When I Look at Candy, All I See Is Petrochemicals and GMOMelissa Melton PETA is right on this, for the record. Not only is that exactly where non-vegetarian gelatin comes from (the majority in America is said to come from pig skins, but it can also come from other animals including cows and fish), but its production has been known to be somewhatinconsistent to say the very least. But thats not even the point. People were clamoring over themselves to talk about how they dont care whats in candy, they just love it. I dont know how many comments I read with the words dont care and some quip about how they were going to run out and get some candy right now! Regardless of ones stance on PETA, the attitude of not caring where our food comes from is part of why giant corporations are able to give even less of a sh*t about what they put in our food. They know very well that the blissfully ignorant masses just dont care, so they can totally get away with it. The truth is, I dont even see candy anymore when I look at that picture, or really, when I look at most conventional candy packages at the grocery store. You know what I see? GMO sugar beets and dextrose from GMO corn, both courtesy of Monsanto, a company that produces and sells poison for profit. Modified soy protein that likely also started there, but because it is in its modified state, it could also be a hidden name for MSG, a potent neurotoxin and excitotoxin. High fructose corn syrup, (which we cant even really say is fine in moderation like thepropaganda commercials try to reassure us it is because HFCS is in so many things, its hard to avoid let alone moderate) that is probably made in a chlor alkali plant with mercury cell technology because we still have those here, meaning its likely tainted with the neurotoxic heavy metal mercury. Artificial colors dyes made of coal tar, aka nothing more than a byproduct of the petroleum industry. Things that are banned in other countries because they cause behavioral problems in children are in the majority of foods which are MARKETED to children here (like candy, cereals, snacks, cheap sugary drinks etc). Some have caused tumors in lab studies. I also recently learned that some well-known, popular chocolate pudding mixes not only contain no real chocolate, but if they did not contain artificial colors, they would actually be green instead of the expected brown. Artificial flavors made of random chemical mixtures as well. Natural colors could mean things like carmine a red coloring that is actually created by boiling tens of thousands of female cochineal insect shells in a vat of ammonia or sodium bicarbonate solution. Starbucks took a lot of heat when it came to light a few years back that the coffee giant was using carmine to color its strawberry frappuccino drinks (you know, instead ofactual strawberries). Natural flavors arent necessarily healthier just because they use the word natural in the name.All natural on a label doesnt mean jack in this country. Castoreum is a natural raspberry flavoring used regularly in the food supplyand that stuff is made from beaver anal secretions. Yummy, right? Vanilla extract isnt just vanillin, the primary component of the vanilla bean, but vanillin mixed with several hundred different compounds. Pure vanillia is scarce, and thus, expensive. Demand worldwide far outweighs supply. For some people, vanillin and artificial vanilla have triggeredallergic reactions and caused migraines. The confectioners glaze sometimes called shellac that is used on many hard candies is literally made of the feces of the female lac bug. I couldnt make this stuff up if I tried. Again, all natural! Propylene glycol, produced by Dow Chemical Company and others, isnt just a plasticizer and chemical solvent thats well-known as the main ingredient in antifreeze, but its also allowed as a food additive in America, and Americans eat it in tons of products on our grocery store shelves, although like other items on this list, it is not cleared as a general-purpose food grade ingredient or direct food additive in the European Union (meaning its banned there). Or how about soy lecithin? That stuff is in everything these days. Not only is it made of GMO soy, but the process used to extract it involves harsh chemicals like acetone and hexane, a neurotoxic chemical solvent and jet fuel additive which can cause nerve damage with long-term inhalation exposure. Theres even a video on it from the Cornucopia Institute: Yes, hexane is another lovely byproduct of gasoline refineries, and it has been surmised that the hexane-extraction process may be the leading reason why soy baby formulas have been found to cause terrible irritation to the linings of some babys stomachs. While the CDC recognizes hexane as a neurotoxin and the EPA declares it to be a hazardous air pollutant, here in America, that apparently means its just fine to eat it. (Oh, and even though an organic version of soy lecithin has been available since 2004, and the National Organic Standards Board could have voted to dump conventional soy lecithin, instead the board voted to keep the dry version of soy lecithin on the allowed substances National List in 2009, so even organics with the certified seal can still include hexane-extracted conventional soy lecithin in their products as well.) The list goes on and onpotentially carcinogenic preservatives like BHT and BHA. Caramel coloring that just might contain a known cancer-causing byproduct called 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) which government studies have shown caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice or rats. Thats why 4-MEI is on Californias list of chemicals known to cause cancer! And you can barely even buy a gum without the excitotoxin aspartame in itbut aspartame is a whole separate report by itself. (I know. Ive written several. Heres one now.) SIGH. Again, lets be clear: we no longer live in a country where you look at a food item and what you see is all it is. Far from it. A burger patty probably isnt just a burger patty made from nothing but 100% beef. Consumers have to also consider what that cow ate (GMO corn? GMO soy? Trash? Candy?) on top of the cows treatment as it was raised. Think about it. You release stress hormones when you are upset. These can wreak havoc on your body, especially if you are under chronic stress. Animals release similar hormones and when they live in the places many animals are raised in in this country, you better believe they are releasing hormones. And thenwhat? You eat all that stress and trauma? Cant be good. Many animals are raised in Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) in America. Ive personally visited a few of these places and I can tell you, its a horror you just have to witness for yourself. Those places are like animal concentration camps. On top of that, youve got all the pharmaceuticals administered to the livestock in this countryarsenic to make chickens fatantibiotics to cows for the same reason (and to fight off diseases due to the nasty way they are being raised)things that make cows hooves fall offits just unreal. And were eating it! Our food is highly centralized in this country. About ten mega corporations own almost all the brands youll find on the average grocery store shelf: Its sad we live in a day-and-age where a person is expected to get a freakin chemistry degree just to go to the grocery store and understand whats listed on their food labels, but we cant just wait around for the government to protect us from well, from our food. They havent so far. Hell, they cant even protect themselves. But reading that PETA picture comments section was more than just disheartening. Its further proof that were all so disconnected from whats on the end of our forks, most people have absolutely no idea what theyre even putting in their mouths in this country. Well, we all need to get right with that, and soon. Hippocrates once said, Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food. We dont do that anymore. Sickness is rising fast in this country. Food allergies (gluten intolerance, anyone?), autoimmune diseases, diabetes, obesityall going up and up and up. The government has announced it expects the rates of cancer to double in the U.S. by 2050 and cancer is already off-the-charts now! People need to snap out of it and put down that fork for a sec. Not caring about how our food was produced or whats in it is simply no longer an option anymore. (Originally published at Nutritional Anarchy.) Melissa Melton is a co-founder of TruthstreamMedia.com. She is an experienced researcher, graphic artist and investigative journalist with a passion for liberty and a dedication to truth. Her aim is to expose the New World Order for what it is a prison for the human soul from which we must break free. 