Food myths Memes

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That's Not How Chemistry Works

That's Not How Chemistry Works
The molecular structure of margarine is nowhere near plastic. It's like saying humans are one chromosome away from being bananas. Margarine is primarily vegetable oils with emulsifiers, while plastics are synthetic polymers with completely different chemical structures. And those "27 shared ingredients with paint"? Pure fiction. Both might contain water and some preservatives, but that's like saying coffee and motor oil are similar because both are brown liquids. Next they'll claim peanut butter is two molecules away from being superglue. The food science here is about as accurate as measuring temperature with a ruler.

The Molecular Misadventures Of Margarine

The Molecular Misadventures Of Margarine
The chemical misinformation here is so bad it would make Marie Curie roll in her radioactive grave! Margarine is a complex mixture of vegetable oils, water, salt, emulsifiers, and sometimes milk solids—definitely not "one molecule away from plastic." That's like saying humans are one chromosome away from being bananas. Actually, wait... that might explain some people I know. This classic chemophobia trope completely ignores how molecular structure determines properties. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is "one oxygen atom away" from water (H₂O), but I wouldn't recommend gargling with the former unless you're trying to bleach your esophagus. The "shares 27 ingredients with paint" claim is equally ridiculous. Water is in both paint and margarine—guess we should stop drinking water too! Next they'll tell us oxygen is in both air and nuclear explosions, so maybe we should stop breathing.