Processed Cereals with High-Fructose Corn Syrup
Walk down any cereal aisle and you’ll spot the colorful boxes that catch every child’s eye, but farmers who understand what goes into their grain production often skip right past them. Cereals in Target and Walmart tend to contain corn syrup, a sweetener associated with enhanced absorption of dietary fat and weight gain. Most farmers grow their corn knowing exactly what it takes to produce it naturally, and seeing it transformed into high-fructose corn syrup feels like watching their hard work get twisted into something unrecognizable.
These same farmers typically reach for simple oatmeal or whole grain options instead. They know the difference between food that nourishes and food that simply fills you up with empty calories. When you’ve spent months nurturing corn from seed to harvest, watching companies turn it into artificial sweeteners that contribute to obesity feels almost insulting.
Margarine Made from Industrial Vegetable Oils
Margarine is primarily made up from a vegetable oil base. Depending on the particular brand, this vegetable oil may be soybean oil, canola oil, sunflower oil or one of many other vegetable oil derivations. Farmers understand exactly how these oils are produced and the intense processing they undergo. Vegetable oil extraction requires a lot of heat and extreme pressure. Both processes do a lot of damage to the easily oxidised PUFAs stored within the seed oil.
Most farming families still use real butter from local dairies or even their own cows when possible. Margarine products can contain large amounts of extremely damaging Trans Fats. These newly formed fats are highly toxic and their consumption is linked to cardiovascular problems, including heart disease, elevated inflammation, insulin resistance, infertility and diabetes. They’ve seen the industrial process firsthand and prefer the simple, natural fat that’s been feeding families for generations.
Mass-Produced White Bread with Preservatives
The soft, squishy white bread that stays fresh for weeks on store shelves makes farmers shake their heads in disbelief. For a wrapped, sliced loaf of bread, the cereal farmer spends 9.03p yet receives an almost negligible profit (0.09p) on a selling price of £1.14. They know that real bread should go stale within days, not last for weeks thanks to a cocktail of preservatives and chemicals.
Many farming families either bake their own bread or buy from local artisanal bakers who use their grain in its most natural form. When you understand how wheat grows and what it should taste like fresh from the mill, the difference between real bread and the processed supermarket version becomes impossible to ignore. The preservatives that keep industrial bread “fresh” are exactly what make it unappetizing to those who understand food production.
Canned Vegetables with Added Sodium and Preservatives
Farmers who grow vegetables find themselves puzzled by the ingredient lists on canned vegetables. A carrot grower spending 14p per bag and selling to the supermarket supply chain gets almost negligible returns, yet somehow those same carrots end up in cans with added salt, sugar, and preservatives that cost several times more. The irony isn’t lost on them when their fresh produce gets transformed into something they wouldn’t recognize.
Most farming families preserve their own vegetables or buy from local sources where they know exactly what’s been added. They understand that vegetables naturally contain enough flavor and nutrients without needing artificial enhancement. The difference between a fresh tomato from the garden and one that’s been sitting in a can with added sodium for months is night and day to anyone who grows their own food.
Processed Meat Products and Lunch Meats
Livestock farmers are particularly wary of processed meat products found in supermarket deli sections. For 4 beefburgers the processor gains ten times the profit of the beef farmer. They raise cattle on pasture, understanding exactly what goes into producing quality meat, so seeing it turned into products filled with nitrates, preservatives, and artificial flavors feels like a betrayal of their work.
These farmers typically buy whole cuts of meat from local processors they trust or even process their own animals. They know that real meat doesn’t need artificial colors to look appealing or chemical preservatives to stay fresh. When you’ve watched cattle graze on natural grass and fed them properly, the thought of eating meat that’s been pumped full of additives becomes unappetizing.
Sugary Beverages and Soft Drinks
Farmers who grow sugar beets or corn often avoid the very products made from their crops. Gardner said the real concern should be overeating ultra-processed foods, which may contain harmful ingredients such as high-fructose corn syrup, added sugar and sodium. They understand that high-fructose corn syrup is created through an industrial process that transforms their natural corn into something completely different.
Most farming families stick to water, milk from local dairies, or beverages they make themselves. They’ve seen how much sugar and artificial ingredients go into soft drinks, and knowing the industrial processes involved makes these products lose their appeal. When you grow the raw materials, you appreciate them in their natural form rather than processed into sugar bombs.
Frozen Meals with Unrecognizable Ingredient Lists
The United States (U.S.) is the leading country in ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption, accounting for 60% of caloric intake, compared to a range of 14 to 44% in Europe. Given the increasingly evident health risks of UPF consumption, this is a major health problem. Farmers look at frozen meal ingredient lists and often can’t pronounce half the items, even though they grow many of the base ingredients themselves.
These families prefer cooking from scratch using ingredients they can identify and trust. When you know what real food tastes like and how it should be prepared, the appeal of frozen meals filled with preservatives, artificial flavors, and stabilizers diminishes rapidly. They’d rather spend a few extra minutes cooking than consuming something that barely resembles actual food.
Packaged Snack Foods with Artificial Colors
Frozen fries, tots, and onion rings are fried before they are packaged and will almost always contain seed oils. Farmers who grow potatoes know that natural potatoes don’t need artificial colors or flavors to taste good. Seeing their produce transformed into fluorescent orange snacks or unnaturally colored chips doesn’t align with their understanding of how food should look and taste.
Farming families often make their own snacks or choose simple options with minimal processing. They understand that food coloring and artificial flavors are used to make processed foods appear more appealing, but when you’re used to natural colors and flavors, these additives become off-putting rather than attractive.
Non-Dairy Creamers and Coffee Additives
Dairy farmers particularly avoid non-dairy creamers, understanding exactly what real cream and milk should taste like. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. While butter is made by concentrating the butterfat of milk through centrifugation, modern margarine is made through a more intensive processing of refined vegetable oil and water. The same industrial processes that create margarine are used in many coffee creamers.
These farmers use real cream or milk in their coffee, often from their own cows or local dairies. They know the difference between natural dairy products and artificial substitutes made from processed oils and chemicals. When you’ve milked cows and tasted fresh cream, powdered creamers with ingredient lists full of unpronounceable chemicals lose their appeal entirely.
Salad Dressings with Vegetable Oil Bases
While most bottled salad dressings contain seed and vegetable oils, you don’t have to resort to making it yourself every time if you know what to look for. Farmers understand that soybean oil contains high levels of an unstable, reactive omega-6 fat called linoleic acid. While most whole foods contain evolutionary appropriate levels of linoleic acid, between 1-3%, common vegetable oils like soybean oil contain well over 50% linoleic acid.
Most farming families make their own salad dressings using olive oil, vinegar, and herbs they grow themselves. They know that natural oils and fresh ingredients create better flavors without the need for emulsifiers, preservatives, and artificial ingredients found in commercial dressings. When you grow your own lettuce and herbs, you want dressings that enhance rather than mask those natural flavors.
Breakfast Bars and Granola Bars with High Sugar Content
Granola bars sometimes contain added oils to toast the oats and grains, or to keep the bar from sticking to the wrapper. Farmers who grow oats and grains understand that these natural ingredients don’t need excessive amounts of added sugar and processed oils to taste good. Many commercial breakfast bars contain as much sugar as candy bars, disguised as healthy options.
Farming families often make their own granola or energy bars using oats, nuts, and natural sweeteners like honey. They understand that real nutrition comes from whole ingredients, not from products engineered to taste sweet while providing minimal nutritional value. When you grow the grain yourself, you appreciate its natural flavor without needing it sugar-coated.
Conventional Crackers with Hydrogenated Oils
Unsaturated vegetable oils can be transformed through partial or complete hydrogenation into oils of higher melting point, some of which, such as vegetable shortening, will remain solid at room temperature. Hydrogenating vegetable oil is done by raising a blend of vegetable oil and a metal catalyst, typically nickel, in a near-vacuum to very high temperatures, and introducing hydrogen. Farmers understand this industrial process and avoid products that contain these artificially hardened fats.
Many farming families choose crackers made with simpler ingredients or make their own using flour from grains they’ve grown. Although the amount of trans fats in margarine products has been drastically reduced over the years, it is still common to find these toxic fats in margarine products. Though food labeling rules allow products to state that they contain ‘zero trans fats’ if there is less than 0.5 grams of trans fats per serving. Meanwhile, the US Food & Drug Association determined that man-made trans fats are unsafe at ANY level. They prefer products made with traditional fats and simple ingredients they can understand and trust.
The farming community’s food choices reflect a deep understanding of how industrial processing transforms natural ingredients into something far removed from their original form. Supermarkets are able to use their buying power to squeeze farmers and others in the supply chain, with detrimental consequences. These families have witnessed firsthand how their quality produce gets processed into products they wouldn’t serve their own families, leading them to seek out foods that honor the natural ingredients they work so hard to grow. When you know where food really comes from, the appeal of heavily processed alternatives simply fades away.
