The Facts About Food Preservatives Essay -- Health, Food Preservatives

There is something that has been around for thousands of years, makes your trips to the grocery store cheaper and prevents people from dying of starvation every winter. This invention that helps us in many ways is food preservatives. Most people associate food preservatives with terrible chemicals that should be avoided, and while many that are used today have been known to cause health problems, there are many benefits that some people may not be aware of that food preservatives offer us. Before there were so many food preservatives, things were different in the traditional house. People didn’t have enough food in the winter because crops and meat that were unpreserved went bad. When people expected the food was about to go bad they would eat all of it so that nothing would be wasted. Also, as winter was approaching, many farmers would kill all of their animals because it was not economically wise to keep them through the winter. The animals would have to be fed and kept warm but grass wouldn’t be available for them to eat, water sources where they normally drink would be frozen over and they wouldn’t be producing as much food as they normally produce, such as milk or eggs. Also, animals that moved heavy farm equipment, like horses or oxen were not needed as much when there was no farming to do. People first figured out how to make food last longer a very long time ago. In as early as 1000 BCE, the Chinese had figured out how to use salt, spices and smoking. The Incas figured out how to freeze-dry things by around the 15th century. This helped them to always have 3-7 years of food available for their warriors. Nicolas Appert (pictured) was a French chef who figured out in January of 1810 how to store food in airtigh... ...urger-looks-almost-new/>. "Early methods of food preservation." Early methods of food preservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . "Food Additives." Food Additives. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . French, Alicia. "The top 10 scariest food facts." Food Recipes RSS. N.p., 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . "Middle Ages Food Preservation." Middle Ages Food Preservation. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. . Pancholi, Rahul. "Join Academia.edu & Share your research with the world." Food preservatives. N.p., 12 Apr. 2012. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. .