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Volume One      Article Seven       December 1998

EATING   OIL

Thank you for joining us on Health Chats!

Last week we talked about Monosodium Glutamate and we trust that everyone is reading labels now.  Remember if it says no Monosodium Glutamate added it means the raw materials could have Monosodium Glutamate in them.  However if it says NO Monosodium Glutamate then there should be NO MSG present.  This week we want to talk about petrochemicals being added to the foods.  As I mentioned last week this information comes from an article entitled "Eating Oil ".  I talked about the "Green Revolution" which to some people is just a myth.  Basically this has to do with a massive increase in production which has been attributed to a series of changes in American farm life which began around the end of World War II.  Farm yields had tripled.  Growing, harvesting and planting time had been cut.  These changes were commonly called the "Green Revolution". 

The Amoco Foods Company does business out of the fourth tallest building in the world. It is owned by the Standard Oil of Indiana conglomerate. Since 1975, the sole product of the company has been a food made from distillates of oil. Producing food from petrochemicals is an idea tainted with age. George Orwell must have thought it possible when he included everything from petrobeef to petrovodka in his novel 1984. What's new--and unknown to most people, including key administrators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration-- is that such a petrochemical product has already been introduced into the American food supply.

What do you get when you mix ethanol, phosphoric acid, potassium hydroxide, magnesium sulfate, calcium chloride, ferric sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, citric acid, potassium iodide, sodium molybdate, cupric sulfate, anhydrous ammonia, air, Candida Utilis and water?

The answer, according to the bright people at Amoco, is "natural food", petroleum protein. The end product of this chemical conglomerate is now being sold to food processors in the United States for use in meat products, baked goods, frozen foods, infant dinners, margarine, soups, gravies, tortilla chips, pizza and other prepared foods. You may have some in your lunch box today.

Torutein, straight from the Amoco "kitchens" is the marketing label for their "natural" petroprotein product. It is a high-protein yeast culture that is grown on hydrocarbons distilled from crude oil. It is the first and only product of its type that is now being produced for human consumption. In 1975, the first Standard Oil of Indiana petroleum protein processing plant in Hutchinson, Minnesota, began churning out petroprotein at the rate of about 15,000,000 lbs. per year.

In appearance, Toruetin looks as much like food as the process of its creation resembles agriculture. It is a uniform, light brown powder with the faint odor and bland taste of yeast. Its manufacture begins at the Standard Oil of Indiana refinery, where ethylene and the other petrochemicals left in the oil barrel after the extraction of gasoline and jet fuels are removed from the residue. By manipulating the hydrocarbon molecule, the ethylene is converted to ethanol, at which point it makes its appearance in the Amoco "food kitchen."

There, in a large stainless-steel vat, ethanol and the other "nutrient chemicals" are fed to a teeming culture of yeast cells--Candida Utilis or p-10 torula, as they are commonly called. The single-cell microbes ingest the petroleum distillate constantly, even as they "breathe" the ammonia and sterilized air piped into the tank. After 24 hours of this chemical activity, the yeast is deactivated and then spray-dried, producing the powdery end product. Currently, Torutein sells to food processors for about $0.50 per pound.

The production process is the result of ten years of high priority Standard Oil of Indiana research and an investment of more than $10 million. It is one of the premier manifestations of what the food processing industry's trade journal calls "the designed foods of tomorrow." Food Processing magazine predicts that we will soon see a new generation of lab-modified proteins and a world that will be increasingly dependent upon petroleum protein as a part of its food supply.

For the past two years, Amoco Foods' sales force had been putting Torutein promotional literature in the hands of mass food producers of everything from pasta to prepared meat loafs. "Stop shelling out for egg yolks," exhorts 1 promo packet, advising manufacturers to use petroprotein instead in cookies, cakes, doughnuts and other bakery products. This is a price-stable, high-protein material that beats the fluctuating cost of agricultural ingredients. Torutein binds fat to water to extend poultry, seafoods and meats, masks "beany" flavor, and it is "the natural food ingredient with combined advantages no other ingredient can match."

"We now have 112 food processors in the United States using our products", states Amoco Foods Executive Vice President Jack Shay. Torutein is by no means the first petroprotein food product developed: it is simply the first to find its way into the American diet. The first petroproteins were intended for use as livestock feed. French and Italian industrial interests designed petroprotein manufacturing plants for this purpose. At the same time, American-based oil companies were quietly concentrating on developing petroleum protein for human consumption. Exxon, Gulf Oil and the Nestle Company collaborated on the development of a "beef steak" made from oil-fed protein. They soon halted the experimentation when "doubts about safety appeared." The Exxon-Gulf-Nestle protein was grown on methanol-a petrochemical that is highly toxic in small doses. Minute quantities of it persistently found its way into the "steaks."

Executives from Amoco did not want to reveal the names of the companies using Torutein because these companies didn't want to be associated with a food product made from oil. However Dan Murray, Amoco's Marketing Director, did reveal the names of a few Torutein users. The labels of several brand-name products were readily identifiable on the "customer products shelf" at the rear of his office. Among the items present were boxes of Prince macaroni, French's croutons and Milani salad dressing, produced by the Alberto-Culver Corporation. It is difficult for even the most discriminating consumer to determine which processed foods contain Amoco's petroprotein product. Under FDA regulations, if the primary activity of Torutein in a formulation is as a "flavor enhancer" than its presence in the product may be indicated by the catch-all term "natural flavorings" in the list of ingredients. If Torutein functions as a protein booster, it is described by the general term "torula yeast". The product manufacturer makes the determination.

Currently, Torutein is being introduced in foods at the level of only five to nine % but there are strong indications that this is just the beginning. I might note that this was stated back in the seventies so today we are no doubt seeing a much higher level of this food extender added to our food sources. I'm sure everyone has noticed some of the salad bars that have hard boiled eggs that are NOT hard boiled eggs. They are an extruded protein by-product frozen and sold to the food industry and restaurants as hard boiled eggs. Next time you're in Ponderosa check out the "eggs" on the salad bar. Our local Pizza Hut started with the synthetic egg product on their salad bar but with opposition from the consumer they were quick to make the change back to the real McCoy! You as the consumer must quickly oppose any changes from natural or quality foods in your local restaurants or if they are already using these synthetic products you must demand that they provide you with quality foods and not synthetic substitutes.

Today, thanks to our politicians, we have embarked upon what is known as Bio- genetically engineered foods. Is it any wonder that the health of the American people is where it is today. Some weeks ago I was doing a search on the net for food additives and not paying too much attention I decided to print this source of information so that I could have it on file if I want to refer to it later. Being totally engrossed in some other activity I was not aware that the printer had been running for some time. When I checked I realized that the content of the material I was printing would take 150 pages. Choosing not to abort the program I printed the food additives list and pack them into a manila envelope for future reference. Can you believe that food additives including all additives such as vitamins, minerals etc. totaled 150 pages? Most of these were chemical additives but as far as I'm concerned the addition of synthetic vitamins and minerals is still chemical additives.

It's still boils down to the fact that in order to become healthy and remain healthy because of all the problems with our food sources today; whether it be the addition of additives like MSG or petrochemicals or the inclusion of pesticides or insecticides or the other numerous food additives or probably most important, the lack of essential minerals and other nutrients; if we do not supplement our diet with quality food supplement we in fact will NOT be healthy! Again, there are no minerals better than those found in Dr. Wallach's products from American Longevity.

This concludes our Health Chat for this session…………I trust you have become more aware by the information shared here. Next week I would like to discuss Ozone and perhaps help you decide whether this controversial oxygen molecule is a danger or a benefit to your health.

Thank you for joining us on Health Chat………………….and God Bless

……………………………Dr. Jack

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