Pass the Butter, Please!

Lately, I've been reading a lot about food, how it affects our bodies, and just how far food companies will go to get you to buy their product.  I'm sure my co-workers are already getting tired of me ruining their lunches by sharing tidbits I've learned!  ;)  But I just have to share what I've read recently about margarine and butter.
Until about a year ago, I had been a margarine-loving girl.  It was cheaper and if I bought the "light" version, I thought I was saving so many calories!  Walker suggested we switch to butter last year because he felt margarine was basically glorified plastic.  I didn't really understand what he meant at the time but I went along with it.  About a month ago, however, I read about how margarine was made and I really started to understand his argument.  Are you ready for something disgusting?  I should warn you, if you really like using margarine, you may not want to read the next part!
So when they make margarine, they start with really cheap oils: corn, soy, canola, or cottonseed.  These oils are already full of free radicals (which are really bad for your body).  Then they mix it with tiny metal particles, usually nickel oxide.  They put this oil-metal mix into hydrogen gas in a high-temp machine.  Added to this is soap-like products and starch.  Then they clean it by steaming in order to remove the unpleasant odor.  The natural color of margarine is gray.  Gray....blech!  Of course this wouldn't tempt people to buy it so they bleach it and then add that oh-so-pleasant yellow color.  The biggest problem with margarine is that it is partially hydrogenated which means it has trans-fats!  Trans-fats, which everyone knows (thanks to Mayor Bloomberg), are terrible for you.  But so many margarines claim to be trans-fat free!  Well....here's where you need to read the label.  It says "no trans-fats per serving."  The FDA allows food companies to lower the serving size so that the serving contains less than 1 g of trans-fats; then they can say in big bold letters on the front of the package "TRANS-FATS FREE!" when really, they're not. 
I found an ingredient list of that appetizing margarine spray (actually found it in a google image search; I Can't Believe It's Not Butter's website of course does not list the ingredients).

 water, liquid soybean oil, salt, sweet cream buttermilk, xanthan gum, natural soy lecithin, polysorbate 60, lactic acid, (potassium sorbate, calcium disodium edta) used to protect quality, natural, and artificial flavors, vitamin A (palmitate), beta carotene (color).

What is polysorbate 60???  A quick google search showed that it's an emulsifier and not only is it added to cream substitutes, baked goods, and frozen desserts but also to medical treatments for acne, mouth sores, and (get ready for it) vaginal itch!  YUMM-O!! Pass me some of that polysorbate 60 please!  (in case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm at its finest)

Ingredients for butter?  So glad you asked....

sweet cream, salt.

Yep, that's it.  Those are the ingredients in salted butter which is the kind we buy.

So I think we'll be sticking with real butter from now on and I sincerely hope you make the switch as well (if you haven't already).