What are they putting in our food?!

That is not a straw man.

A straw man, also known in the UK as an Aunt Sally,[1][2] is a common type of argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of the topic of argument. To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having denied a proposition by replacing it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and then deny it ("knock down a straw man") instead of the original proposition.
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As I see it, the OP was stating that companies were being shady in their labeling/advertising tactics. As an example she pointed out that the fruit flavored cereal in fact had no fruit in it. She used the word chemicals in the statement. The conversation further devolved to a "omg someone paranoid about chemicals" argument rather than one based on the original idea. I would consider that a straw man.

Since I threw the "straw man" flag, I'll explain.

"our food has been getting worse since the 50s due to poor farming"

"Your life expectancy is greater, cause NO POLIO!" Next caller?"

That's a straw man.

no polio has nothing, whatsoever, to do with food, or the discussion at hand. It's just an obnoxious and snarky response, which appears to be some people's stock in trade here.

"I want to eat clean!"

"OMG! You fool! I'll now tear down your goals, because I'm insecure about my own eating habits!"

lather, rinse, repeat.

So buying fresh meat, fruit and veg at the supermarket and eating a balance diet is impossible if you buy it all at the supermarket?

Again sorry but I believe that to be utter nonsense.

And yes there is a difference taste wise between freshly picked veg/fruit and some of the supermarket fruit/veg. But to say that supermarket foods are so lacking that we are all deficient in macronutrients is rubbish.

Well, studies seem to believe otherwise. But I'm sure those studies, since they go against your beliefs, are just hogwash, and nonsense, and probably cost money, so you have to pay for a book or a publication to read about em, so are therefore bunk.

Right?

Iodine, D, B12, iron, suflur, and more.

Research deficiency in any of those.

Is Scientific American a good enough source for you?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

Did you just quote yourself?

And your straw man comment you threw out lacked any context whatsoever so in context it was not a straw man at all - and your 'clarifier' makes no sense.

So buying fresh meat, fruit and veg at the supermarket and eating a balance diet is impossible if you buy it all at the supermarket?

Again sorry but I believe that to be utter nonsense.

And yes there is a difference taste wise between freshly picked veg/fruit and some of the supermarket fruit/veg. But to say that supermarket foods are so lacking that we are all deficient in macronutrients is rubbish.

Well, studies seem to believe otherwise. But I'm sure those studies, since they go against your beliefs, are just hogwash, and nonsense, and probably cost money, so you have to pay for a book or a publication to read about em, so are therefore bunk.

Right?

Iodine, D, B12, iron, suflur, and more.

Research deficiency in any of those.

Is Scientific American a good enough source for you?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

You're missing the main part of your own claims. The claim that it's impossible to get a nutritionally balanced diet from food. Nothing you've posted supports that claim.

So buying fresh meat, fruit and veg at the supermarket and eating a balance diet is impossible if you buy it all at the supermarket?

Again sorry but I believe that to be utter nonsense.

And yes there is a difference taste wise between freshly picked veg/fruit and some of the supermarket fruit/veg. But to say that supermarket foods are so lacking that we are all deficient in macronutrients is rubbish.

Well, studies seem to believe otherwise. But I'm sure those studies, since they go against your beliefs, are just hogwash, and nonsense, and probably cost money, so you have to pay for a book or a publication to read about em, so are therefore bunk.

Right?

Iodine, D, B12, iron, suflur, and more.

Research deficiency in any of those.

Is Scientific American a good enough source for you?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

So buying fresh meat, fruit and veg at the supermarket and eating a balance diet is impossible if you buy it all at the supermarket?

Again sorry but I believe that to be utter nonsense.

And yes there is a difference taste wise between freshly picked veg/fruit and some of the supermarket fruit/veg. But to say that supermarket foods are so lacking that we are all deficient in macronutrients is rubbish.

Well, studies seem to believe otherwise. But I'm sure those studies, since they go against your beliefs, are just hogwash, and nonsense, and probably cost money, so you have to pay for a book or a publication to read about em, so are therefore bunk.

Right?

Iodine, D, B12, iron, suflur, and more.

Research deficiency in any of those.

Is Scientific American a good enough source for you?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

If anything, iodine deficiencies are less common today in America than in the '50s. I'd think it would be very difficult to assign deficiencies of these elects to be either primarily the responsibility of supermarket food nor is it difficult to have sufficient of each of these from that type of food.

And no Scientific America, although an enjoyable read, is not a good source.
Always go to the source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15637215

Which states a decline in some micro nutrients (and none in many), not that you will have a deficiency from eating from these sources. Sorry.

So buying fresh meat, fruit and veg at the supermarket and eating a balance diet is impossible if you buy it all at the supermarket?

Again sorry but I believe that to be utter nonsense.

And yes there is a difference taste wise between freshly picked veg/fruit and some of the supermarket fruit/veg. But to say that supermarket foods are so lacking that we are all deficient in macronutrients is rubbish.

Well, studies seem to believe otherwise. But I'm sure those studies, since they go against your beliefs, are just hogwash, and nonsense, and probably cost money, so you have to pay for a book or a publication to read about em, so are therefore bunk.

Right?

Iodine, D, B12, iron, suflur, and more.

Research deficiency in any of those.

Is Scientific American a good enough source for you?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

If anything, iodine deficiencies are less common today in America than in the '50s. I'd think it would be very difficult to assign deficiencies of these elects to be either primarily the responsibility of supermarket food nor is it difficult to have sufficient of each of these from that type of food.

And no Scientific America, although an enjoyable read, is not a good source.
Always go to the source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15637215

Which states a decline in some micro nutrients (and none in many), not that you will have a deficiency from eating from these sources. Sorry.

Yup. Even if there is a decline in the micronutrient content of a fruit or vegetable, it doesn't necessarily translate into not getting enough of it.

So buying fresh meat, fruit and veg at the supermarket and eating a balance diet is impossible if you buy it all at the supermarket?

Again sorry but I believe that to be utter nonsense.

And yes there is a difference taste wise between freshly picked veg/fruit and some of the supermarket fruit/veg. But to say that supermarket foods are so lacking that we are all deficient in macronutrients is rubbish.

Well, studies seem to believe otherwise. But I'm sure those studies, since they go against your beliefs, are just hogwash, and nonsense, and probably cost money, so you have to pay for a book or a publication to read about em, so are therefore bunk.

Right?

Iodine, D, B12, iron, suflur, and more.

Research deficiency in any of those.

Is Scientific American a good enough source for you?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/

If anything, iodine deficiencies are less common today in America than in the '50s. I'd think it would be very difficult to assign deficiencies of these elects to be either primarily the responsibility of supermarket food nor is it difficult to have sufficient of each of these from that type of food.

And no Scientific America, although an enjoyable read, is not a good source.
Always go to the source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15637215

Which states a decline in some micro nutrients (and none in many), not that you will have a deficiency from eating from these sources. Sorry.

Yup. Even if there is a decline in the micronutrient content of a fruit or vegetable, it doesn't necessarily translate into not getting enough of it.

It's difficult to do so.

Not impossible, clearly.. but, well.. read:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Womens_Health_Watch/2009/July/Getting-your-vitamins-and-minerals-through-diet

Can it be done? Sure. (as long as you supplement with D).

are MOST people going to be able to manage to do it, with no supplementation? Unlikely.