Hands off my Egg Foo Young and my Sweet and Sour Chicken!

Anytime we read press releases from CSPI Food Police, it's always the same: attempt to forbid people from eating certain things by hyping how bad it is (fat grams, calories, etc.). People read the article, and do either one of two things.

1. They go out and purchase the things anyway, and enjoy it, Food Police be damned!
2. They research the CSPI's findings, and then actually listen to these self-righteous scaremongers who probably hide those "forbidden" things in their refrigerators.

The Americanized version of Chinese food (there is a difference; more detail in a moment) - the oily, grease-dripping, lotus-flour covered gems of glory - is what has the CSPI Food Police in an finger-wagging frenzy.

We'll agree with them that the stuff that's served in your local restaurant is nowhere near the "real deal" Chinese cuisine you get in Chinatowns across the nation. You won't get exotic noodle soups, dim sum, or any of the stuff Chinese locals consider staples unless you take the trip down to Chinatown and spend an extra couple of bucks for top-shelf stuff. On the other hand, damning all of the local Chinese restaurants for not offering healthier (for CSPI, it would likely be twigs, tofu and anything not involving any form of meat) dishes is not just simplistic, it's elitist and racist.

If you look really, really hard enough for better items, or ask your local Chinese food restaurant, not only will they gladly cook your food to order (it might take longer or it might taste different to other palates), they'll toss in a couple of recipes and direct you to dishes that are exotic, yet affordable, and can be done much more cheaply than ordering it from their place. What's scarier than the fat grams a certain Chinese dish might contain? The relative ease activists like CSPI can scare people, and give them fear and loathing in treats like food.