by Carie Moore
If you stop and think of the many food labels you’ve seen, do they make sense?
GMO-free water? We all should know from elementary science that water isn’t a living thing. It doesn’t have a genetic makeup. Should the price be higher for that GMO-free water over a label without it? It’s the same exact water.
I had almonds the other day. The back of the package said, caution: may contain almonds. MAY contain almonds? What else would a package of almonds be?
Labels are on the front, where everyone can see them. Facts are usually on the back or side. You have to look for facts. With food products you usually have to pick them up and turn them over to find ingredients, contents and warnings.
Think about it this way: If you were forced to wear a label, you would want to put all the “good” things about yourself on the front to sell yourself. Then all your details on the back.
Food marketing is the same. They want the words that will help sell the product on the front and all the detailed information on the back. Because your first impression – the front label- already gave you a preconceived notion about the product, you either might not read the back at all or place a higher value on the label than the real information listed on the back.
I don’t like to disagree with others like me who are providing food. One thing I have learned as I met people from all over the nation through various organizations, is it’s okay if someone else does things differently. We don’t have the same story, the same farm, the same resources, the same families. Nothing is the same so it’s like comparing apples to oranges.
There are those willing to listen and those who just want to push their agenda. Two things to remember:
First, food choices are personal. That’s okay, but like you chose your friends, don’t make your food choices based on someone else’s opinion. Do what’s best for you and your family’s wellbeing. Some people may have a gluten or dairy intolerance, but that doesn’t mean you have to avoid gluten.
Second, there are those who just have food fears. Most of them have incorrect information relating to organic, GMO, and cage-free for example. They don’t affect health in any way, it’s just personal opinion. Those are the ones you need to be careful of. They have scoured the internet for every possible biased negative thing they can find. No matter what truths or experiences we have, they will counter it. Those people aren’t going to change and fight for the sake of fighting.
I want us to all use common sense. Farmers don’t decide what label goes on food. Consumers are the ones who have pushed for the labeling and it hasn’t been helpful for you or me as a farmer.
It means a lot of duplicate products on store shelves that waste a lot of time and money. If you or your kids are missing out on things because you may not have the money, I strongly urge you to look closely at your grocery and food bills. There is a good chance you don’t have to eliminate anything, you just need to switch what you are buying.
That’s why websites like On Your Table are here for you. To connect you directly to resources in one place. Whether you want to talk to a livestock producer, a certain crop grower, a nutritionist, a stay at home mom, we all have our own background, story, and family, and none of us are alike in how we do things.
The WHY may be similar, but you can ask the same question and have each of us answer it with our own perspective. Some may be similar, and some may vary. Location plays a huge part in food choices and is usually where the greatest division lies. Can you grow a garden? Are you close to fresh seafood? Does your school or local restaurant have regulations on where they get their food from? How often does stock get rotated at your small grocer? Is your population a monoculture or very diverse? These alone will impact what gets brought into your community for choices.