# What is the most unnatural food you can name? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 15, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222 "2018-05-15T15:21:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/41 "2018-05-15T22:28:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Treppenwitz** : > > Instant mashed potato. A staple for the ancient Incans. Or at least, something very much like it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/42 "2018-05-15T22:31:33Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > But most animals seem to do quite well without deliberately\* adding\* it to their food! No, but animals will seek out any handy naturally occurring salt lick in order to supplement their diet. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/43 "2018-05-15T22:38:12Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Tofu. Wouldn’t even pass the taste test when presented to the residents of the era. I was very surprised to find out that this was one of Benjamin Franklin’s favorite foods! It was called “soybean cheese” and he liked it breaded and fried. “Fruit By The Foot”, perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/44 "2018-05-15T22:38:37Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > But most animals seem to do quite well without deliberately\* adding\* it to their food! A reminder of your question: _Hey, salt doesn’t have much of a nutritional value, does it?_ ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/45 "2018-05-15T22:40:58Z")
Fat free mayonnaise. That’s basically fat free fat. Also, diet soda (altho I guess the water in it has some nutritional value). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/46 "2018-05-15T22:45:33Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > What is imitation margarine?? Sorry if this is common knowledge. Believe it or not, there are some fat-free, or at least low-fat, versions. I don’t even want to think about what they’re made of, or that anyone would think these things were healthy. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/47 "2018-05-15T22:46:37Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Fat free mayonnaise. That’s basically fat free fat. Also, diet soda (altho I guess the water in it has some nutritional value). Or fat-free cheese. UGH! ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/48 "2018-05-15T22:48:19Z")
Wax soda bottle candies. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/49 "2018-05-15T22:52:11Z")
> **[Olestra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olestra)** > > Olestra (also known by its brand name Olean) is a fat substitute that adds no calories to products. It has been used in the preparation of otherwise high-fat foods thereby lowering or eliminating their fat content. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) originally approved olestra for use in the US as a replacement for fats and oils in prepackaged ready-to-eat snacks in 1996, concluding that such use "meets the safety standard for food additives, reasonable certainty of no harm".: 46399  I Ole... ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/50 "2018-05-15T22:54:18Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > A reminder of your question: > > _Hey, salt doesn’t have much of a nutritional value, does it?_ Yeah, I should have put it clearer for you nitpickers :). _Excess_ salt doesn’t add to the nutritional value of the food. Happy so? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/51 "2018-05-15T23:06:08Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > _Excess_ salt doesn’t add to the nutritional value of the food. Happy so? That applies to every single food substance on Earth, by definition. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/52 "2018-05-15T23:10:03Z")
Cotton candy? It looks like pink wool. Then I looked up Google. Japanese wasp crackers (or mealworm cookies, which aren’t Japanese as far as I can tell). Dragon of the flame of desire, from China, which is a male yak’s … manhood. Escamol from Mexico, which consists of insect larvae and pupae (also called bug caviar). Needless to say, I wouldn’t eat any of those weird foods I found on Google. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/53 "2018-05-15T23:28:29Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Yeah, I should have put it clearer for you nitpickers :). _Excess_ salt doesn’t add to the nutritional value of the food. Happy so? Excess? An excess of anything isn’t a good idea. That’s what excess means. I wasn’t nitpicking and I’m always happy. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/54 "2018-05-15T23:34:40Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Yeah, I should have put it clearer for you nitpickers :). _Excess_ salt doesn’t add to the nutritional value of the food. Happy so? Not really. Whether or not excess salt adds “nutritional value” (it is needed in general, so I presume you mean whether it improves the health of the eater) depends on what one is regularly eating. Same as with all other nutrients. If your regular diet is deficient in sodium, then yes, it absolutely adds nutritional value. If you mean “excess beyond whats optimal” then no, but then that’s the answer for absolutely everything. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/55 "2018-05-15T23:35:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Believe it or not, there are some fat-free, or at least low-fat, versions. I don’t even want to think about what they’re made of, or that anyone would think these things were healthy. I would bet that most are just fine (I don’t believe in labeling foods “healthy” or “unhealthy”). This one looks great: [http://www.meltorganic.com/health-nutrition/the-skinny/](http://www.meltorganic.com/health-nutrition/the-skinny/) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/56 "2018-05-16T00:13:45Z")
… veeeeering this back on track: - Jarred marshmallow fluff. - Actually, marshmallows in general. Including the ones in cereal like Lucky Charms. - Fun Yuns (those imitation onion rings snacks, in case those aren’t internationally recognized. Are they?) I’d quibble about peanut butter. That’s just ground nut paste, something consumed in a lot of cultures since ancient times. Dammit, I want a bag of FunYuns now. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/57 "2018-05-16T00:20:25Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > … veeeeering this back on track: > > - Jarred marshmallow fluff. > - Actually, marshmallows in general.\*\* Including the ones in cereal like Lucky Charms.\*\* > - Fun Yuns (those imitation onion rings snacks, in case those aren’t internationally recognized. Are they?) > > I’d quibble about peanut butter. That’s just ground nut paste, something consumed in a lot of cultures since ancient times. > > Dammit, I want a bag of FunYuns now. Those aren’t marshmallows. They’re made from rejected Circus Peanuts. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/58 "2018-05-16T02:10:18Z")
Those tropical chocolate bars we used to get in our c-rats or for that matter any boxes of modern MREs ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/59 "2018-05-16T05:10:36Z")
Fruit drinks that do not have any of the nominate fruit. Yesterday I saw plastic sachets of various fruit drinks that were labeled to suggest natural, but the label I read (which happened to be lychee, there wee the usual suspects, ending with “artuficial lychee flavor”. I didn’t look, but there are probably sugar-free fruit drinks that contain nothing but water, chemical sweetener, food coloring, and artificial fruit flavor. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-unnatural-food-you-can-name/814222/60 "2018-05-16T07:39:28Z")
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