Are You Really Tasting Your Food?

Flavour is a signal for nutrition. But today, what you eat isn’t what you see.

Photo by Sebastian Coman Photography on Unsplash

Life’s too short for bland food.

And yet we’re living in an age where everything tastes like cardboard, thanks to the relentless pursuit of higher crop yields.

And at the same time, food tech is getting better at isolating and enhancing flavors, turning sugar water into any taste you desire.

So what’s the problem?

This artificial flavor revolution is contributing to an obesity epidemic, with over 69% of Americans now overweight or obese.

Dilution: The Instagrammization of Food

Ever notice how today’s chicken meat looks almost white? Because the chicken that was hacked down to produce it was plump, ample-breasted, and completely flavorless. It was grown to meet market demand quickly and cheaply, sacrificing taste for quantity. It was fed on crap that bulks it up in the shortest amount of time possible. It ate nothing throughout its life that it should be eating.

And as a result, you taste cardboard. And to compensate for the blandness, you need to douse it in processed sauces so the end result is at least palatable.