OMG!!!...

In the past few months there has been a post circulating regarding the manufacturing process of margarine, with the ‘shocking’ revelation that it is but one molecule away from being plastic and shares 27 ingredients in common with paint… O.o

Apart from the fact that the entire piece was taking liberties with the actual facts, it begs a more pertinent question: where do the people who were shocked by the slightly disingenuous claims think that the ingredients/ chemicals used to produce processed food (or other products) actually comes from?

For example, I could, if I were so inclined, inform you that if you’ve ever consumed a soft drink that uses ‘synthetic caffeine’, then you’ve possibly just imbibed a substance made from urea. I could then up the ante by briefly explaining that urea is a ‘waste’ product found in urine. Cue the OMG’s and other hollow displays of emotion devoid of any real substance.

Urea is a relatively cheap raw material that is used as a starting point for the production of many products such as feed for livestock, fertiliser, plastics, and in resin and adhesive production.

I could leave it there, and not have told a lie; well, actually it depends upon which definition of lie we use. It would’ve been a lie of omission, as I would’ve failed to inform you that the image I ‘primed’ in your mind, that of a connection between urea and urine isn’t relevant in this case as the majority of the urea used in manufacturing is sourced from natural gas.

Whenever you read something on the web, always heed the words of the great 19th Century American President Abraham Lincoln ‘Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet’.