So, What’s Wrong with Our Food Today?
At the turn of the 21′ century there are many foods that have been devalued, altered or contaminated by man. This is the result of modern farming and processing techniques by over-processing, over-refining (e.g. white bread, white rice) and the use of agricultural chemical fertilizers i.e. nitrates, superphosphate, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides then there is the addition of chemical fillers, enhancers, artificial dyes and sweeteners, emulsifiers, bleaches, preservatives, solvents, pollution of our air via transport and industry fuels and our water via fluoridation and chlorination. In the year 2005 there were over 100,000 synthetic chemicals permitted for use in Europe alone. In today’s lifestyle many people are busy, tired, stressed and sedentary, the end result – people are facing enormous problems with their health.
God’s instruction in Leviticus 25:3-5 was to rest our crop pastures every seven years. This practice allowed the soil to regenerate and restore a good balance of minerals. The rotation of crops was also beneficial in establishing nutritional soils. In our society these two practices are seldom undertaken today. If we have healthy soils, then in turn our plants will contain life-giving nutrients and be disease resistant. The same applies to the human body — eating healthy foods produces a healthy body.
Another change in our eating habits came about when refrigeration became available to the general population in the mid-20th century, this brought about an increased consumption of animal foods. Meat lacks the plant nutrients to combat disease and to build the Immune system. Few people realize our farm animals are injected with growth hormones and antibiotics, these substances are eventually deposited into their flesh and milk and subsequently passed on to humans. Our bodies are able to cope well with ‘small’ amounts of animal meat and ‘small’ amounts of animal milk and its by-products e.g. yoghurt, cheese etc. however, if we regularly eat a considerable amount of the animal foods and limit vegetables, salad items, fruits, uncooked nuts, seeds and whole grains, the consequences of incorrect eating could well be illness and disease.
A new form of food production is Genetically Modified (GM) plants, the results of which are still being evaluated and the benefits are highly questionable — are they really needed at all? Genetic Engineering (GE) involves the removal of a specific gene from one plant and inserting it into another totally unrelated plant, this crossbreeding would never occur in nature, nor are these plants as God designed them. Recent observations have shown that many Bee colonies have been wiped out, why, they will not feed from G.E. plants. We need Bees to pollinate our plants.
Also, today there is little drinking of clean fresh ‘filtered’ water, this has been replaced with a variety of sugary or chemically sweetened soft drinks. Black Tea (not Herbal Teas) and Coffee are diuretics, so the body actually loses more water than it takes in. Water is the best self-defence against illness as it maintains an alkaline bloodstream, keeps the body hydrated, maintains a good blood volume, increases circulation by thinning the blood, enabling it to carry life giving nutrients to all living cells and transports waste matter from the body. Water also is the main component of blood plasma that carries oxygen to the body’s cells to provide heat and energy.
In addition to all these things is the negative effect of long-term cold storage of our fruits and vegetables, this storage diminishes their nourishing vitamin/mineral content, in some cases significantly. It may be months before we consume these foods, yet they are sold as ‘fresh’ foods.
Ill health is affecting the lives of Christians and non-Christians alike in similar proportion, even though Christians have Prayer and dozens of healing verses in the Bible to claim – see Exodus 15:26, Psalms 103:3, Isaiah 40:31, Matthew 8:17.
By Vivien Cooksley, Australia
Courtesy Ms. Cooksley’s book, The Biblical Food Laws
