In class and on the anamericanstudies blog, a lot of people have been discussing the best possible way to get people to eat healthier. Today I came across this New York Times article on improving food labels. Mark Bittman suggests that, "a red, yellow or green “traffic light,” for example — would encourage consumers to make healthier choices." He thinks that if you have three categories (Nutrition, Foodness, and Welfare) rated out of 5 each for a total of 15 points, consumers would be able to easily tell the quality of their food. It would obviously include how nutritious the food is, but it would also take into account how natural the food is, and how the animals and workers are treated in production.
While I don't think this is possible at this point in time because the food companies would object, I do think that this would be very beneficial to the health of Americans. The current food labels can sometimes be confusing and misleading, so if you are not well informed, it is difficult to make the right food decisions. With this new labeling process, any consumer would be able to make healthy choices.
Do you think that this new food labeling system could help the overall health of Americans? And how do you think we could get the food producers to adopt this system?
I agree with you, this would be extremely beneficial to the community. You hear about all of the cases of child obesity and what we can do to stop it, and this, in my opinion, could be a very positive stride. It wouldn't "fix" America's issues with obesity, but it certainly would help. Although I do not think it would be very possible for food producers to adopt this system, because the quality of their food is typically not great, and they want to hide that. Therefore, I think it would be necessary for the government to step in and implement this system as something that must be done.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you that this would be a very good solution to the increasing problem of child obesity. Red, yellow and green are colors that all Americans know very well and it would be a much clearer way to show the quality of the product. I agree Tom that it would be necessary for the government to step in. People have the right to know what they are putting in their bodies, and the company does not have the right to keep this information. If the government were to implement this then companies would be forced to better the quality and nutritional value of their food. No one is going to want to buy something with a red sign on it. This would be a very affective way to improve the health of Americans.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea! When shopping for food, it's so easy to throw something in the cart without bothering to look at the nutrition facts or consider how bad it is for you. Some people honestly forget to think about it, but others (like myself at times) just don't want to think about it and would rather stay ignorant to the unhealthiness of what they are buying and eating. This system this man brought up is great, because in a way it forces people face the facts about what they are buying and make their choice from there. A lot more people would pass up a bag of greasy chips if it had a big red "warning" type symbol on it rather than what it has now, just number on the back. Of course it would be a huge struggle to have this implimented with the food companies, but it's definately worth the struggle, and I think the gov't should make this a priority.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do think this is a good idea I still do have concerns with this labeling. First, is it really fair to the companies? Companies are already forced to put health warnings and all their ingredients on the label, so is it fair to put this on their to drive away more customers? Next, would this really help? For example, when I want some chocolate, I want some chocolate. If the wrapper has a red label on it, that certainly won't stop me from buying my favorite kind of candy. A different label is likely not going to change people's opinions on what they normally buy. Finally, how many people actually look at the label. I know if I want some candy, I avoid looking at say the calories and ingredients because I already know that it's not healthy. I think that most people already know what is good and what is not so this label would not do a lot.
ReplyDelete