)?
I think the best diet out there right now is the Paleo Diet …
What do you think beautiful Vani?
All I can say is, “YIKES!” She would most definitely NOT approve! So sad…I will definitely share this story along.
Make sure she also reads Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A Price, it is the most comprehensive world wide study ever done on what people eat, including pics of facial structure, teeth, and cavity counting ever done. And sorry, the vegetarians were not of “superb” health or physiques. It was funded by Weston Price himself, his own money, because he was seeing a change in Americans ‘ health and development in the 1920’s and he wanted to know why. The study was done in the 1930’s over a 9 year period when there were still some dense nutrient cultures still around.
I’m sorry,there are vegetarians and there are VEGETARIANS.Some vegetarians think that eating pasta with tomato sauce ,butter and cheese every day is being a vegetarian.If you’re a VEGETARIAN,you will be eating lots of fruits and vegetables.I became a pescatarian 6 months ago and I lost over 50 pounds.I need to lose another 5 pounds to be ideal.The health and physique of a vegetarian depends on what they eat.
Great Post!!!!
Sorry you too were innocently eating junk food as a kid….
When I was 14 years old I read a best selling book by Dr. David Ruben: :”What you always wanted to know about nutrition but were afraid to ask” …
That book put an end to eating most processed food but I continued eating “upscale” wheat products from bakerys and protein powders (with poison sugar and casein) until I started listening to the radio program of the late great Dr. Robert Atkins (who most people erroneously think of as only a diet doctor).
Although I was a muscular bodybuilder my knees were disintegrating and swollen, my skin was messy and I had severe hypoglycemia…As soon as I eliminated all starchy carbohydrates and ALL sugar all my health problems vanished….
Where would I be If it weren’t for Dr. Atkins informing us about the sickening effects of starchy sugary carbohydrates (including most fruit)?
I think the best diet out there right now is the Paleo Diet …
What do you think beautiful Vani?
This was so informative, thank you. My husbnd’s favorite snack is goldfish and he loves cookies. I guess I better start baking again.
Thanks, Vani, for telling it like it is! So heartbreaking to see people who think they’re doing the right thing for their families actually damaging their health. Another ingredient that I put in red when I do talks about healthy chocolate, is the “Processed with Alkali (Dutched)” chocolate. Adding alkali to the chocolate kills the antioxidants, so it eliminates the health benefits. Such a shame when chocolate made right is so good for you!
Great post, very informative. I am trying to cut out processed foods altogether (vegan for four years now, going gluten-free as well soon). It makes me so sad that every time something goes commercial, it gets ruined. I wish we could educate consumers on a national level to demand high-quality products. If the demand for cheap throw-away food was gone, the cheap throw-away food would go with it. People like you are doing good work to spread the word!
PS – it breaks my heart that Goldfish are so gross. My parents focused on whole, organic foods when we were growing up but I remember Goldfish being one of the store-bought things we were allowed to eat. The flavor-blasted ones were my favorite in high school (when, coincidentally I had TERRIBLE skin), I can only imagine the atrocities on that label.
You can’t think of another reason why you might have had terrible skin in high school?
Just a note of caution regarding the connection between processed foods and asthma/allergies. While it’s great to eliminate these processed foods from your diet for many reasons, including the fact that many people DO see some relief or abeyance of symptoms related to asthma and allergies, many don’t. I cut out processed foods entirely more than a year ago, and while I will never regret that decision and made it for many reasons, I still have the same asthma and allergies. Cutting out processed foods is a great supplement to being treated for asthma and allergy problems – but it’s not a cure. So for those in the comments with kids with allergies/asthma, help them out by eliminating the processed foods AND getting them the proper medical attention that they might need.
Oh SNAP! I always start laughing when I see you dig into a company. Can you imagine the buzz in their boardrooms? A group prayer session hoping it all blows over, I’m sure!
And SOOOOO many companies hiding under their labels with fingers crossed THEIR company isn’t next on your list.
Makes my day every time!! Keep on keepin’ on!
I love it!
Is the complaint on this blog really that pre-packaged junk foods are unhealthy? I could have told you that without reading the labels.
Instead of suing/targeting individual companies, people should lobby to regulate terms like “natural” on packaging, or better yet get better educated about food. I think it’s hilarious when I see organic pizza or cake. Junk food and convenience food doesnt magically become healthy when it’s organic. It should be eaten in moderation for that reason. If you dont like the ingredients in a packaged or processed food, make it from scratch.
One major point is that other countries are getting processed foods made with better ingredients than we are here in the US. We all know that processed foods are not healthy but should they be made with potentially harmful chemicals banned in other countries? That is a problem. https://foodbabe.com/2013/02/12/how-food-companies-exploit-americans-with-ingredients-banned-in-other-countries/
Another great post, as usual! I think what you are doing is exposing these companies. My mom thought goldfish were healthy because they were baked not fried “the snack that smiles back!” until I started reading the ingredient labels at age 8! If this post makes 1 more mom read an ingredient label or 1 more kid like me for that matter, then you’ve done your job! When you figure it out there comes a point where you say no, I’m not going to eat that any more. Then I realized there ARE organic alternatives to almost every snack out there if you look. Btw, my mom says that when she was a kid her mom bought only pepperidge farm bread thinking it was healthier, she was born in 1967) sorry mom, so campbell’s had already bought it from the founder. So a few words for all the ‘good’ organic companies out there that haven’t been bought out – DON’T DO IT!! Keep your company’s integrity. I love how Nature’s Path’s says that they are NOT for sale!
GMO is the way too go. Sooner people stop fearing Genetically Perfected Foods and actually understand what they are and what is being sold to the public, they will finally stop this non-sense scare tactics. The progressive movement shouldn’t be the anti-science anti-gmo movement. The sooner it can divorce itself from the cancer of the “spiritual” scientific illiterate the better.
WOW! once again, another excellent post. Thank you for all you do for healthy eating!!!!!!!
I almost bought Goldfish Crackers today. I have not been able to make the healthy snaks I like to feed my family and was looking for somehting quick and portable. How sad that the original mission was squashed- we could realy use more companies like the original Pepridge Farms. I decided on popcorn instead thank heavens.
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I grew up with a lot of these products and still have them trickling into our home from time to time against my own better judgement. The funny thing about Milano’s I find is that part of there attraction is their lacking. I am always dissatisfied when eating these and try one more in some vague hope to find the taste I am craving. There is never satisfaction with these cookies. You can taste their void and emptiness and know they can not be good for you. I appreciate the reminder and the information as an affirmation to keep these foods ourt of our home.
That is what the chemicals in these foods are designed to do. It really is scary!
I have noticed on most loaves of commercial bread that gluten is now listed as an ingredient. When did this become the norm? It was always my belief that glutens occurred in wheat and were built up by kneading the dough for bread making and also for pasta. Making pie crusts flaky called for not handling the dough much so as not to build the glutens. Is it now being added as an ingredient to shorten the process – less or no kneading?
Hi,
I was so happy that Pepperidge Farm is finally gotten discovered for all there GMO’s in there food hopefully this will wake up other food company’s and they’ll starting making there food healthier. Keep up the great work food babe I’m totally on your side.
all carbs have sugar! it all companies not just one. don’t single one co.
Just a correction… But Carbohydrates don’t HAVE sugars… They ARE sugars.
If you think this is bad read about what Kelloggs, Post, and General Foods do to their cereals
http://www.nourishingourchildren.org/Cereal.html
I’d like to give you a thumbs up, but if there is a button for that, it is not showing on my irritating computer.
Ok, this was useful, and i feel bad for your family but its also what some americans eat because its easier than just making your own. I dont have time to make my own so i bring some milano cookies with me when i have the money. And vegtable oil is natural, seeming as how its made from veggies. also, im not trying to diss the facts here but i have been raised on goldfish, and milano cookies. Not one time did my asthema get more worse than it already was. I was born with asthema and not once did it get worse. i dont think these foods would make u have asthema at all. :/ sorry but i dont think it
Vegetable is not natural when it’s made from genetically modified vegetables, nor does it automatically qualify as healthy just because an ingredient is derived from a vegetable. With that logic I suppose you believe high fructose corn syrup is natural and healthy because it comes from corn?
Very good article.at first, I wonder if gold fish is safe for kids since I saw many high education moms gave to their kid…I kind of go along with it . But you just woke me up completely.when many qualified parents feed their kids foods,doesn’t mean it safe!
Agreed that these products are garbage. Agreed on the misleading advertising. But in no way does this let your parents off the hook.
For those of us that grew up before ”nutritional facts” were even posted on food labels…many times there was no ingredients list at all on the packaging. I’m talking the 1970’s.
Any thinking human could determine that salty snack foods are garbage. In India, in Africa, in the USA, anywhere. Your parents gave you poison, and you want to make them out as clueless innocents. They presumably had a house, driver’s licenses, paid taxes, etc. But they can’t read a label ?
Who would feed a child such poison ?
Wrong,
Nutrition Labeling and Education Act was passed in 1990. No, our parents didn’t know.
Let’s not forget one of the worst ingredients here: PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OIL = TRANSFAT and that, food babe, is literally criminal food. Thanks for your work!
Pepperidge Farm has a plant in my area. I was told by a friend who works there that the products baked for export to Europe get better ingredients than the ones destined for sale in the US, because Europe has tighter laws against GMO and junk in food. Seems like they could make the good stuff for us here in the US, too.
Have you read this one? https://foodbabe.com/2013/02/12/how-food-companies-exploit-americans-with-ingredients-banned-in-other-countries/
What I find crazy about Pepperidge Farm is how much they overuse dairy. It’s not in that fish bread, but even their pretzels have dairy in them. When I wrote to the company asking why they put dairy in things that the majority of manufacturers don’t, they just responded that they label all their products with the common allergens. Didn’t answer my question, though.
While the info about PF is real, I feel like some of the outrage is manufactured in this article. Fancy packaging and the word “Farm” in the company name is no kind of guarantee of a healthy product, but that’s been true for so long that it can’t be a surprise. PF has dozens of products all over the middle aisles of any grocery store – of course it’s part of a huge company and of course they use crappy ingredients. The image of the brand is all about marketing and sales. No one is going to advertise the negative aspects of their product. If this really was a huge surprise, there are a lot of nasty shocks ahead.
I didn’t realize there was such a strong link between different foods and asthma…I will definitely be taking a closer look at our pantry now. My husband has pretty bad asthma and the doctor says a great deal of it is unavoidable damage because his mother was a heavy smoker when he was a child, so we do what we can on our end as adults to make it a little better. Hopefully some diet adjustments will help! Thanks for all of your info and the ingredients labels, they’re very helpful!!
Read Elizabeth’s comment above about how her family has improved asthma. Good luck!
Hello! So glad to have found your site from Mercola. Love love love this. As a registered dietitian I really dislike how our organization receives funding from companies like this and still proclaim ‘everything in moderation’ or it is fine because it is low in calories. Wrong! It is so unfortuante and which is why I don’t belong to the AND anymore and want to change my little blog. As RDs the ‘nutrition experts’ we can’t proclaim these ‘foods’ as ok to eat. Gosh I remember eating these foods as a kid too *shudder* My husband and I are getting ready to move and are already planning a monthly cooking party with real, wholesome, local foods 🙂 Thanks for all you do!
why dont you give us some suggestions for healthy cracker snacks for our children to eat
Here are some of Food Babe’s favorite pantry items. https://foodbabe.com/pantry-list/
This post really hits home for me. Ever since I can remember, my grandparents lived for Pepperidge Farm. Coffee cakes, donuts, cookies, what have you… If they made it, you can be sure my grandma and grandpa had it sitting on their kitchen counter. Both were in extremely poor health from about age 65 onward. My grandpa developed Parkinson’s Disease at age 70 which left him in deteriorating health until his eventual death at 81. What should have been his golden years were ripped away from a poor diet of processed, toxic foods. My grandmother was very overweight and suffered from gout and other maladies I am not quite certain of. I do remember that along with their Pepperidge Farm coffee cake, they would take their “pill cases” containing 100s of prescription pills for their health issues and pop their pills for the day along with their Sunny Delight and coffee cake. It is so tragic, looking back on this as an adult. If only I could have done something to help them, but I was only a kid and didn’t recognize the dangers of these foods until early adulthood. 🙁 Thanks, Vani, for all you do! I forward your articles to my parents in the hopes that they do not fall victim to the same fate.
Well for those you old enough to remember we could always turn to Soylent
Green!!!!!
Same with Orowheat. I have a couple of slices of Orowheat whole wheat bread sitting out (in the wrapper) to see how long it takes to get moldy. So far it’s been at room temp. about 76 deg. or higher for 2 months and still no mold.
This rant would have been more persuasive if you hadn’t veered into complaining “Pepperidge FARM isn’t a FARM anymore! They’re totally LYING about that!” and “What a fool I was to believe those cookies were ‘distinctive’! They were ‘special’ but definitely not ‘distinctive’!” By the way, Cashmere Bouquet soap was never made with real cashmere, and Joy dishwashing liquid often does not result in actual Joy.