Relying on front-of-package branding for grocery shopping is insufficient for navigating today’s profit-driven food system. Given the prevalence of healthwashing, greenwashing, and other misleading marketing tactics, even the most conscious consumers must regularly read food labels to avoid deception.
An Intro to Nutritional Labelling
We may take for granted the widespread availability of nutritional information today, but up until 100 years ago, this information didn’t exist. It wasn’t needed, as food was simply food–no processing or marketing involved.
Until the early 20th century, food systems were primarily localised and community-centred. Farmers sold seasonal harvests at local markets or grocery stores. Consumers purchased what was in stock and, unless they were wealthy, cooked at home using basic ingredients. This structure required direct transactions, enabling consumers to establish personal connections with their food and relationships with producers.
A Legacy of Calorie-First Policies
In the aftermath of World War II, government policies and public attitudes toward food were heavily influenced by a calorie-first approach. This mentality stemmed from the urgent need to address food scarcity and ensure that populations had enough to eat. As a result, the focus was placed on maximizing caloric intake with little consideration for the nutritional quality of food.
While these strategies were effective in combating hunger during a time of crisis, they also laid the groundwork for modern food systems that prioritize quantity over quality. This legacy has contributed to the prevalence of highly processed, calorie-dense foods that dominate our diets today, often at the expense of health and nutrition. As we continue to unpack and challenge the deceptive practices of food brands, it’s crucial to recognize and address the historical policies that have shaped our current food environment.
Industrialisation Changed the Food System
After World War II, consumers suddenly had access to food like never before–in greater quantities and varieties, at all times of the year. This expansion gave an impression of abundance, but what it really did was flood the marketplace with ultra-processed goods. It also gave rise to the following problems, all of which persist today:
1. Information obscurity. Privatisation and globalisation significantly distanced consumers from the source of their food, yet did not encourage transparency.
2. A culture shift toward instant gratification. A surplus of food meant that companies needed to find creative ways to sell it. This translated to aggressive marketing centred around convenience, novelty, and taste factor.
3. Loss of nutritional value. Producers began adding myriad chemical and artificial substances to enhance flavour and extend shelf life. As a result, food became loaded with sodium, sugar, and saturated fats.
4. Unregulated marketing. Branding became the primary way to help products stand out in supermarkets despite few checks on advertising.
These ongoing trends have a profound consequence on human life. The pervasiveness of processed foods has led to a population at high risk of developing serious health issues like cardiovascular disease (leading cause of death worldwide), coronary heart disease, and cerebrovascular disorders. A 2017 study that reviewed data spanning 27 years and 195 countries found that poor diets were attributed to 11 million deaths and 255 million disability-adjusted life years. To put this into perspective, the number of diet-related deaths was greater than the total deaths caused by smoking.
The foods brands so happily encourage us to eat are not just making us sick. They are literally killing us. And since they’re priced affordably compared to more wholesome options, the most underserved communities–low-income, racialized groups–are disproportionately experiencing the brunt.
Consumers Fought For Regulation of Nutritional Labelling
Nutritional labelling for packaged foods was only introduced after consumers began requesting more information. In the U.S., this interest moved the Food and Drug Administration to pursue the creation of regulations. The result was mandatory nutritional labelling for most packaged foods in 1990. Manufacturers could no longer make claims about their products without solid facts.
Fast forward to 2024. Companies have established clever ways to avoid being 100% truthful about their products. But the history of how nutritional labelling became a widespread industry practice shows that consumers have the power to hold brands accountable. Change does happen when we raise our voice. It’s important to keep this in mind as we tackle the pervasive issues in our present-day food system.
Read Labels to Be a Savvy Shopper
“Economics dictate that manufacturers emphasise not wellness, but profits,” says Dr. Marion Nestle. Nestle is a renowned molecular biologist, nutritionist, and Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University. Her words reflect the widespread trend of greenwashing and healthwashing in our present-day food system.
The best way to combat misleading marketing is to make reading labels a regular practice. Unlike private branding, food labels are a much more trustworthy source of information. They are federally regulated in countries like Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. For example, every company operating in the industry must fulfil core labelling requirements to abide by Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations.
Unpacking Nutrition Facts Labels
The Nutrition Facts label offers objective insight into how a food product may impact your health. It is usually located on the back or sides of packaging, and lists the number of calories, recommended serving size, and amount of nutrients in a serving. Checking this label is a great way to avoid being misled by shady front-of-package advertising.
For example, General Mills’ Morning Summit is marketed as a “crafted, hearty cereal for a strong start to your day.” Paired with the “lightly sweetened” label, this language offers the impression of a wholesome, healthier-for-you breakfast option. You flip the box over, only to see the product contains 9g of added sugar for every ⅔ cup.
The serving size here is slightly misleading–most people eat more than ⅔ of cereal in one sitting. The total sugar amount in a realistic serving is likely higher than 12g. Yet daily sugar intake, as recommended by the American Heart Association, should not exceed 36g per day for men and 25g per day for women. In the U.K., it’s similarly recommended that adults consume no more than 30g of added sugar a day.
And for good reason. Research has shown that a sugary diet carries risks of heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammation, and fatty liver disease. Excess sugar has also been linked to depression, acne, low energy, and poor dental health.
With all that in mind, just one bowl of Morning Summit would raise you to half your daily sugar allowance. “Lightly sweetened” is clearly a subjective phrase for General Mills.
Ingredients Lists
This information is usually found in fine print underneath the Nutrition Facts label and it tells you exactly what is in your food. It lists ingredients in order of weight, so the first few items are what the product contains most.
The benefit of checking the ingredients is twofold. One, it will notify you of the presence of allergens and harmful additives. Two, it can offer more clarity around the information provided in the Nutrition Facts.
Take Welch’s Fruit Snacks, a product that is heavily advertised with myriad health halos. “Fruit is our 1st ingredient!”, “Made with REAL FRUIT!”, “Excellent Source of Vitamins A, C, and E”, “Gluten-free”, and “No Preservatives” are printed in colourful, eye-catching fonts on the product’s front. One look at the ingredients and Nutrition Facts quickly puts these claims into perspective.
The first five ingredients are: fruit puree, corn syrup, sugar, modified corn starch, and modified tapioca starch. Real fruit may be present in these snacks; but what Welch’s doesn’t advertise is the high amount of processed sugars and modified starches. These starches have been deemed safe by the FDA, but most consumers don’t know that they have been processed using methods like:
- Acid-modification by treatment with hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid (or both)
- Bleaching
- Oxidization by treatment with chlorine or sodium hypochlorite
Moreover, the brand neglected to mention the presence of artificial flavouring and that the vitamins are not naturally derived from the fruit ingredients but additives: ascorbic acid (vitamin C), alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), vitamin A palmitate. If it weren’t for these additives, the only significant nutritional qualities would be carbohydrates and sugar.
Obviously, none of this is mentioned in Welch’s advertising. “Loaded with chemicals and refined ingredients” isn’t exactly a good selling point.
Know Your Label
Conscious consumption is more top-of-mind than ever. However, most food manufacturers have yet to catch up. A century of the corporate prioritisation of profits has led humanity to a place of false abundance. A new shift toward wellness–for both people and the planet–is direly needed.
As we’ve seen in the history of how nutritional labelling came to be, consumers have the power to enact positive change. So, make sure to read the fine print. Learn what brands are encouraging us to put in our bodies, and share this knowledge with the people around you. By raising our voice to demand greater accountability, we can drive the shift our food system desperately needs.
Bite Back 2030’s Fight Against Deceptive Food Marketing
As we uncover the deceptive practices employed by many food brands to mask the truth from consumers, it’s vital to highlight organizations like Bite Back 2030 that are at the forefront of advocating for transparency in the food industry. Founded with the support of Jamie Oliver, Bite Back 2030 is a youth-led movement focused on exposing the misleading marketing tactics used by food giants to lure young consumers into unhealthy eating habits. The organization’s Youth Board, made up of passionate activists from across the UK, challenges these deceptive practices by pushing for policies that ensure accountability and transparency from major food companies .
Together, we aim to amplify our efforts to demand clear labelling and truthful advertising from food brands, ensuring that consumers, particularly the younger generation, have access to accurate information about the products they consume. By joining forces, we can strengthen our collective voice to hold the food industry accountable and foster a healthier, more transparent food environment .
Sources
https://www.prevention.com/food-nutrition/healthy-eating/g20482448/secrets-about-your-food/
https://sentientmedia.org/misleading-food-labels/
https://www.heart.org/en/news/2024/03/13/too-much-of-a-food-thing-a-century-of-change-in-how-we-eat
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-labels/misleading-food-labels-a1198502999/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK209859/
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)30041-8/fulltext
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318630#is-it-bad-for-you
