Anything that you could have picked from the plant yourself (a pear, a carrot, a berry) AND has not been sprinkled with conservants/pesticides/shiny gloss is unprocessed. If it comes in a package and looks nothing like what nature gives (noodles, cookies, jell-o), it’s been processed.
Raw milk also counts as unprocessed, but in the 21st century there’s no excuse to be drinking raw milk.
Oh, I’m sure the government wants you to believe raw milk is the devil :-)
In reality I think it depends, in particular on how good your immune system is. If you’re immunocompromised, it’s probably wise to avoid raw milk (as well as, say, raw lettuce in salads). On the other hand, if your immune system is capable, I’ve seen no data that raw milk presents an unacceptable risk—of course how much risk is unacceptable varies by person.
More relevant may be your supply chain. If you have given your cow all required shots and drink the milk within a day—and without mixing it with the milk of dozens of other cows—you are going to be a lot better off than if you stop off at a random roadside stand and buy a gallon of raw milk.
I’m assuming you value your health and thus don’t eat any raw meat, so all of it is going to be processed—if only at your own kitchen.
By the same standard, a roasted carrot is, technically speaking, “processed.” However, what food geeks usually think of when they say “processed” involves a massive industrial plant where your food is filled with additives to compensate for all the vitamins it loses after being crushed and dehydrated. Too often it ends up with an inhuman amount of salt and/or sugar added to it, too.
Anything that you could have picked from the plant yourself (a pear, a carrot, a berry) AND has not been sprinkled with conservants/pesticides/shiny gloss is unprocessed. If it comes in a package and looks nothing like what nature gives (noodles, cookies, jell-o), it’s been processed.
Raw milk also counts as unprocessed, but in the 21st century there’s no excuse to be drinking raw milk.
That’s debatable—some people believe raw milk to be very beneficial.
Absolutely not worth the risk.
Do you have any sources that quantify the risk?
Oh, I’m sure the government wants you to believe raw milk is the devil :-)
In reality I think it depends, in particular on how good your immune system is. If you’re immunocompromised, it’s probably wise to avoid raw milk (as well as, say, raw lettuce in salads). On the other hand, if your immune system is capable, I’ve seen no data that raw milk presents an unacceptable risk—of course how much risk is unacceptable varies by person.
More relevant may be your supply chain. If you have given your cow all required shots and drink the milk within a day—and without mixing it with the milk of dozens of other cows—you are going to be a lot better off than if you stop off at a random roadside stand and buy a gallon of raw milk.
So, it doesn’t make sense to talk about processed meats, if you can’t pick them from plants?
If I roast my carrot, does it become processed?
I’m assuming you value your health and thus don’t eat any raw meat, so all of it is going to be processed—if only at your own kitchen.
By the same standard, a roasted carrot is, technically speaking, “processed.” However, what food geeks usually think of when they say “processed” involves a massive industrial plant where your food is filled with additives to compensate for all the vitamins it loses after being crushed and dehydrated. Too often it ends up with an inhuman amount of salt and/or sugar added to it, too.