Oreos? Vegan?

                With the topic of fast food and processed food constantly growing among the public, it seems almost right that we have begun reading Salt, Sugar, Fat in our English Composition class. For those of us that have been reading the book, we have started to be informed, or further informed, about the truth behind the processed food industry and their targeting of the younger generations. The industry’s all-important “bliss point” has certainly reached us all in the food we eat and for most, continues to reach us even as we have grown in age through the pre-packaged foods that we are sold in grocery stores and the fast foods that we are told are quality-controlled for our satisfaction. The younger version of me was easily persuaded by the marketing tricks of the industry. As a kid, I was perpetually eating processed foods such as pizza, hamburgers, sugary juices, sugary cereals, soda, canned soups, microwaveable meals, and my utmost favorite, cookies (e.g., Oreos). I ate these processed foods instead of vegetables and meat so much so that I began to develop a low level of iron in my blood, which was on the borderline of becoming anemia if not corrected. The corrections in my diet were hastily made; however, the processed foods were still there in high amounts. With my parents falling under the same trap of the food industry's bliss point, it was difficult to not be surrounded by highly processed, sugary or fatty foods in our home. At the time, McDonald's, In-N-Out, Burger King, etc., were taking over the majority of our weekend diets, and on weekdays, I would occasionally ask for a doughnut on our way home after a walk in the park. Instead of remaining a treat as it originally was when the industry was first gaining a foothold in America, processed and fast foods was becoming more and more of a dietary staple, not only for me, but for my parents as well. Of course, I had no idea at the time about what I was doing to my body or how it could affect my health in the far future if I continued to eat the way I was eating; consequently, I happily ate whatever I could get my hands on.

                For the past 7 years, since I first started high school in 2009, I have managed to regulate my consumption of processed foods to a minimum along with a complete expulsion of all fast foods. In fact, my shunning of all these health-deteriorating  foods has recently made me open my eyes and heart to a vegan diet and lifestyle, which I have been exploring for approximately one month so far. Of course, there are ethical and emotional reasons aside from all the health benefits that are gained, but that is a different blog post on its own. Since I have started on this new vegan adventure, I have noticed that there are vegan versions, even accidentally vegan versions (e.g., Oreos), of the processed and fast foods that I had indulged on as a child; however, these products, just the same as non-vegan products, are targeted towards their consumers using the exact same techniques and label trickeries. Therefore, I try to exclude any and all of these products from my new diet and life in order to adhere to the healthier side of the food spectrum.