Are You Eating In The Matrix?

Or to put it another way, do you know the difference between real food and food that was designed to fool you into believing it is real?

It might not be as easy as you think.

(Spoiler Alert! If you haven't seen the original Matrix film yet, crawl out of your cave and go watch it real quick before reading. We'll wait.)

In the classic film The Matrix, machines of the future create a sophisticated computer program that produces an alternate reality for their human slaves. The program, the Matrix, placates humans into believing they are living normal lives while their bodies are imprisoned in suspended animation.

The Matrix is plugged directly into the brains of humans. They live the Matrix, breathe the Matrix, eat the Matrix. They've grown up with it, and have never known any other world.

Now think about a Twinkie or a McNugget. Can you remember life without them? I can't. These products have always been a part of my world, even though it has been a long time since I've eaten them. I have vivid childhood memories of both products-after school snacks with friends, my 10th birthday party-and my memories are happy.

But I've learned to refer to Twinkies and food from McDonald's as products and not foods because, when you think about it, they really aren't foods. Sure you can eat them, but that just makes them a novelty-something akin to beating up your friends in Mortal Kombat.

"Do you believe that me being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place?" -Morpheus

Real food nourishes your body by providing essential building blocks for your cells and organs. The human body evolved alongside real food and is adapted to digest it.

Edible products on the other hand were specifically designed to fool your brain and sensory perception, but your body, cells and organs have no idea what to do with them.

Twinkies and McNuggets are engineered. They do not come from the earth and are not food. Twinkies were created in the Matrix.

Do you think that's food you're eating now?

This may sound like rhetorical foodie fluff, but please humor me and entertain the metaphor for a little while longer.

Food should nourish your body and contribute to your overall health. Even foods that are considered fattening-bacon comes to mind-provide nourishment so long as they are based in reality.

But what is a Twinkie? What is a Pringle? What is a McNugget?

Big Macs may look, smell and vaguely taste like food, but if what you are eating is not sustaining your health and is possibly making you sick, isn't it time to question whether it is food at all?

These are products that were created in a laboratory. They may have started as raw materials from plants, but the plants were never grown to be eaten. Industrial corn, soybeans and the cattle raised on them have been processed and redesigned to the point where they've been stripped of anything that allows for them to be reasonably classified as food.

Shouldn't we then stop calling this stuff food?

Most people will initially reject this idea. Of course food is food. But I'd argue that this opinion is just another product of our environment. Haven't we always lived in the Matrix of industrial agriculture?

We have coexisted with McDonald's for so long it seem preposterous to speculate it doesn't meet the definition of food.

But let's take a closer look:

Food -noun:

1. Any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc.
2. More or less solid nourishment, as distinguished from liquids.
3. A particular kind of solid nourishment: a breakfast food; dog food.
4. Whatever supplies nourishment to organisms: plant food.
5. Anything serving for consumption or use: food for thought.

(emphasis mine)

With the exception of the last point, which is clearly philosophical, all these definitions include the word nourishment.

Nourish -verb (used with object)

1. To sustain with food or nutriment; supply with what is necessary for life, health, and growth.
2. To cherish, foster, keep alive, etc.: He had long nourished the dream of living abroad.
3. To strengthen, build up, or promote: to nourish discontent among the workers; to nourish the arts in one's community.

(emphasis mine)

If it doesn't provide nourishment, it is not food.

But relying on dictionary definitions is both semantic and impractical. It also becomes confusing when companies market products that are not real food but have added back nutrients to give the appearance of nourishment.

The important question is how do we break free?

Being convinced that these products are not food is not enough. Like the Matrix, McDonald's is so closely tied to your perception of reality that it can fool you even when you know it isn't real.

Remember, when Neo makes his first attempt to jump across the building roofs. He doesn't make it.

"Everybody falls the first time."

That's because the Matrix feels so real that not believing it is almost impossible. Likewise, knowing that edible products are not food and that they will in fact make you less healthy is often not enough to prevent you from eating them. Your senses are easily fooled.

But better decisions are not impossible and your food world doesn't need to be 100% black and green. Even small steps in the right direction, back into reality, can improve your health.

The first small changes you try can also make subsequent steps easier.

Unplugging from the industrial food Matrix does not need to happen all at once, but you can extract yourself from it eventually. The first step is starting to see it clearly.

"I'm trying to free your mind, Neo, but I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it."

Are you eating in the Matrix?

Darya is a scientist, foodie and advocate of local, seasonal foods. For more healthy eating tips visit her blog Summer Tomato. You can also connect with Darya on Twitter @summertomato and Facebook.

 

Follow Darya Pino on Twitter: www.twitter.com/summertomato

Comments

[yogandclimber]

one day when we ask for chicken mcnuggets it's going to be made out of soy.

[wilburinla]

Darya:

Great Post. Your reference to the Matrix was spot on; in fact, I had to check the back of my head to make sure that I wasn't plugged in. It is frustrating for me is to watch intelligent people I know and love poison their bodies with mass-produced pseudo-foods. When I comment, I'm usually tagged a scold. Eating healthy is not that hard. All one has to do is to pay attention to what one consumes. And yet, when I attempt to talk to people about eating healthy, I'm usually met with a number of responses ranging from blank stares to being labeled a commie eco air-head. And I live in LA for God's sake. I'm not perfect and admit to being something of a Diet-Coke head, but that's about the only manufactured thing I put in my body. No meat, no processed food. My rule is eat simple, eat local. And if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it.

[Shrinath]

Great post Darya. I have cut out any kind of processed stuff from my diet. Even when I am forced to eat out on the run, I prefer fruits. Preferably from a mom and pop store grown locally. Dinner is cooked and had at leisure. Not in front of the teevee. I do wish people would wake up from their Matrix, eat the red pill and face reality. I look forward to reading your next post. So far all your articles have been wonderful. Keep them coming. Let us change the eating habit. One meal at a time. Cheerio!

[amyhasopinions]

I once saw a man on (I think?) Stephen Colbert's show who'd written a book about all of the processed junk we Americans put into our bodies each day. He said he'd kept a Twinkie on one of his shelves for several YEARS and it was STILL EDIBLE.

And that's just....wrong. It made me wonder if the Twinkies I ate as a ten year old are still lurking in my intestines somewhere. Ew.

[Darya Pino - Huffpost Blogger]

I'm pretty sure that was Michael Pollan. I highly recommend his book The Omnivore's Dilemma if you haven't read it.

[CaveatMagnusFrater]

Hi Darya,

I'm a food tweener. When practical, I like to eat simple real food, but it's very expensive sometimes. For instance, free range chicken costs so much more then Tyson's or other Agricorp meat that it doesn't fit well into the food budget. I bake with whole grain flour but I can't stand whole grain pasta. I garden and can and I really like to eat food that I've grown myself but I don't have the time to produce more then a small fraction of my family's food supply.

My grandparents were nearly self-sufficient for their food. Grandma's cellar was always full of home grown vegetables and fruits and grandpa butchered his own hogs and milked the cow and collected eggs from the chicken coop daily. One of my fondest childhood memories was magically turning cream into butter with a hand operated churn. I know that the cucumber I had for lunch was raised industrially and yet I feel that I had a more nutritious lunch then if I had a brat or burger and chips.

Ironically, real cheese is just called cheese but Matrix cheese is called cheese food or cheese product. I've been calling individually wrapped American cheese "imitation, artificial processed cheese food substitute' for years. I check dairy products for the word ceam or milk at the biginning of the contents list. If it says partially hydrogenated anything, I don't buy it. That's just oil produced to resemble food.

Graet post,
little brother

[Darya Pino - Huffpost Blogger]

I couldn't agree with you more about fake cheese. It is probably the edible product I despise the most. Real cheese is so good!! What's the point of cheeze wiz?

You might also like my article about whole grain pasta: http://summertomato.com/should-i-buy-whole-grain-pasta/

[mlaiuppa]

Nope. Not anymore.

I stopped eating products with high fructose corn syrup last May. It isn't easy since it's in everything.

I cut white sugar, white rice and white flour last August.

I cook a lot from scratch and I try to buy the best quality ingredients I can find. Organic, pasture, etc. as much as possible. Local and Farmer's Market as I can.

I'm exploring joining a local coop but have not decided on one yet.

[condor101]

Great article Dayra!
You are absolutely right that we are living in a Fake Food Matrix.
I made this realization years ago. My awareness was from drinking soda. I started reading the labels after reading about the detriments of High Corn Fructose. When I traveled abroad and drank soda I noticed that it tasted different....and better! I discovered that in other countries, the soda companies use 'cane sugar'.
After some thought and analysis I realized that the soda companies here were selling us junk and toxic HFC's because it was cheaper for them. I then stopped drinking all soda. Then I noticed that HFC's were in a lot of other beverages too. This made me mad and I started reading all labels of products that I was putting in my mouth. At the same time, I began reading articles on our industrialized food systems. I became angry after learning that over 95% of everything in the supermarket had ingredients that were harmful to my body/health.
Because of years of dietary habit, I continued buying things that were harmful, like sugar and packaged foods and canned foods. I stopped buying and drinking soda, but that was very difficult and took years to get completely free of that stuff.
Fast forward to today, and I hardly buy anything at the supermarket. I only buy essential items and I do most of my shopping through an CSA and at Farmers Markets and locally owned fish and health food stores.

(continued below)

[condor101]

I stopped buying those bags of domino sugar and now I have no sugar in my house. My feeling is that if you don't have it, you won't eat it. I used to buy 6 pounds of sugar a year. Now I don't and I feel much better. I don't buy soda at all. I have a water filter at home and drink filtered tap water. I buy lot's of fruits and vegetables and make my own juices and salads. I drink lot's tea. I use organic honey as a sweetner sometimes. I cut down on eating meat only once a week. I cut dairy from my diet, because it made me feel sick often. I eat lot's of grains, pasta, vegetables, and other plant based foods. Most of my purchases are fresh foods. I never buy canned foods. I only buy a few items that are frozen, like seafood. I never buy frozen vegetables. I always buy fresh vegetables and fruits. I stopped eating out so much. I stopped eating at fast food restaurant years ago. I stopped eating any type of hamburger meat because of the risk of E.Coli. Also, I learned that hamburger meat is really nasty because it's grounded from All parts of an animal and treated with ammonia.

(continued below)

[condor101]

Basically, I don't trust industrialized agriculture and food processors anymore. You can't even buy a jar of peanut butter (even organic) without the risk of getting killed with bacteria. Therefor, I have refused to give my money to support such a system. I buy directly from farmers as much as possible. And I cook at home much more frequently which makes me happy because I feel in control of my food.

It's not easy getting off of the food matrix. It is an awakening process. But once it begins, you start to question all of the food and beverages that you place in your mouth. Now, I eat very well. I have a very good diet and I take numerous supplements and I exercise and I am strengthening my body and my immune system.

Because I recently learned that our skin is our largest organ and the importance to treat it well, I have also learned about the dangerous chemicals that are sold to us to place on our skin, like sunscreen and chemical laden moisturizers, soaps, and shampoos, etc. Now, I only use Dr. Bronners Organic Liquid Soaps. I use only Aubrey Organics Shampoos. I only use creams and lotions that are organic and made with essential plant oils. I only use organic laundry detergents for washing my clothes and I never use bleach anymore.

(continued below)

[condor101]

Overall, I determined that it was very important to only place organic oils and products on my skin and hair. This is just as important as eating a healthy and organic diet. I think for the most part I am off the food and body care matrix. I have taken my anti-corpo­rate/anti-­product thinking and have transferred it in many areas of my life. I no longer watch T.V.. I cancelled my cable 8 years ago and saved over $5,000. I have freed my mind from useless programs, opinionated news programs, and thousands of corrupt commercials. I have read many books since then and I have a much clearer mind of my life and this world. Another side benefit is that I have purchased much less in the last 8 years. Most everything I own was either found or bought second hand. And since the beginning of this year, I have really limited my purchases. I have even held off the urge to buy an IPhone....­..hahahaha­haha

My new mantra for getting out of the Matrix and living a better life for a better planet is as follows:

REFUSE
REDUCE
REUSE
RECYCLE

[Darya Pino - Huffpost Blogger]

Wow, it sounds like you've taken amazing steps to improve your life and health. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your story!

[Rob Hueniken]

I propose we call Twinkies and other non-food "foold" since that is what we are to eat that stuff !

[RMankovitz]

Who would you trust to give correct answers on what constitutes real food for you? Since everyone alive today has been raised with The Matrix, how can you trust their advice? Just because something is found in nature does not necessarily mean it was meant to be a food for our species.

My personal answer of who to trust when it comes to an eating plan is: nature, not nutritionists. Some of us remember nature - she evolved us.

I spent several decades of research to find an answer to the simple question: what should I eat to live a healthy life? The mumbo-jumbo answer of today is usually: eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Would it surprise you to learn that some of the plant foods we consider as vegetables contain toxins put there by nature to discourage humans from eating them? Would it surprise you to learn that whole grains cannot be eaten right from the ground without human processing, were not part of the human diet until recently, and also contain natural toxins to discourage us from eating them? What are the odds of fooling with nature and winning?

While I do believe that there are folks that can live a healthy live eating Twinkies and Coke, are you one of them?

One example of an eating plan designed for our species by nature (not humans) can be found in "The Original Diet."

Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com

[mydwyf]

There was an ad a few years ago featuring a beautiful woman dressed in red (naturally,
like the woman in the crowd in the Matrix), who licked her lips and asked,
'Is taste just a sensation ?'

Of course we are 'eating in the Matrix'. Because we exist in the Matrix.