As a survivor, I really feel compelled to speak out against Campbell's for several reasons. It is difficult because most kids grew up on Campbell's. My mom used to prepare a thermos of Campbell soup every morning for my dad to bring to work. In his mid fifties he developed colorectal cancer. I don't know if there was a connection.

I used to love the "cream of" series because it seemed so convenient and great for casseroles and quick dinners. But their lines, even while seeming to have expanded in variety (low sodium, no sodium, etc) all seem to have become more bland. Those of you who bought the cans in the seventies know the taste has changed. There used to be more "mushroom, " "celery, " or "tomato" taste whereas now, there is more of just a bland starchy taste.

As if to compensate for the lack of taste, there is more "spice" than ever. This "spice" is labeled as just such under "spices" or "flavoring" or "monosodium glutamate." Now after drinking these soups, I feel energized, than later on, sort of brain sick.

But I am really writing to complain about the Prego Sauces, which I hadn't realized were or became a Campbell food service product. Here is what the traditional label lists:

TOMATO PUREE (WATER, TOMATO PASTE), DICED TOMATOES IN TOMATO JUICE, CORN SYRUP, VEGETABLE OIL (CORN AND/OR COTTONSEED AND/OR CANOLA), SALT, ONION POWDER, SPICES (BASIL, OREGANO, SPICE), DEHYDRATED GARLIC, CITRIC ACID, DEHYDRATED PARSLEY AND FLAVORING.

Now this is what I thought I purchased, on sale so I thought I was getting a good deal, at the big grocery store where I also purchased some frozen stuffed pasta shells for dinner. Dutifully, I checked the label on the frozen shells and they seem somewhat natural except they also just list "spices." (After the Bush era, the FDA relaxed on food ingredients, so now chemicals like MSG can be listed under spices, natural/flavors and the product can still qualify as "all natural"). Anyway, I used the sauce as a base for the pasta shells, and had the worst MSG attack ever. Several days, later, my brain still feels just high and woozy from what I believe was the Prego sauce. I believe it is mostly the sauce because even washing the pan, the water in the pan had this flourescent orange sheen to it. This sauce is designed to send one to the madhouse! I greatly regret that I didn't take the longer walk to the organic store and pay the dollar or two extra for Muir Glen or Bionaturae strained tomato sauce. From now on, I will sacrifice taste for healthy eating.

In my veggie organic sojourn, I have discovered that just about anything "tasty" contains cancer inducing chemicals. The cancer rates increase with age per the American Cancer Society to one in two or three for adults aged seventy or older in a study published in 2009 with a Table entitled "Probability of Developing Invasive Cancers Over Selected Age Intervals by Sex, US, 2003-2005." This is really something to consider, that as our bodies age, our defences against "bad" cells and carcinogenic processes that induce the growth of tumors decreases. Campbell food products, laces as they are with chemicals, are not natural, but carcinogenic.

I am constantly thinking of ways to make my own soups and sauces now. It's really easy, especially if one uses a crockpot and cooks beans. That starchy water (just like in Campbell's soups) plus a bit of plain organic yogurt makes the perfect base for any kind of cream soup including organic tomato sauce. Say no to Campbell's. Give your cans away to charity. Keep one to look at the label and remind yourself to just say NO.