Wednesday, December 7, 2011

What is Food?


Ever hear the campaigns for food collections ask for non-perishable food? Most people wouldn't think twice about this statement and go on.

Exactly what is a non-perishable food? The food bank expects cans, jars, boxes and the like of "food". These foods can stay on the shelf for years and still have the same low quality after years as it had the day it was manufactured.

Is it really a food if it is non-perishable? Let's look at nature for a minute. Is there anything any animal in nature will eat that is non-perishable?

Leave out the "food" that humans dropped or left out in nature such as fast food and all the processed junk food and there is nearly nothing on the planet that is non-perishable.

In fact the only food I can think of that doesn't perish with time is the food of honey bees. Honey will stay the same for years, even without any preservatives or refrigeration.

Besides that one food, nothing else exists in nature that doesn't perish with time. In fact most foods will not last more than a few days without becoming rancid, fermenting or just plain rotting.

Carnivores are the animals who probably consume their food the fastest becuase they know that their kill will not stay fresh for long. Carnivores also only hunt when they are hungry and they also relish the warm body and blood of their kill.

When these food banks are asking for non-perishable food, what do they really mean? There is no such thing as non-perishable food. This is an oxymoron. If it is food, it is perishable (except for bee honey). No non-perishable food should ever be eaten by humans or any other creature on earth except honey for bees.

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