RH Clark

It seems like it should be common sense to eat "actual food", but I've come to realize that there is an entire younger generation that has been brain washed to eat mostly processed and fast foods. They actually have no clue what real food is.

downtube42

Younger generation? What nonsense.

When I grew up in the 60's and 70's the buzz was Kraft Mac n Cheese, space food (remember space food?), instant mashed potatoes, Chef Boyardee, Hostess fruit pies, just-add-water pancakes, SPAM, and peach slices in heavy syrup. My mom grew up on a farm drinking whole milk from the cows and potatoes from the yard, and we'd get a side of beef in the freezer each year, but the majority of our caloric content was the tinned, powdered, processed garbage pitched by June Cleaver types on the tube.

Anyone of any age who wants to eat healthy food has to go against the entire culture and food industry. Everything at the grocery is designed to maximize their profit. Every advertisement is a lie.

PeteHski

Young and old from what I can see, especially the lower educated. Processed foods are nothing new either.

Calsun

When I left home and went to a university myself and my fellow students needed to learn how to cook and how to bake. All we ate was homemade soups and homemade bread. We saved a lot of money and enjoyed much tastier food and no worries about additives. My wife and I still make our own soups and bread and buy only organic produce. But I have been doing this for more than 50 years.

Processed food got its popularity from its use with soldiers during the wars. Kraft produced the first "shelf stable" cheese product that is now sold as Velveeta. What has changed in recent years is the removal of fiber and nutrients to lengthen shelf life and the need to add flavoring agents and emulsifiers and fat and salt. The UPF food like products contain many ingredients that no one would have in their kitchens and so would never be found in homemade meals.

rsbob 

You forgot Swanson TV dinners. Just pop in the oven for 40 mins - no microwaves back then.

pepperbelly

Salisbury steak was good but I really liked chicken pot pie.

downtube42

I was partial to Banquet brand frozen pot pies myself. Chicken or turkey were good, beef was nasty. The other brand had no shell just a pastry topping, and was substandard all around.

Reading The Jungle in high school changed my views. I expect that's just considered leftist communist propaganda today (which was Sinclair's intent by the way. He said "I aimed for their heart and hit them in the stomach"), but I'm sure the food industry's motives are unchanged.

pepperbelly

I think mom bought Banquet pot pies, not Swanson. The ‘60s and ‘70s were a long time ago. I do remember having to poke holes in the top with a fork before putting it in the oven.
I never tried the beef. Turkey was ok but chicken was my favorite.

calamarichris

Our generation had patience. After heating up a chicken pot pie, you could leave it out in your snow-covered yard overnight, and the next morning it still had enough thermal energy in it to power a city of 30,000 people. Nope, still too hot.