Microwave Death-corn?

            I don’t know about you, but I’m one of those people that’s way too lazy to whip out my popcorn machine and make real popcorn before I watch a movie.  No, no, no, I simply reach into my cupboard and pull out a bag of convenient microwave popcorn.  As I nuke the bag and the scent of buttery goodness fills the air, I’m thinking about my delicious snack, not about the fact that an ingredient in the popcorn has been proven unsafe.  I mean, I knew that microwave popcorn wasn’t that healthy for me, but I had no idea that it was potentially life-threatening.

            The FDA found diacetyl, a chemical used to add a buttery flavor to microwave popcorn and other snack foods, to be toxic.  I am certainly not happy to hear that I have been putting something toxic into my body for most of my life.  While reading this article, I found out that hundreds of workers have been getting sick from this chemical for awhile now.  Hmmm, do I really want to be eating something that is giving the manufacturer’s a disease called Popcorn Worker’s Lung? I think not. 

            The article also talks about a consumer who contracted popcorn worker’s lung.  Granted, this guy did eat at least two bags of microwave popcorn everyday for the past fifteen years.  I don’t know how he could stomach all that popcorn, but how do we know that we’re all not at risk for this deadly disease?  The FDA didn’t even research this chemical enough to know that it wasn’t harmful.  What’s up with that?  How can we know that all our manufactured food isn’t contaminated with something harmful?  My suggestion is to tell those government workers to get out of their leather recliners and start doing what they’re being paid to do. I don’t want to drop over dead just from eating a package of fruit snacks.  The government needs to get back on their feet and make sure that we’re all safe when we’re eating.

---