FOR YOUR HUSBAND:
He thinks that if handmade was so much better that every one would be doing it. *rolls eyes* what hedoesnt seem to understand is that all to often big companies chose a quick buck over quality.
There is evidence of handmade soap being used as early as 2800BC in Babylon. Nevertheless, soap manufacturing processes remained largely unchanged and primarily a household chore until World War I, when a shortage of fats forced a switch to a synthetic detergents developed by Germany. The convenience of purchasing supplanted the routine of making (Like TV dinners vs cooked meals...or corporate agriculture vs home gardens, the first is easier but the second healthier/tastier/eco-friendly).
Many commercially produced "soaps" are petroleum based and/or synthetic detergents. Those that are comprised of the natural base ingredients have been stripped of glycerin to sell as a profitable byproduct, typically do not contain much (if anything) in the way of unsaponifiables, and have a number of chemical preservatives added to prolong shelf life.
Corporations are profit-driven, not morally so. Nestle once convinced impoverished mothers that formula was more nutritious for their infants than breast milk, distributed large samples for free, and then started charging once their breast milk had dried up. The mothers were forced to starve their families to feed their infants, while those unable to afford the formula watched them die.
http://newint.org/features/1982/04/01/babies/
http://www.businessinsider.com/nestles-infant-formula-scandal-2012-6?op=1
Mass media has proven its effectiveness with him. He's still on a "high fructose corn syrup is better than cane sugar" kick cause I told him about how a soda a day increases your chances of diabetes by 22%. And his defence is that they made commercials saying how it is just as good for you...... cause everything on TV is apparently true.
In your husband's defense, he is half-right. Corn sugar is not really that much worse...or better for you than cane sugar. Your body does process them slightly differently, but they are surprisingly similar in makeup. Typical HFCS contains 45% glucose and 55% fructose, while white sugar is comprised of an even 50-50 split.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/sugar.htm
The problem with high-fructose corn syrup is that corn subsidies have made it incredibly cheap. Therefore, corporate food producers pour excessive amounts into EVERYTHING. Ketchup is still tasty without any sugar, much less the mega-dose that Heinz adds. (I am a dork that makes my own condiments because it reduces packaging, tastes better, uses produce from my garden, and is frickin' easy...so I've tasted a few variations.)
The SO won't touch "white death" while I prefer to die happy and do not particularly censure myself. However, I do not add more than satisfies me either. Having given up soda altogether (out of packaging concerns not calorie restriction), I am amazed at how much tastier strawberries are.
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-effects-of-sugar
Similarly, the characteristics of our food has changed drastically. The incredibly cheap price of corn also resulted in a nation-wide shift to utilizing it as a primary livestock feed, which changes the composition of meat. While it is true that a meat-centric diet is not nutritionally balanced regardless...it is also true that the meat we consume today bears little resemblance to that on our grandparents' plates. That is even before factoring in hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, or GMO components to the argument.
I am with Michael Pollan when it comes to food: that consumables made by people are preferable to those produced by corporations.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/pollan-cooks/
I hope that I did not come across as abrasive or bore everyone to tears with my diatribe. I'll dismount from my soapbox and leave you in peace
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