Manufacturers start with the cheapest vegetable oils, extracted at high temperatures and pressures from corn, cottonseed, soybeans, safflower seeds and canola.
The last fraction of oil is removed with hexane, a carcinogenic solvent.
The oils, already rancid from the extraction process, are steam cleaned. This destroys all the vitamins and antioxidants, but pesticides and solvents remain.
The oils are mixed with a finely ground nickel catalyst.
The oils are then put in a reactor where at high temperatures and pressures, they are flooded with hydrogen gas. The molecular structure is rearranged - what goes into the reactor is a liquid oil, what comes out is a smelly, lumpy, grey semi-solid.
Soap-like emulsifiers are mixed in to remove all all the lumps.
The oil is steam cleaned (again!) to remove the odor of chemicals.
The oil is then bleached to get rid of the grey color.
Synthetic vitamins and artificial flavors are mixed in.
A natural yellow color is added to margarine-- synthetic coloring is not allowed! The mixture is packaged in blocks or tubs and promoted to the public as a health food.
Source: Weston Price Foundation
HEALTH TRIVIA What fruit, also known as a love apple, contains the powerful antioxidant lycopene? A. Tomato B. Pink Lady Apple C. Watermelon D. Twinkies Answer
