Farmer's Market vs. Wal-Mart

The results were predictable in some regards, surprising in others... By price, I ultimately got about twice the amount of food for my money at Wal-Mart. I didn't buy too much junk, but the temptations were many. There's just no way to beat a 73 cent can of "Great Value" Mini Beef Ravioli. The origins of products like this, though, are pretty much untraceable. The label only tells you that this item was distributed by Wal-Mart, Inc. located in Bentonville, Arkansas. I have NO idea where the tomatoes, wheat flour or beef came from, much less the salt, high fructose corn syrup, and carrots.

Wait, there were carrots in my Mini Beef Ravioli?! And while we're at it, what is textured soy protein concentrate, modified cornstarch, enzyme modified cheese, monosodium glutamate and all the random flavors and colorings? Here are my Wikipedia summaries:

Textured Soy Protein Concentrate: "Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya meat is a meat analogue or nutritious meat extender made from defatted soy flour, a by-product of extracting soybean oil." Over 90% of soy beans in the US are genetically modified and controlled in part by Monsanto, who makes these "roundup ready"/"resistant-to-Monsanto's-pesticide ready" soy beans. Good market control, those Monsanto folks.

Modified Cornstarch: "Modified starch, starch derivatives, are prepared by physically, enzymatically, or chemically treating native starch, thereby changing the properties of the starch." It then goes on to list the million ways by which your starch may be altered. Apparently, starch can be given a positive or negative electric charge by two of those methods. Wow! Not sure I want to dig much deeper. I will need a chemistry degree to fully understand my mini ravioli.

Enzyme Modified Cheese: "A cheese curd which has been treated with enzymes to produce a concentrated cheese flavour ingredient... EMCs, which may have approximately 15-30 times the flavour intensity of natural cheese, are used to give a cheese flavour note to products..." (www.cheesescience.net , not wikipedia)

Monosodium glutamate: MSG. "A sodium salt of glutamic acid, a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid... Concerns have been raised on anecdotal grounds, and hypotheses have been put forward, that MSG may be associated with migraine headaches, food allergies in children, obesity, and hyperactivity in children."

Annatto: "A derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a yellow to orange food coloring and also as a flavoring... Also used for body painting, repelling insects and to ward off evil."

There are many many other strange things to research in processed food. I am skeptical as to the benefits of all these modifications. Some seem harmless, others maybe not. Still takes a lot of energy (and thereby pollution) to create all these mysterious chemicals and transport them to Mini Beef Ravioli and then my mouth. My Farmer's Market summary is way simpler. It's expensive, but I felt more energetic, slept better, and had no headaches during my "local and organic" week. The spinach was big and fabulous, the beef was grass-fed and tasty. Not much choice about what to eat from a Farmer's Market in WA at this point in the Spring, but healthy. Expensive and healthy. Try it for a week. Make your own decision.