Pulped

Guess what's in your processed shredded cheese?

Guess what's in your Fiber One cereal?

Guess what's in your Coffee Mate?

If you guessed wood pulp, you win!

We all just assume that anything we buy in a grocery store that isn't a fresh fruit or vegetable is teeming with nonsense additives and freakish artifical colors. But I'm pretty sure the last time I heard someone say their nut and grain loaf of bread tasted like wood, they were joking.

Welcome to the wild world of Cellulose, the powdered wood pulp that manufacturers are putting in processed foods in increasing numbers because it's cheaper than flour. The FDA approved the use of Cellulose in food products years ago because it is fibrous and, apparently, does our bodies no harm.

But that's not the point. The point is... ewwwwww! I don't recall the last time I looked at a piece of tree bark and thought, "Yummy! Let's have some right away!" Manufacturers are so determined to cut costs that they've turned to NOT FOOD to cut corners.

Whenever Anthony Bourdain does an episode of No Reservations that extolls the virtures of Cellulose in my coffee, I might begin to change my mind. Until then, thank you, but no.