Making the right food choices as a student is hard enough. We’re constantly busy running to our next class, studying for exams, or trying to keep track of our social lives. All of this doesn’t leave us with much time to think about the food choices we make on a day to day basis, yet it’s something that is essential for our physical and mental health. The problem doesn’t stop there, however. Even if you do try to make an effort to eat healthily and sustainability, the information available out there simply isn’t sufficient. Misleading and confusing food labels are a main culprit. Walking into Wollastons or Whole Foods, you will see thousands of different food options lining the aisles. Labels pop out at you, including “natural”, “low-fat” and “multi-grain”. You might ask, what do these words even mean? Well, many times we don’t even know.
One of the main roots of this problem is the fact that food labeling is inconsistent. The FDA and USDA lack formal definitions for certain labels, allowing companies leeway in promoting their products as healthy choices. For example, the official FDA criteria for labeling “natural” means nothing artificial or synthetic has been added (Kincheloe). This broad criteria creates a large amount of confusion, since it can be very much seen as subjective. In fact, a Consumer Reports study found two-thirds of respondents thought the natural label encompasses hormones, pesticides, and GMOs, which it in fact does not (Rock). Even worse, the labeling can be misleading and cause people to unknowingly buy unhealthy food. There are many examples of this, including pancakes and chocolate bars that claim they are “high in protein” or sugary drinks and candy labeled “made with real fruit”. These labels are misleading and potentially harmful to consumers. It is not surprising then, that studies have found no significant dietary improvements as a result of nutritional and caloric labeling in restaurants (Harnack et al.). Overall, it is clear that our food labels are not working and need a major revamping.
Luckily as students, there is action we can take to address the problem at hand. One step we can take as students is to better educate ourselves on how to understand food labels. Food labels can be confusing, especially with so much information packed in them that can become overwhelming. Therefore, understanding what information and nutritional columns to focus on is immensely beneficial. This could be buying foods containing key nutrients such as vitamins. This could mean limiting unhealthy fats and increasing uptake of healthy fats like Omega 3s, as well as checking the amounts of added sugar. Another component of food labels to keep in mind serving sizes. Many food companies tend to use extremely small serving sizes to try to understate calories or the amount of unhealthy ingredients in their food. For this reason, having a correct idea of the amount of servings you are consuming can be extremely important. Next, we can understand the specific definitions that food companies use. Egg cartons, for example, use words like “cage-free”, “pasture-raised”, “free-range” and “certified organic”, causing headaches for even seasoned health conscious individuals.
Food labels don’t necessarily only relate to our personal health. They can be used as a tool to understand the impacts of food on our environment. Making the proper choices based on food labels can help make us all better consumers. The problem of pesticides within our agricultural system is one that causes sizable harm to our environment. They have been found to contaminate soil, water, turf and vegetation. It also kills other organisms such as fish, birds, plants and insects. Choosing foods with organic labels can help with this issue, seeing as they enhance soil and water quality, use significantly less pesticides and reduce overall pollution into the environment (Mayo Clinic Staff). There are other ways food labels can be improved to benefit our environment. Businesses across Europe have begun adopting “eco-labels”, food labels that assign a grade based on specific environmental metrics (Cassidy). Incorporating these scores/metrics into our foods can give us additional insights and encourage us to think critically into the relationship between food and the environment.
Better education about the food we consume is something that Slow Food Northeastern focuses on as an organization, as well as part of the greater international movement of Slow Food. Not only does the organization promote greater awareness and interconnectedness of food in regards to our personal health, but it emphasizes other factors as well including our environment. Slow Food is extremely involved in promoting this message of sustainability. In meetings, members are encouraged to bring in their own home-cooked meals and share recipes. Slow Food spends time educating members on different topics, including detailed steps on how to reduce food waste and cook with food scraps. Members within the club have even taken trips to Hawaii, experiencing the local farming culture and learning about vertical farming. Further, the club does community based work, working with Boston-area food related institutions to foster partnerships, create change and expand outreach.
At the end of the day, creating food labels that are more clear, consistent and environmentally conscious comes down to advocacy. This means partnering with community leaders and spreading the message to politicians and lawmakers. This means advocating for strict and clear definitions for labels such as “natural”, and creating proper mechanisms for the FDA and USDA to ensure companies are actually complying with standards. Through our education and advocacy, we as students can help make eating healthy food easier and more sustainable. I look forward to continuing this conversation in Slow Food meetings to come.
Sources:
Cassidy, Tiffany. “How Green Is Your Food? Eco-Labels Can Change the Way We Eat.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 Sept. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/22/green-food-eco-labels-study-environmental-cost-consumers.
Harnack, Lisa J, et al. “Effects of Calorie Labeling and Value Size Pricing on Fast Food Meal Choices: Results from an Experimental Trial - International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.” BioMed Central, BioMed Central, 5 Dec. 2008, https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-5-63.
Kincheloe, James. “Weekly Topic: Editorial - Misleading Food Labeling.” Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, 2 Aug. 2018, https://cahfs.umn.edu/news/weekly-topic-editorial-misleading-food-labeling.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Are Organic Foods Worth the Price?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 8 Apr. 2020, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/organic-food/art-20043880.
Rock, Andrea. “Peeling Back the 'Natural' Food Label.” Consumer Reports, 27 Jan. 2016, https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/peeling-back-the-natural-food-label/.
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