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Be curious about what you eat. Food, additives, and social issues.
- YUJIN SAGISHIMA
- Dec 2, 2021
- 4 min read
Tsunagaru Ethical has interviewed professors about practicable actions for students relating to class contents. I hope this article will help you to be you in life.
This article focuses on activities relating to health and food loss, based on the interview with Dr. Nunoshiba, who is in charge of “environmental toxicology”.
＜Profile of Dr. Nunoshiba＞
Received his Doctorate in Medicine from Kyoto University in 1990. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard School of Public Health and serving as Associate Professor in the Department of Biomolecular Sciences at Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Life Sciences, was appointed Professor at ICU in 2009, where he belongs to the Biology and Environmental Studies majors. Specialties include microbial genetics, environmental genetic toxicology, and education for environmental studies, among others.
1. What we eat
Nunoshiba）Environmental toxicology is taught by two professors. Dr. Fujinuma presents toxicology in the natural environment in the first half, while I manage toxicology in the human environment in the second half. My lectures focus on chemical toxicity, especially toxicity in livelihood, work, and food. Among these topics students tend to have an interest in food toxicity.
Sagishima）I guess many students go to the supermarket to buy food. If a person is concerned about additives, what should they do first?
Nunoshiba）First, I think it is important to be curious about eating. Don’t take food in supermarkets as normal, rather question why each food is the way it is. For example, cod roe is often red. Is this natural? fresh cod roe itself is not red. Maybe Chili cod roe can be colored by chili peppers during pickling, but normal cod roe doesn’t have such an opportunity. Actually, red is a color for increasing appetite, so that’s why cod roe is colored red. Do you prefer to eat blue cod roe?
Sagishima）No thank you :(
Nunoshiba）The red color promotes consumption. Another example is meat. People tend to select meat with a clear red color and avoid meat with a dark red color. Meat in the supermarket is processed with sodium nitrite to keep the red color clear for a long time. These examples show why it is important to wonder about what you eat when you buy food. You can check the additives listed at the back. On the other hand, there are strict rules to make sure that the amount of additives in our food is safe. There is a safe amount of additives that one person can consume in their whole life, and actual absorption by the body is far less. Therefore, I think it is almost safe. However, the risk is never zero. We should understand this before selecting food.
2. Additive-free and pesticide-free food
Sagishima）It is certain that scientific standards relieve anxiety, but still, I guess there are people who feel afraid of chemical substances printed on the label.
Nunoshiba）I really understand the fear of chemical substances including additives. Even though additive content is scientifically certified, there is no doubt that additive-free and pesticide-free food is low risk. People may have both physically and mentally healthy meals by selecting these foods. However, we have to be careful of food poisoning since additive-free foods don’t contain preservatives. These foods must be managed safely and eaten before they rot. Additive-free products reduce the risk in terms of chemical toxicity, but more easily lose their freshness at the same time. Moreover, selecting pesticide-free foods reduces the risk too, but this does not mean that they are always environmentally friendly. Pleiotropic views toward foods are essential.
3. Freshness date and food loss
Nunoshiba）In terms of freshness, foods have freshness dates, which was developed because of additives. Additives allow supermarkets to import foods from around the world. The use of additives meant that people couldn’t know how long each product lasts, so a freshness date was established. On the contrary, as the freshness date is generally printed on products, consumers unintentionally buy foods with longer freshness dates. If the products are the same except for the freshness date, one often chooses the one with a later freshness date.
Sagishima）I also select products with a later freshness date even though I know I will eat it before the freshness date.
Nunoshiba）Yes, that happens. Because of this trend, supermarkets must replace products nearing their freshness date with new products, which leads to enormous food loss. Foods can be eaten even if they expire on a freshness date, so it is a good choice to select foods with an earlier freshness date intentionally. People add preservatives to achieve a longer shelf life while at the same time abandoning them even though they are edible. This is strange, isn’t it?
This is the end of the interview with Dr. Nunoshiba. The important points are listed below.
A list of actions, created with Dr. Nunoshiba
The amount of additives that can be used in a food product is scientifically certified, but still, there is a risk. We can select foods based on our own ideas shaped by this fact.
Additive-free and pesticide-free foods havea low risk in terms of chemical toxicity, but they could cause food poisoning easily because they don’t contain preservatives. These foods should be stored safely.
Selecting additive-free and pesticide-free foods is not necessarily environmentally friendly and does not necessarily help preserve human rights. Recognize what is important for you, then select the food you eat.
Selecting food with a later freshness date encourages food loss. Food loss can be reduced by choosing food with an earlier freshness date that is still edible.
Food is clearly connected with our life. Our daily selection of food is connected not only with our health but also the environment and human rights in the supply chain. Selecting food based on your priorities will improve your mental health too. Be curious about what you eat from your next meal.
There is another interview with Dr. Nunoshiba which focuses on the General Education course "Environmental Studies." What are the goals of the course for him? How is the course designed to achieve it? Please check it out too. Plys, please give me a reaction or advice to the Google Form inserted below.
Thank you for reading this moment, and see you again in another article!
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