No matter how you look at it, cigarettes and chips just aren’t healthy
Tomorrow I leave for Texas but like I said on Friday, I have guest posts all lined up for this week to keep you occupied while I’m gone. Be sure to check out Living Rhetorically in the Real World on Tuesday and Thursday as well, because the fantastic Hanlie has kindly lent me a couple of her posts for re-publishing!
Big Food and Big Tobacco
In David Kessler’s The End of Overeating, he talks about the parallels between the tricks that food manufacturers and tobacco companies use to manipulate people into buying their products. I found it amusing (and by that I mean, I found it alarming) when I read this article about how people are being deceived by the packaging of cigarettes. It says that consumers are confused by terms such as “light”. Sound familiar? This just reminds me so much of the way that many people believe that oil labelled “light” automatically means that it’s healthier than regular oil. This isn’t true. If oil is labelled “light”, it’s usually because it is light coloured. The term has absolutely nothing to do with nutrition.
If there’s some kind of food with an interesting package, or a catchy brand name or attractive description, we’re more likely to buy it. Cigarettes are apparently no different.
When I think about the times when I’ve been tempted to buy certain foods, to be honest it’s usually because the packaging looks like fun. EnviroKidz packages, for example, are so cute (and the cereal is pretty darn tasty too). Because it says “organic”, most people pluck it off the shelf without thinking twice. I know I’m repeating myself here, but this is important: “organic” is not necessarily healthy.
It’s the same thing with packages of cigarettes. The consumer figures that if they buy something with a label suggesting it’s better for you than other brands, then it must be okay to consume. Or at least, this kind of advertising relieves some of the guilt. If we can fool ourselves into thinking that something that is “light”, “organic”, or “has 25% less fat” is also healthier, then we feel better. We’re also likely to buy more of it.
I can’t imagine why anyone would buy a pack of cigarettes and believe that because it’s light blue rather than dark blue, or because it says “smooth” or “light”, or because it has a number “6” rather than a number “10” on the package, that it would be good for them. But a lot of people do that. And anyway, I can’t imagine why anyone would buy a bag of chips or a sugary cereal and believe that because there are cute animals on the packaging, or because it says “organic” or “seven grains”, or because it is approved by the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation (which takes into account sodium but not sugar or many other nutrients), that it would be good for them.
And yet. We’re still buying those products. We’re still being tricked. Please read ingredients lists. Even if you don’t, stop and think for a moment before you buy. It’s a pack of smokes or a bag of chips; just how healthy do you really think something like that can be?
It’s not so much the actual buying of these products that I find frustrating. Knock yourselves out; I sometimes eat those things too. It’s when we’re duped by the manufacturers, when we convince ourselves that what we’re eating is good for our bodies, that I think it’s very important to address these issues. Just be aware of what you’re putting into your mouth! This is one of the few times that I’ll say I actually kind of like how there are burger joints which call their meals “Monster Burger” and that kind of thing; there are no false fronts about it, that food clearly isn’t so good for you. And if you’re okay with that, then go to town and enjoy yourself! Do a little research, though, if you’re thinking about eating something which uses vague terms suggestive of “healthy” for the sole reason that it sounds nutritious. You’ll be happy you looked into it.
We’re all capable of making our own decisions of what to eat. Make sure that you’re eating what you really want to eat. Make sure that you know what’s really in your food.
One thing to take real note of here, is that if you actually do real research, which I have. Organic food is a bunch of BS. There is really no reason whatsoever to buy it or to feel good about yourself for buying it. Any of you out there looking to do the same I suggest you start here.
http://www.thetruthaboutorganicfoods.org/
So please, everyone. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and do not buy organic. Thank you!
Sorry, Anon, but if it’s done right organic _tastes_ better. Almost as good as home-grown.
Great post, and very good point. I even fall into this trap myself sometimes. It’s so dumb, those marketing companies do such a great job, darn it! As for the cigarettes, those people are just stupid, sorry.
Perhaps we should start a revolution in which marketing companies shall be forced into telling the truth on their packaging!
And while we’re at it, we can make them all use plain brown paper to wrap their products (no matter what the product is), with a truthful list of ingredients.
That way, consumers would be forced to actually read about what they are putting into their bodies.
Oh, wait, that probably wouldn’t work – some people just plain don’t care.
My favorite example of this is the cereal (or whatever) that claims to be “made with whole grains”, and on the ingredient list, those grains are listed after the white flour and 3 kinds of sugar.
That is why I usually just end up eating the same things all the time. I do the research once and then I am too lazy to revise my list of food again.
–asithi
Good post. Something A LOT of people get wrong, and it frustrates me too! People trust the companies and the government to take care of them, or at least not to deceive them in such everyday and obvious things, but that is what ignorance is I suppose.
Anon- thanks for the link. I think we’ll have to agree to disagree about that one, though!
Mary Anne- I very much agree. Organic carrots taste fantastic.
Gina- it’s so EASY to fall into those traps!
Bag Lady- it’s a deal. We’re leading a revolution 😀
Tricia- exactly!
Asithi- hehe. I often do that too.
Lia- sighs, we just can’t trust anyone these days.
I think this is evidence of a public that would rather be entertained than educated. We live in a world of such information overload that people (often times myself included) turn off their brains. It takes a lot of time and effort to do the research and to learn. In many instances we would just rather not have to think about it.
You are so on the money! Marketers are genius. I don’t know how many times I’ve told my son that you can’t believe what you hear in a commercial. Doesn’t matter – he’s already sold. And adults are no better! I’ve heard moms around here proclaim that “it’s organic” as if that automatically makes it healthy. Organic only determines how the ingredients are grown – not how they are used in the final product. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? And even more frustrating when I realize that I’ve been sucked in by a markerters good snow job!
Great post!
I agree, the most important part of grocery shopping is looking at the ingredients list.
Have a wonderful time in Texas!
As a fairly recent ex-smoker and ex-eater of processed food, I can totally appreciate this analogy. There is no difference between these products, which is why I’m not a big fan of “everything in moderation”. We know that cutting down on cigarettes will only slow down our descent into poor health, not reverse it. Same with processed food.
When it comes to my opinion on what to do to the CEO’s of cigarette companies, I’m afraid it does not fall under the heading of do no harm!
Actually, Mary Anne and Sagan, if you do your reading, proper organic food taste is just a psychological thing. About 90% of people fail the tests to discern which is conventionally grown and which are organic. It has been proven again and again that if you tell someone that enjoys organic food that something is “organic” (in many circumstances it actually isn’t) they’ll say it tastes better. You should really consider this idea.
Such great reminders to *think* and *read*. It really is amazing how many people don’t read labels. Yet they are AMAZED at what they find when they take 30 seconds to read what they are eating!
Keep fighting the good fight Sagan! I’m so excited to hear about what you think of Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I think you will like them 🙂
Great post–you are so right! I used to be a smoker and at the time it would ease my mind a bit if I bought the “lighter” pack. I thought I was a little healthier than everyone else but now I realize that’s not true. Luckily I came to my senses and quit all together, but this is definitely going to make me more aware of what’s in the food I’m eating, the food I think is healthy! Thank you!
So true. I have to laugh at the ‘gluten free’ slapped across everything these days,even foods that never had gluten in them to begin with. 🙂
I love pretty packages, too, and I appreciate catch phrases like “whole wheat” or “all natural” on the packaging, but I learned a long time ago that the fine print is what matters.
I learned this the hard way, when as an obese person I believed that low-fat meant I could eat as much as I wanted. Not true.
Great post – totally agree! It’s a shame that it’s gotten to a point where we have to double check everything constantly — seems as if we don’t watch out for ourseleves, no one else will!
Mathew- I think you have an excellent point re: entertainment vs education. If we can COMBINE the two, that would be ideal.
Cathy- oh yes. When I get sucked in, even with my obsession of reading labels and lists etc etc, I KNOW that they’ve done a good job.
Andrea- it can be a fun part of the shopping process, too!
Hanlie & Dr. J- I have so many mixed views about the “everything in moderation”. I think that I do LIVE that philosophy, but I’m not sure that I entirely agree with it.
Anon- I agree that word choice can entirely change our opinion of the taste, absolutely. Even the names of dishes at restaurants can do a great job of that. But I’m not sure about that necessarily always being the case for, say, vegetables. Organic carrots, to me, taste much sweeter than regular ones, whereas with other vegetables I can’t tell the difference at all. Perhaps I should do a blind taste test of this one.
Jolene- YES. It really does only take about 30 seconds. There isn’t much reason why we shouldn’t take that little bit of time to read the list.
Food n Fitness- excellent!
Cammy- how about “cholesterol free” on bottles of vegetable oil? That one just kills me.
Diane & Shannon- we definitely have to take care of ourselves.
Trust no one – that’s my motto!
My favorite is No Cholesterol on bags of cane sugar. So true! So irrelevant!
Mary Anne in Kentucky
Have a safe trip – looking forward to your guest posts!
Good luck with the move. 5-10 years we may end up in Huston…who knows. I absolutely love your analogy. Just because something is better doesn’t mean it’s best. I like the Good, better, best break down. I just need to decide to eat what’s best for me.
That is why I don’t buy fat free products anymore…if I’m going to have cookies or ice cream, I’ll have something that actually tastes good!
It’s amazing how so many people are duped by marketing techniques. I guess those people have jobs for a reason….
I need to put this book on my reading list. Great points. It’s so true that much of our food labeling and information is based on both confusion and pretty packaging. The best choice for me is to the choose the foods without a package most often, good ol’ fruits and veggies or the boring packages like those for whole and alternative grains. 🙂