Butter vs. margarine: the debate has been going on for quite a while now and, as with many debates, there is no easy answer to this one. Search the internet and you will find about as many sites favoring butter over margarine as those that favor margarine over butter. Here are some with the best arguments, both ways:
- The Dairy Farmers of Canada are pro butter (no surprise there)
- The National Association of Margarine Manufacturers are pro margarine (surprised?)
- BreakTheChain has information on an e-mail you might have seen along with facts on both butter and margarine
For myself, I vote for butter. Why? Do you have some margarine in the fridge? Go and read the list of ingredients on the package. Do you feel you need a degree in chemistry to understand what’s in the product? Check out this article at Chemical & Engineering News about the ingredients in margarine. Now, do you have some butter? Here’s the list of ingredients from my tub butter: cream, salt. Pretty simple. I’ve also got some salt-free butter that says: cream. I’ve read many health food articles which advise you to eat simple, whole foods that have been processed as little as possible. I think that is good advice.
Too much of anything, butter or margarine, is not good for you. However, butter has been used by humans for thousands of years. If it was so bad for us, why have we used it for so long?
Want more information? Check out this Wikipedia article on butter and this one on margarine.
November 12, 2008 at 8:41 pm
[...] are great hot out of the oven with honey, jam, or butter. They are also great cold with tuna salad, chicken salad, or even cheese (unless you have a dairy [...]