HEALTHY FOOD, HEALTHY LIFE (for We Write Poems)
The prompt was about cooking, but I got stuck on ingredients! Amy
HEALTHY FOOD, HEALTHY LIFE
Don’t eat Red Dye Number Two
Skip the yellow, green and blue
Sure, your kid wants blue-tongue bliss
But there’s poison in its kiss
Wheat flour that has been enriched
Grips your colon like a stitch
Keep hands off the soda, too
Even diet’s bad, it’s true
No plastic in the microwave
Lest you crave an early grave
Phthalates leach into your food
That cannot be any good
Lest you think I’m paranoid
Thinking all food births typhoid
Rest assured, I’m very healthy
Even though we’re hardly wealthy
Whole foods do taste great, you know
Sure, they cost some extra dough
But the outcome’s worth the cost
Fat Cats bought control – we lost
Skip the fructose, shun the dyes
Don’t believe the corporate lies
Lots of crap is on those shelves
Read the labels. Protect yourselves.
(c) 2010 Amy Barlow Liberatore/Sharp Little Pencil
Sharp Little Pencil 
adkwriter15
This made me smile! I really want to show it to my mother, because this is her rant all the time too! 😀
Sharp Little Pencil
Ha ha, I’ll bet your mom is, like, my age or so. The sooner you get started on good habits, the better. I was part of the Kool-Aid generation. Then Pres. Reagan decided ketchup could be counted as a vegetable portion in school lunches, the Red Dye #2 and saccharine scandals came along… now they make pills to help you sleep that actually allow you to sleep walk or even (shudder) sleep DRIVE! All FDA approved. Tell your mom I rant, too. It will make her feel better! Peace, Amy
gautami tripathy
We need to be aware of food facts. And more so for packaged ones!
I liked this!
a subtle hint
Sharp Little Pencil
Thanks for referring to it as “subtle.” I thought I was pretty heavy-handed!! Buy local, stay away from all the junk they stick in foods… it works well for us, but I didn’t want to be too preachy…
Thanks for visiting. See you soon on your blog, Gautami! Amy
Tilly Bud
They should stick this poem on all food labels!
Sharp Little Pencil
Yeah, then you wouldn’t buy anything, right?! And I would be the new downfall of America, instead of all those pesky gay and lesbian folks who want equal rights, and those brown people who are stealing our toilet-cleaning jobs!!
ms pie
oh thaz so very good and so agree with you… another biggie is corn syrup it’s everywhere!!! and now their changing the name… gee… to disguise the truth… it is a very good habit to read those labels and understand.. it is a hard road to understand the language…
Sharp Little Pencil
My husband told me about the corn syrup becoming corn “sugar” thing. UNBELIEVABLE! It’s like when Phillip Morris owned Kraft and I was part of a Kraft Is Phillip Morris Is Cancer activist movement. So Phillip Morris broke out the Kraft division under the name Altria. Then we began the Kraft Is Altria Is Phillip Morris Is… ha ha ha
You’re right, as long as it’s not an obsession, reading labels is great. But if you start, like, reading the labels of stuff you eat at other people’s houses, beware. You’ve crossed over into the paranoid zone! 🙂 Amy
uponthewingsofnight
I find it is very hard to avoid stuff that is bad for you. It is absolutely pervasive, and it is making my diet difficult. I am fortunate that I’ve never smoked or done drugs and that my drinking is way down from my college days. However, soda seems to be the one nagging weakness for me. I will get control and lose all of this weight some day. Brett
Sharp Little Pencil
That fructose in the soda can lead to diabetes. Maybe you can try seltzer water with a bit of lime juice? Lemon juice?
uponthewingsofnight
Maybe it would be best if I just stuck to water, milk and juice. If I need caffeine, then drink coffee. At least that has less calories and, in moderation, is actually good for you.
Sharp Little Pencil
True. My problem is I love coffee surrounded by steamed milk, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream! Yikes!