Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, or, Please Pass the Stupid Chicken

Do you trust the word organic? How do you know if it's truly organic? Or grass-fed? Or gluten-free? If the label says they don't use antibiotics or steroids, how does one really know if this is true?

A couple years ago while on my vacation road trip, I found a product clearly labeled gluten-free. I was excited. When eating on the road, selection is limited. I bought it, jumped in the van, and headed back out on the road. Lunchtime couldn't arrive soon enough and eager to eat a new gluten-free product I almost didn't bother looking at the tiny print. It was labeled as gluten-free because ONE ingredient was gluten-free. But what about that wheat flour on the ingredients list? I later found out if only ONE ingredient is gluten-free, the manufacturers can legally label it gluten-free. HOW IS THAT LEGAL?

I've had a lot of people tell me they can't tell the difference between organic food and conventional food. To them it all tastes the same. A few people have told me they think organic produce tastes better. Maybe. My problem is I feel lousy if I eat conventional food. I'll never forget the severe intestinal cramps I got from eating conventional watermelon. I thought my insides were imploding. Same with conventional raisins and Brussel sprouts. It makes me wonder if all these people who have been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are just reacting to the pesticides and poisons? Dietary advice includes NOT eating most fresh fruits and vegetables. Hmmm...

So what am I supposed to think if my clearly labeled organic, natural, no artificial ingredients, raised without antibiotics chicken gives me unbearable migraines and nausea? I think most people would blame it on anything else, but I know better. So is this false advertising? How can I prove it?

I bought this chicken at another co-op, one not known for it's impeccable standards. My co-op doesn't sell this brand. It wasn't the first time I bought Stupid Chicken, and not the first time I had migraines and nausea right after eating it that lasted all night, but I was blinded by the sale price. So what does "air-chilled" mean? Is that code for gassed? Chemically-induced refrigeration? What am I missing? The labeling is misleading.

During the same visit to the co-op with questionable standards I also bought a small container of bulk Kalamata olives. The fact they tasted wonderful, better than my own co-op's olives, should have been a clue. I had nightmares and strange, vivid dreams all night. The ingredients include olives, water, salt, oil. Hmmm...what kind of oil? Crude oil? Pennzoil? Sometimes I'm just too trusting. Just because it's being sold in a co-op as a bulk product doesn't mean it's safe.

And then there is Simple Truth Grade B Maple Syrup. My co-op was closed on New Year's Day so I went to the local big-box grocery store. They had a bottle of this grade B maple syrup for sale in their "health" department. Ingredients: organic maple syrup. The label looked fine. I get it home, pour a little out. It's too light in texture and color to be real Grade B which is raw, unprocessed, organic maple syrup. This has the consistency of corn syrup. I stick my finger in it. It tastes like corn syrup! So what is this? Did they cut real Grade B maple syrup with something else? Can they claim it to be Grade B if only a small portion of it is Grade B? Or did they process it just a little and they are lying?

Aren't there labeling laws in our country? It irritates me to no end we can't trust money-hungry companies to tell the truth and their best practices include screwing over the customer for a few extra bucks. But organic is the new catch word. Like natural, it means nothing. For anyone who is chemically sensitive, it's a experiential learning process with dire consequences and lots of wasted money.

Chemical sensitivity is expensive!