One of the processed foods that I bought was a roll of Mentos. There is 140 Calories per roll, or 14 mentos. There are 12 ingredients in Mentos are the top three are sugar, wheat glucose syrup, hydrogenated coconut oil. Sugar is made from the sugar canes which are primarily grown in Brazil. Wheat glucose syrup is derived from the wheat sheaf that are grown in Russia. The third most prevalent ingredient is hydrogenated coconut oil which is grown in Indonesia. While it is not obvious where mentos are processed, they may be made in America because the headquarters is in Cincinnati. There is no recyclable on the the packaging therefore it is not recyclable. The people involved in the process of making mentos include: the proccessors at the factory, the trucks that transport the mentos, the ships or planes that take it overseas, and the retailers that sell you the mentos. Mentos are harmful to the environment because there is a burning of fossil fuels involved in the transportation around the world. The packaging is wasteful and ends up in land fills. The sugar and chemicals are bad for the person eating it. Dyes and preservatives kill brain cells.
The other processed food I did was Snickers chocolate bar. The top three ingredients were peanuts, cocoa butter, and skimmed milk. It has 16 ingredients on the package. Peanuts are grown world wide, half of the American peanuts are grown in Georgia. Cocoa butter is derived from cocoa beans which are grown in Mexico. Skimmed milk comes from cows which are farmed worldwide, including Serbia. There is no information about where snickers are processed. The packaging is recyclable as shown by the little recycle sign. The people involved in making snickers are the distrubuters, factory workers, and farmers. Snickers are harmful to the environment because they are shipped around the world and the factories produce waste. It contains 280 calories and 14 grams of fat which is very unhealthy. Apple:
- Unprocessed, Whole food
- Grown in Serbia
- 53 calories (1 apple)
- People involved: Farmers, transporters, sellers
- Environmental impact: Minimal because it is grown locally
- Health impact: Beneficial, brings vitamins and nutrients and fibers
- Biodegradable, good for environment
Lemon:
- Grown in India
- Unprocessed- whole food
- 22 calories (108 grams)
- People involved: Farmers, transporters, sellers
- Environmental impact: Damaging because it has to be transported around the world or grown in greenhouses
- Health impact: Beneficial, brings vitamins and nutrients and fibers
- Biodegradable, good for environment
