I see how even in Mark Twain's day they were selling cheap US cottonseed oil as Italian olive oil, shipping it to Italy for packaging to hide its origin. And the whole industry knew, but not the consumer. Now we add cellulose (aka wood pulp) to shredded cheese to keep it from clumping. Oh, and sawdust is cheaper than cheese. That reason too. Modern food is industrial and all sorts of things are done to make it seem like good food while using the cheapest ingredients possible. Or to make it shelf stable. I want my food to be digestible, not stable, and don't want to eat something that might harm my gut microbiome. I also don't want to eat emulsifiers (surfactants). I can shake my oil and vinegar just fine. And if I do want to mix things, I can just use an egg yolk. It is tastier.
I see how even in Mark Twain's day they were selling cheap US cottonseed oil as Italian olive oil, shipping it to Italy for packaging to hide its origin. And the whole industry knew, but not the consumer. Now we add cellulose (aka wood pulp) to shredded cheese to keep it from clumping. Oh, and sawdust is cheaper than cheese. That reason too. Modern food is industrial and all sorts of things are done to make it seem like good food while using the cheapest ingredients possible. Or to make it shelf stable. I want my food to be digestible, not stable, and don't want to eat something that might harm my gut microbiome. I also don't want to eat emulsifiers (surfactants). I can shake my oil and vinegar just fine. And if I do want to mix things, I can just use an egg yolk. It is tastier.