shipperx | The Truth about Food Labels (Reply)

from nerdfitness.com:

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/06/27/how-to-not-get-scammed-by-food-labels-plus-were-hiring/#more-19151

Food marketers are clever.

In the quest for the almighty dollar, companies continually find new ways to make you feel like buying their product is the best possible choice. For a while, it was all about bigger, better, greasier, more delicious.

But as our country became bigger and bigger, the topic of conversation turned to “how can we get healthier?”

So marketers had to change up their tactics. Instead of promoting the unhealthy, they started rebranding and repackaging their products with healthy buzzwords to make you THINK you’re eating healthier, while still making incredibly unhealthy products that keep you addicted to them.

That Lucky Charms Leprechaun is full of sh**! If anybody thinks that sugary cereal is healthy because the box says “made with heart healthy whole grains” they’re kidding themselves. But making the healthy choice isn’t always so obvious:

What does organic mean?

Everybody and their mother is rushing out to buy organic things these days. Organic means natural. Nature is healthy. Therefore Organic is healthy, yes?

…to an extent, but not necessarily.

In order for something to be considered “organic”, it must pass a series of government checklists:

Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and diary products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones.

Along with that, there are three different “tiers” of Organic Labels:

1) 100% Organic: Made with 100% organic ingredients.

2) Organic: Made with at least 95% organic ingredients.

3) Made With Organic Ingredients: Made with a minimum of 70% organic ingredients with strict restrictions on the remaining 30%, including no GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

So, if you see something labeled “100% organic,” then you can be sure you’re getting ingredients that are naturally occurring, or if it’s from an animal then it did not take antibiotics or growth hormones.

[Side note: Don't confuse this with "All Natural" - there's no regulation behind this term, and thus means diddly squat]

Organic does not automatically mean healthy.

I mean, you can buy organic cookies and organic cereal, but that doesn’t mean they’re good for you. Sure, they don’t have High Fructose Corn Syrup (a big no-no), but they can still contain a ton of sugar and empty calories.

Best advice: Use your best judgment, eat real food, and buy what you can afford without driving yourself crazy. Don’t try to fool yourself when you are buying cookies and ice cream that are “organic.” They might beat the alternative, but that’s kind of like saying “I enjoy getting punched in the face because it’s better than being punched in the crotch.”

Bet you didn’t think you’d get a crotch analogy in an article about food labels, did ya?

Chicken Labels

It seems there are a million different labels for buying chicken these days…
•Free range!
•All natural!
•Pasture raised!
•Organic!
•Vegetarian fed!

Let’s break these down and decide which labels are worth checking out

Free Range: Ultimately, this only means that the chicken must have “access to the outside.” A.K.A., a door cut in the side of a house that has some area for the chicken to ‘range” should they so choose. Of course, most of these chickens are already raised in captivity and never once set foot outside. This is not regulated well and thus oftentimes there are no differences between a regular chicken and a free range chicken. If animal’s rights issues are important to you, a more strict classification below would better suit you.

All Natural: Virtually all chickens raised in America are “all natural” by USDA definition. No chicken company adds hormones or steroids to their chickens; it’s not allowed. The “all natural” label isn’t regulated and doesn’t mean anything.

Organic: USDA has the following requirements for labeling “organic” chicken: The number of birds raised in a house is about half of “normal” chicken houses. Only organic feed is allowed (chicken feed is 65% corn, and 30% soymeal. The other 5% of normal chicken feed is bonemeal, feather meal, blood meal and vitamins. Organic chicken cannot receive the vitamins or medicine that normal chickens do. Normal chickens are also vaccinated as day old-chicks, while organic chickens are not. Therefore the mortality rate for organic is 2-3 times normal chickens, hence the increased costs.

Pasture Raised: Ultimately, these birds are raised outside, as chickens would have existed back in the day. They are allowed to eat whatever falls on the ground, be it bugs, worms, grubs, grass, bonemeal from previously decayed animals, and more. They are not confined to a cage.

Egg Labels

If you’re looking to purchase the eggs from chickens rather than chickens themselves, you have an entire new set of labels to check out.

A lot of the definitions and descriptions from above remain, but there are a few other differences.

Certified Organic: The birds are uncaged inside barns or warehouses, are required to have outdoor access, but the amount, duration, and quality of outdoor access is undefined. They are fed an organic, all-vegetarian diet, free of antibiotics and pesticides (as required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program).

Free-range: Like above, the birds need access to outdoors to be considered “free range,” but there’s no regulation as to how much time (if any) is spent outdoors.

Certified Humane: The birds are uncaged inside barns but may be kept indoors at all times. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching, and dust bathing. There are requirements for stocking density and number of perches and nesting boxes.

Animal Welfare Approved: As the highest animal welfare standards of any third-party auditing program, the birds are cage-free and continuous outdoor perching access is required. They must be able to perform natural behaviors such as nesting, perching and dust bathing. There are requirements for stocking density, perching, space and nesting boxes.

Cage-Free: Hens laying eggs labeled as “cage-free” are uncaged inside barns, but they generally do not have access to the outdoors. They can engage in many of their natural behaviors such as walking, nesting, and spreading their wings.

Vegetarian-Fed: These birds’ feed does not contain animal byproducts, but this label does not have significant relevance to the animals’ living conditions. This only means they’re not outside eating non-vegetarian things…like bugs (you know, like free animals do).

Want to go even further?: Get your eggs from a local farmer or local farmers market that has a solid reputation. Here’s the best recommendation from Food Renegade: Find a local egg supplier on sites like www.eatwild.com or www.localharvest.org, or check Craigslist!

Meat Labels

The most confusing of them all. Is organic meat worth it? What is grass fed? What the heck does “Vegetarian-fed” mean?

It seems like there’s 18,000 types of meat labeling out there, so I’m gonna simplify the heck out of this for you.

Cows are ruminants, meaning they are meant to eat grass. Unless specifically labeled as “grass-fed beef,” then that cow was likely forced to eat foods its stomach cannot handle (grains among other things) in order to fatten it up as quickly as possible for slaughter.

Factories feed cows as much grain as possible to get them as fat as possible as quickly as possible. In order to keep the cow alive, they pump him/her full of antibiotics to keep them standing. Not good.

Organic beef might be slightly better for you than regular beef (organic cows cannot be treated with antibiotics, they must have “access” to pasture (though for how long is not determined), but may still be fed organic grains.

If the beef is “grass fed” (but not specified as 100%), then it’s possible it was raised indoors with small access for a small amount of time to go out and “graze” – which oftentimes it chooses to ignore. This is tough to determine.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON PIGS AND BACON: I’ve got you covered there, too

Gluten-Free

Thanks to an increase in people being diagnosed with celiac disease (and those who have learned they have general issues with digesting gluten), every food company is rushing to put out a gluten-free version of their best-selling unhealthy product.

What is gluten, you ask? It’s a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat, barley, rye, and other related species. Again and again, grains = bad.

So, all companies are creating “healthier” versions of their products that no longer contain gluten…or (my favorite), slapping a gluten-free label on things that never had gluten in them to begin with so they can jack up the price in the name of “health.” For example, did you know you can buy gluten-free eggs?

Is gluten-free better for you? Provided the food is actually labeled properly, gluten free foods would be beneficial to people who struggle digesting gluten. However, just like with “organic,” just because it’s gluten free does NOT mean it’s necessarily healthy for you. Gluten free cookies are still cookies. Gluten free waffles are still waffles. Gluten free pizza is still pizza.

Just like going on a vegetarian diet doesn’t necessarily mean “healthy” (donuts are vegetarian!) gluten-free in and of itself is can still be unhealthy.

Final verdict: Worth the label if you’re gluten-intolerant, but do the research before you run off eating bagfuls of ‘healthy’ food.

Made with Whole Grains

I love this one. Ever since studies started popping up that whole grains were better for you than refined grains, marketing teams have gone out and slapped “Heart Healthy Whole Grains!” on everything they can.

Setting aside the fact that grains/sugar are the primary reason most people gain weight, whole grains might not be THAT much better than regular grains, and don’t necessarily help you live longer… But that doesn’t matter. Marketers will do whatever they can to get their product in your hands, which is why these cereals are now labeled with “heart healthy whole grains!”

•Trix
•Count Chocula
•Cinnamon Toast Crunch
•Lucky Charms

Sure, these cereals might have a grain in them that is “whole grain,” but they also possess a crazy amount of sugar and other ingredients that are NOT good for you.

Be smart. Check the ingredients and nutritional value on the back.

No Sugar Added

This is another GEM of a marketing tactic. In an effort to make their food appear more healthy to health conscious individuals, companies have resorted to slapping this absolutely WORTHLESS tag on foods, deserts, and drinks. Ignore it.

If you look at ice cream or juice that says “no sugar added,” it just means that after the initial creation of the product (which contains probably a boatload of sugar already)…no extra sugar was added. It still means it contains approximately one boatload of sugar. It might have LESS sugar than other products in that category, and thus better for you, but don’t delude yourself.

Be smart. Read the back of the label. Understand that you’re eating something that probably isn’t as healthy as it sounds. Rather than eating buckets of the processed food that is promised to be ‘healthy,’ eat real food more often and then OCCASIONALLY go for the unhealthy stuff.