Popcorn caution

OK, this blog is not about China, but then again not everything on my mind is.

I was perusing the New York Times website today and found a shocking headline. "Doctor Links a Man’s Illness to a Microwave Popcorn Habit". Was this some sort of microwave oven problem? I remember when I was a child when the first microwave ovens hit the kitchens of Americans I had heard of horror stories of people getting their flesh cooked because of faulty switches that did not shut off the microwave ovens when the doors opened. That may have been an urban legend but you tend to remember things that you hear as a child no matter how irrational it was. Perhaps the article was about somebody's weight related illnesses from eating too much microwave popcorn.

So I proceeded to the article as you can:

www.nytimes.com/2007/09/05/us/05popcorn.html?em&ex=1189483200&en=0ba2a1d76e6b4409&ei=5087%0A

Hmm, the guy got sick from heated diacetyl - an additive to enhance the butter flavor of popcorn?!! This is certainly the first time that I have heard of this issue.

There is actually an occupational hazard namely "Popcorn Worker's Lung" and it can be fatal!

My goodness, what has the world come to where one cannot even enjoy the pleasures of popcorn without some health hazard. This just show you that our civilization has gotten to the point where we are so far removed from the natural world and are in this synthetic world that we are creating hazards for ourselves. We humans think we are smart, but unfortunately I think we are just smart enough to get ourselves into trouble.