Food Label Tricks

So in the process of trying to find information about our topic that didn't completely fly over my head, I found this article. I really enjoyed reading it because it was simply written, and it still provided meaningful, seemingly researched information. It also was relatively recent---from 2005, so that was encouraging. One thing I found especially interesting was that the claim on labels that say "natural" or "all natural" have no real legal standard.  So when you see crackers and cookies with this claim, read the ingredients. These claims are really only legitimate when it comes to meat, and even then they are not strictly regulated (see article).  In addition, when meat claims that it is "natural", that does not mean that it is antibiotic free. Consumers have to look for that specification separately if it is important to them. Another issue that stood out to me was the caution toward buying "free range" eggs. The author pointed out that this could simply mean that the chickens had about 5 minutes a day to go outside, or maybe just the option to with a door somewhere in the coop. A lot of companies that claim this for their chickens, are really no different from the horrible conditions depicted in Food Inc. The author suggests looking for phrases like "pasture-fed". Other good phrases to look out for include the following:

• "100% Organic"
• "Organic"
• "Made with Organic Ingredients"
• "Free Farmed" poultry, beef and pork
• "Food Alliance" beef and pork
• "Pasture-fed" or "Grass-fed" beef, lamb, and eggs
• rBGH free

I really enjoyed this reading, and I think the breakdown of catch-phrases will give my group a good frame of reference for our research.
Group members: Dawn Roy, Megan Norris