Adding

ADDITIVES! O-M-G! APOCALYPSE!

Or not?

What is wrong with people these days? Has the internet epigenetically replaced our common sense? Apparently, a raw, peeled, organic carrot on a plate is not only part of the hyped "raw food" trend, but it's also - by some media - viewed as an entirely acceptable stab at fine dining. Focusing on the produce, and all of that bullshit (which, by the way, is as organic as you can get. I'm sure you don't want to eat it though).
I'm all about focusing on the produce. Monovarietal olive oils and wines, bring it on. Pared-down dishes with as few ingredients as possible (or necessary, perhaps) - I love it. But it has to be done right, and for the right reasons.
Let's say you don't like processed food. Okay, fine. But what do you mean by processed? Industrially processed? Processed by your fingers in your kitchen at home? Which part of what process is it that you want to avoid?
Here, many people scream "additives". Or E-numbers. I agree that it does look very scary when there are about four dozen E-numbers to a can of crushed tomatoes. I mean, what is wrong with the tomatoes if you need so much else besides their flesh? Wikipedia has usefully provided a list of the categories of additives that are approved by the FDA (food and drug administration):
Acids
Food acids are added to make flavors "sharper", and also act as preservatives and antioxidants. Common food acids include vinegar, citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, and lactic acid.
Acidity regulators
Acidity regulators are used to change or otherwise control the acidity and alkalinity of foods.
Anticaking agents
Anticaking agents keep powders such as milk powder from caking or sticking.
Antifoaming agents
Antifoaming agents reduce or prevent foaming in foods.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants such as vitamin C act as preservatives by inhibiting the effects of oxygen on food, and can be beneficial to health.
Bulking agents
Bulking agents such as starch are additives that increase the bulk of a food without affecting its taste.
Food coloring
Colorings are added to food to replace colors lost during preparation, or to make food look more attractive.
Color retention agents
In contrast to colorings, color retention agents are used to preserve a food's existing color.
Emulsifiers
Emulsifiers allow water and oils to remain mixed together in an emulsion, as in mayonnaise, ice cream, and homogenized milk.
Flavors
Flavors are additives that give food a particular taste or smell, and may be derived from natural ingredients or created artificially.
Flavor enhancers
Flavor enhancers enhance a food's existing flavors. They may be extracted from natural sources (through distillation, solvent extraction, maceration, among other methods) or created artificially.
Flour treatment agents
Flour treatment agents are added to flour to improve its color or its use in baking.
Glazing agents
Glazing agents provide a shiny appearance or protective coating to foods.
Humectants
Humectants prevent foods from drying out.
Tracer gas
Tracer gas allow for package integrity testing to prevent foods from being exposed to atmosphere, thus guaranteeing shelf life.
Preservatives
Preservatives prevent or inhibit spoilage of food due to fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms.
Stabilizers
Stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents, like agar or pectin (used in jam for example) give foods a firmer texture. While they are not true emulsifiers, they help to stabilize emulsions.
Sweeteners
Sweeteners are added to foods for flavoring. Sweeteners other than sugar are added to keep the food energy (calories) low, or because they have beneficial effects for diabetes mellitus and tooth decay and diarrhea.
Thickeners
Thickeners are substances which, when added to the mixture, increase its viscosity without substantially modifying its other properties.

How many of these do you recognize as being used in your own kitchen? I for one, am certainly guilty of using sugar, spices, salt, acids (such as vinegar and lemon juice) and antioxidants (such as ascorbic acid/vitamin c) and on occasion even stabilizers and preservatives. A month or so ago, I even used artificial colouring when baking a whacky birthday cake! Shame on me. Or not?
By this time, you're probably crying "but this isn't what we mean - food we buy in supermarkets these days is just so full of junk! We need to go back to our roots, eat additive free food - or maybe even stop cooking all together as nutrients are lost in the cooking process!"
If this is what you're yelling in your head at the screen, let me tell you something. As a consumer you're all-powerful. If there's something strange in ingredients list of a product, then just don't buy it. The suppliers and producers will eventually get the message. And it's not like there is a list of E-numbers in meat from the deli, or in good, free-range eggs, or in a quart of milk, or in the fresh carrots. The additive-fiesta tends to happen in the pre-made, ready-to eat or re-heat-and-eat foods. I'm sorry, but there's just no shortcut to a healthy, home-cooked meal. It takes time, and effort. And about this raw-food nonsense: have you ever heard of Fodmaps? Well, if not, look them up. The nutrients in a raw carrot compared to a cooked carrot might be more plentiful, but the body finds the nutrients in the raw carrot harder to access. We're talking about two ends of the same stick here: raw food has more nutrients but that are harder for the body to gain access too (evolution is slow, and the digestive process is not likely to change during the time it takes for trend to change), cooked food has less nutrients but that are more available to the body. And yes, I know about fiber. I just don't think that overdosing on that is healthy either.

So what, we're between a rock and a hard place. Between the devil and the deep blue sea. I, for one, am all for going fishing.