ABSTRACT
The food that humans eat is a variable and complex mixture of chemicals. Most of these chemicals are naturally occurring, while the others are man-made. For centuries, we have manipulated the naturally occurring constituents of agricultural commodities to improve their hardiness, for example, their ability to resist pests and tolerate extremes of weather; to minimize or eliminate components that may be deleterious to human health, for example, solenaceous substances in potatoes; and to enhance their flavor and nutritive value. In more recent times, as science has revealed the risks and benefits of too little, too much, or the right amount of those chemicals needed to achieve and sustain good health—vitamins and minerals, fats, proteins, and carbohydrates—we have continued to modify the form and quantity of these naturally occurring substances. We also are using many additional chemicals, both natural and synthetic, to further improve yield, nutritive content, flavor, and texture appeal. Chemicals are combined with basic foodstuffs in creative ways to provide a wide selection of processed foods, making it possible to offer consumers thousands of choices.
