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I was just about to start making lunch when my friends called to say they were in a bit of a pickle at a roadside stop. Their tummies were growling, but they weren't sure whether the food would be better at "The Lunch Rush," or "Mama's Diner." This was one story that couldn't wait, so I went to investigate.

I met the gang at the restaurants. "Hi, kids. Boy, am I hungry!"

"We are too!" cried Maria. "The trouble is that the menu at both restaurants looks pretty much the same."

Steve said, "I've seen Lunch Rush restaurants all over the place, but I've never seen a Mama's Diner before."

"How do we know which one has the best food?" Dwayne asked.

I answered, "Hmm…well, let's take a closer look." I got a menu from each restaurant and read them aloud to the kids. "The Lunch Rush special is a burger, French fries, cola, and apple pie. The special at Mama's Diner's is a burger, side salad, milk, and apple pie. Okay, the meals do look similar…does anyone have any ideas?"

Maria said, "Mama's Diner seems healthier because they serve salad instead of fries."

Miho added, "Yeah, and milk instead of cola."

"That's a great start, but it's only part of the story. Let's take a closer look at all the ingredients in the food, and what happens to them before they reach a customer," I replied. "It looks like all of the food served at The Lunch Rush has been heavily processed, while Mama's ingredients are fresh and organically grown."

"What's the difference, Marlow?" Maria asked.

I explained, "Well, most food is processed in some way, even if it's just to clean it. But heavily processed food has a lot more done to it. Let's take the two buns, for example. Even though they look similar, the only thing they have in common is that their flour originally came from a wheat plant.

Mama's flour is brown. The wheat was grown without chemicals, and the grain was stone ground. This leaves all the wheat bran, germ, and vitamins and minerals in the flour, so it's more nutritious. It doesn't keep for long, so Mama bakes with it right away.

The wheat used for The Lunch Rush buns was grown in a field that was sprayed with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. After it was harvested, the grain was ground into flour which was bleached white with chemicals. This helps to give it a longer shelf life so it can be shipped and stored without going bad.

Unfortunately the grinding and bleaching processes destroy a lot of the flour's nutrients, so bread makers have to add things to enrich it. They put back some iron and vitamins, but a lot of important nutrients are still missing after the flour has been processed."

Then we all looked at the label on a package of Lunch Rush brand hamburger buns, and these were some of the ingredients: salt, high fructose corn syrup, dough conditioners (mono and diglycerides, calcium and sodium stearoyl lactylates, calcium peroxide), corn meal, dextrose, amylase, yeast nutrients (monocalcium phosphate, calcium sulfate, ammonium sulfate), calcium propionate, corn starch, soya lecithin.

Miho asked, "What's calcium prop-ion-ate, Marlow?"

I answered, "It's a preservative that's used to delay food from spoiling. I always say, 'If you can't pronounce it, you're better off not eating it!' Now, let's look at the veggies. Mama's burger comes with a side salad of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and carrots. Everything was grown organically on a nearby farm.

The Lunch Rush's fries are made from potatoes that were grown hundreds of miles away from here, in fields that used chemicals. When the potatoes were harvested, they were taken to a factory and washed, sliced, cooked, frozen, and packaged. Then they were shipped to The Lunch Rush, where they'll be deep-fried in partially hydrogenated oil."

"Partially what?" Steve asked.

"That's a type of oil that's been specially processed to be used in foods. It helps baked and fried foods last longer and taste better. Unfortunately, it's a trans fat which can lead to health problems if you eat too much of it," I said.

Maria said, "Yuk! What about the burger? I bet those are the same at both restaurants, right?"

I laughed. "Guess again! Mama's burger was made from cattle that roamed freely and ate organic grass in local pastures.

The Lunch Rush's beef comes from cattle that were fed an unnatural diet of grain to make them grow faster. They were also treated with hormones and antibiotics. Because the beef had to be shipped across the country, it was irradiated to kill bacteria that could make it spoil before it gets eaten."

"Gosh Marlow, that's pretty hard to swallow," Dwayne said.

I replied, "Speaking of which, let's have a look at the drinks. Did you know that in addition to fizzy water, cola is full of empty calories, artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, and preservatives? On the other hand, a glass of organic milk at Mama's doesn't contain any chemical additives even though it has been pasteurized."

"And it's full of important nutrients like calcium, vitamins A and D, and protein, right?" Dwayne asked.

"Exactly!" I replied.

Miho said, "I love drinking a glass of milk with dessert. So are the apple pies pretty much the same at each place?"

"I'm afraid not," I said. "You see, Mama makes her pies fresh every day with organic apples and organic, whole wheat pastry crust.

The pies at The Lunch Rush have been processed a long way from here, just like the buns and fries. To keep them fresh, preservatives, emulsifiers, antioxidants, and artificial flavors and colors have been added to make them taste and look better. Then the pies have to be packaged so they're ready for travel and storage."

"Wow," Steve exclaimed. "I didn't know that there could be so much difference between foods that look so much alike!"

"It's not always the case, but that's why finding out how your food was made is such a good idea. I always try to choose food that has been made fresh for me, rather than processed far away. So, where are we going to eat?" I asked.

All the kids shouted at once, "At Mama's Diner, of course!"

I laughed, "Great! And it's about time — I'm starving!"

 

Related Links • Find out more about processed foods and the problems they can cause. • Become an expert at reading — and using — the info found on food labels. • See what's in a glass of milk.

GLOSSARY WORDS:
Organically
Produced or grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, or pesticides.

Processed food
Food that has been treated by machinery, chemistry, or extreme temperature.

Germ
The inside of a wheat kernel that is full of vitamins, minerals, and protein.

Stone ground
The process of grinding grains between large stones to create flour.

Enrich
To add nutrients back to a food that has lost them during processing.

Preservative
A substance that is added to food to prevent it from spoiling or changing color. Preservatives are often made from chemicals.

Trans fat
A type of fat that is formed when vegetable oils are hardened. It is found in many processed foods, including French fries, fried chicken, cookies, pastries, and crackers. Eating a lot of trans fat is bad for people's health because it increases "bad" cholesterol and decreases "good" cholesterol; it clogs arteries so blood doesn’t move around easily; and it can cause other serious health problems.

Hormones
Substances that can be given to animals to make them grow faster than they would naturally.

Pasteurization
A process that stops foods like cheese and liquids like milk from spoiling.

Antibiotic
A substance produced by a microorganism and able to inhibit the growth of or kill another microorganism.

Irradiated
Refers to a food (especially beef) that has been exposed to radiation to kill bacteria in the food.

Empty calories
Foods that contain empty calories do not supply your body with the nutrition that it needs. Eating a lot of empty calories will make you gain weight.

Artificial sweetener
A chemical product that is used to make foods and drinks taste sweet.

Emulsifier
A substance that keeps oil and water from separating in food.

Antioxidants
Substances that help foods like fats and oils to stay fresh.


Text, Sarah Eykyn
Illustrations, Yasushi Fujimoto