quick, cheap, and easy

While I’m on the spiel of telling horror stories (a little late for Halloween, I know), I have been doing some reading on toxic chemicals. It all started with a simple discussion on recycling and vegetarianism that then stemmed into natural soaps. Curiosity got to me in the shower, as I quickly ran down the list of ingredients in my shampoo…

“Yikes. What is all that crap in this?”

The first few web searches got me results like this one, pointing out that the ingredients are often chosen by their being easy to store and use, and cheaply available in bulk. Turns out my shampoo is loaded with garage floor cleaner and coal tar, with a smattering of pesticides. It’s a good thing the bottle is almost empty.

Then the story came out about the E.Coli in the frozen pizzas. That’s poo. In the slaughterhouses, poo is getting into the meat. They try to speed up production, and it happens even more. The meat is cheap, so the demand goes up.

So, out of making things cheap, easy and quick for the consumer, and for the manufacturer, I’m finding that the vast majority of things that we use on and in our bodies are toxic, dangerous, and in a lot of cases doesn’t contain what you would think. There are whole sections of the supermarkets loaded with non-food parading around as food.

And then you go out to eat. Check out some of the stuff you are getting in that quick lunch at the fast food place. “Hmmm. Hey Lady… can I get more titanium oxide in my salad? If I collect just a bit more, I’ll be able to make my own toothpaste, paint, and tattoo pigment!”

I also found these haunting gems:

• cosmetics are harmful?
• Toxic parabens Have been industry standard in deodorants, shampoos, and skin creams for decades. They are finding that absorption through the skin are leading to high levels of estrogen, and could possibly be a link to breast cancer. They use these as fillers, and to preserve the products, so that they can be shipped long distances and also have an amazingly long shelf life.

Still not scared silly?

• Have a look at your average daily toxins….

Out of honest, innocent cost-cutting, and looking for the cheapest, quickest, and easiest answers, modern society has created an existence that feels like the whole planet is trying diligently to kill us at every turn, if you go and look at it all.