Sensationalism

Gummy Bear Love by xxcrow

I find it amusing how ideas always come to you when you're bathing heh. Well this space has been dead for awhile with my tumblr lying around, so before a couple of stuff I have planned hit this space, here's a filler post =p.

Suddenly thought about a picture someone shared a couple of months ago with me about how 'disgusting' gummy bears are. The picture basically showed a pile of animal remains and said that gelatin is made from prolonged boiling of that thing. Which does seem pretty disgusting.

I do love my gummy bears enough though, to recognise bullshit when I see it. I quickly replied the person by stating that what the article portrays is merely a fraction of the truth. Yes it is true that gelatin is made from animal remains and uses prolonged boiling. However, what actually goes on is collagen from these animal remains is extracted, and boiling is one of the processes in which this is achieved. Gelatin is then produced through the process of hydrolysis from the collagen. The animal remains are discarded after being used. Gelatin is really merely protein.

The picture misleads readers into thinking that basically the meat factory gathers the unwanted stuff, give it to the gummy bear factories, and the gummy bear factories boil them until they melt and that substance is called gelatin. The picture does not actually says this, but the connection is made in the minds of people. By leaving out so much essential information, it implies something which is false. Half truths, or in this case not even ten percent of the truth, is really just falsehood.

So yea, this was what I thought in my head when showering. I realise that people might still be disgusted though, thinking that despite the huge sensationalism that went into the photo, one might still think that there is some truth and hence shy away from gummy bears. Because of my love for gummy bears I must defend it from dishonour, and eureka, in the shower I thought of an example of how to highlight sensationalism to Singaporeans.

So here's my very own sensationalist picture. Volia!


None of that is technically untrue you know.

NEWater is in fact roughly 3.5% of our household water supply. So if NEWater is sewage water, then yes water we drink in Singapore contains it, and yes it is mixed with other sources of water supply. The way I mentioned 'mixed with other water supplies' though seems to have an undertone of trying to disguise it when that isn't the intention at all.

Filtered reminds you of the simple filters that we see in our homes, and we know those don't do anything for water which is already polluted. That image sticks in our head. What NEWater uses though is high technology microfiltration which is powerful enough to stop even most bacteria and viruses. That is merely step one. Then comes reverse osmosis. Then ultraviolet screening. The word 'filtered' doesn't do the process justice.

Chemicals are added into the water again sounds iffy. In reality, alkaline chemicals are added to restore the pH of the water. The phrase is a loaded phrase though, without saying anything it creates impressions in the minds of readers. It reminds readers of what labs and all the chemicals which may be life threatening if consumed, it reminds readers of mercury and lead poisoning. There is an implication there.

And the images. All pictures of sewage in the worst form it could possibly be. None about the treatment process, none about high technology equipment used, just pictures to induce disgust and cause people to recoil.

My little picture fails to mention that the quality of NEWater far exceeds the requirements set my WHO and USEPA guidelines. It is, in fact, cleaner and purer than water from other sources in Singapore, so much so that it is used by industries requiring high purity water. Just like how the gelatin article fails to mention how all gelatin producers are required by law to strictly follow the ISO 9001 quality management standards and are strictly regulated.

So people, be careful of sensationalism. Your gummy bears are safe to eat and incredibly tasty still. You know, as a matter of fact I'm going to grab some haribos right now.

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