READING FOOD AND SUPPLEMENT LABELS: HOW HABITS FORM (ISSUE 91)

By Diane Gold

When we read food and supplement labels, habits form. We become more aware of what we are putting into our body. Or do we?

There are so many ingredients in one product that the habit of reading labels must go along with doing research on what we read, if we wish to understand them.  I have been studying labeling of foods since the mid-1970s when I began studying a philosophy that includes meditation (sound yoga) , a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet and a good clean moral life. I read every label and contacted every manufacturer of anything I ate or drank, and I would pass that info on to my fellow philosophers. My purpose was to eliminate meat, fish, poultry from the diet. I was surprised at how many ingredients and processes were withheld from the consumer. Not enough has changed since then.

FTC

I recently called the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to question the wording on a label. I was excruciatingly shocked to find out that the “FTC can advocate on our behalf only if there is a pattern of abuse, rather than a single incident,” which means they cannot help us if we, as individuals, or people fewer than a group action find something wrong. The FTC looks for patterns of wrong doings. So, individual reports of inaccuracies remain unchanged.

This meant that the dietary supplements I called about did not fall under the purview of the FDA (Food And Drug Administration) that does not oversee dietary supplements, and I, alone, was not quantity enough to be heard by the FTC. So, nothing got done, and the product I called about continues to have an inaccurate label, since the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements and the FTC doesn’t regulate single complaints.
This is one of the many ways that the labeling system needs improvement.

THE SOURCE

What is also quite surprising to some is that manufacturers do not have to disclose what an ingredient is made from, as long as they acknowledge it exists in the product and someone, somewhere has tested it and it is GRAS (generally recognized as safe by the FDA).

WHAT THIS MEANS

Any ingredient whose source could be from animal, plant, synthetic sources might be from any of those sources at any time, the label does not specify. When a company discloses the source of each ingredient, it is showing respect to the consumer, in my opinion, and doing what all companies should be required to do.

Example One: Take the alcohol in the common soy sauce, for example. It can be made from animal fat, plant substance or it can be man-made. If we choose to stay away from animal products, we won’t know whether there is animal in it by the ingredient name only. If we have an allergy to certain plants, we may not even know we are ingesting the allergic substance due to incomplete labeling practices. And, then there’s synthetic alcohol. That leaves the ingredient “alcohol” open to any number of methods of alcohol preparation.

Example Two: Let’s look at companies that use lecithin, enzymes, mono and diglycerides, L-cysteine without identifying whether these come from animal, plant or synthetic sources. With these types of labeling techniques, much information is left out. In the case of soy lecithin, if all companies are not required to disclose genetic modified seeds, the ingredient easily can be made from modified seeds.

THE HABITS THAT FORM

Aside from the fact that we have been raised to buy food products in packages, the labels of those products don’t tell us the source, and the materials used in the manufacturing process are not required to be disclosed. We accept this and make it a standard in our buying habits.

We have been raised with produce that is waxed. There is no requirement for disclosure of this process, nor is there a mandate to tell us whether the wax is petroleum-based, animal, bee or plant-based, all for the purpose of maintaining moisture and eye appeal.
We have been raised not to expect ingredient labels on household products, paints and adhesives. This means that the fact that almost all our paper bags are glued with animal parts is not labeled as well as what is in the paint on our walls, the adhesive for our plumbing.

We have developed the habit of cheering when labels must disclose something additional, such as whether something is GMO-free (whether a product contains genetically modified organisms) or not. Shouldn’t disclosure be the norm and not the exception?

TO SUMMARIZE

1)   We accept an incomplete labeling system.

2)   We buy items that do not identify the source of ingredients.

3)   We buy items without knowing the ingredients used in manufacturing, processing or preparing, both in produce and packaged goods.

4)   Because we get a certain amount of information, we don’t ask manufacturers for more specific labeling.

5)   When we do call a manufacturer and talk to the customer service rep, we accept what these reps tell us with no written proof.

6)   When we call a manufacturer and talk to the customer service rep about ingredients, we accept it when they say they don’t have any further information.

7)   We accept that manufacturers, in general, do not have written agreements with their suppliers to get ingredients from specific types of sources, that is, animal, plant, synthetic, organic.

ACTION STEPS

In order to upgrade the way that we eat, research and show respect to ourselves, here are some action steps to change habits that will be of permanent benefit to the way that we eat, feel and read labels. Check these out:

1)   Read labels and notice all the habits that you have regarding them. This noticing may be done over a period of time.

2)   Write down what you would require in a food, supplement or drink label to have, either to yourself or by commenting on the website.

3)   Ask your grocers lots of questions about their wares, and be gracious about saying that you will wait for an answer. When the grocers say they don’t know and ask that you call the corporate headquarters of the store you frequent, call the corporate entity, get the name of the reps you speak with and notice how long it takes someone to call you back, or if you get a call back at all. Notice whether the answer they give is complete.

4)   Ask questions of your fruit and vegetable managers. Then follow the steps in 3).

5)   If you are very inspired, write a note to your local newspaper reporting your experience about how knowledgeable your local grocers and fruit and vegetable managers are. The more people talk about the topic, the more quickly we shake our old habits. The more we share our interest in this topic, the more responsible the entire chain of people involved will become.

6)   Talk to friends about labels. Remember not to go on a complaint fest. But, do inform them of your inspiration to be accountable and help others be accountable by requesting food and supplements whose labels disclose and whose ingredients disclose sources.

CONCLUSION

Now that we have looked at some of the habits that reading labels develops, it is easier to change them.

Back in the 1970s, we learned about “subliminal seduction” in psychology class. This refers to any media that lures us into doing a certain behavior or thinking a certain way through repetition of words, audio or visual cues.  According to University of Michigan, this mind-persuading data began in the 5th Century, B.C.

When we read food and supplement labels, let’s be diligent and live by what we find. If we don’t know someone’s name, we ask. In the same way, when we don’t know an ingredient, we can ask.  This way, reading food and supplement labels will begin forming the habits that are right.
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FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition and habit change.

She has studied the labeling system since the mid-1970s. She says,

“The more we list on a label, the more testing and accountability is required by the food producer or manufacturer. The label size has to grow to fit the information on it. This is an excuse many producers give for not supporting full disclosure of their product. Many also hide behind the “proprietary ingredients” banner when it does not apply.

“It’s my hope that there will come a time when every ingredient’s source will be listed on every label and that suppliers of ingredients will be required to certify said source, that the term “natural” shall be removed from labels so that consumers are not duped and that nutritional data listed on labels shall identify which company measured it and the last date of measurement.

“I would have all produce wax labeled with wax source, any type of pasteurization process such as the steaming of raw almonds revealed on the label. I’d even require farmers to divulge which animal products, unprocessed chemicals they put in their soil during the cultivation of their food and whether they use GMO seeds. I don’t know would no longer be an acceptable answer from anyone in the industry.

“It is my mission to encourage people to be more demanding of the information they receive about their food. Until the labeling system is truly upgraded, be bold, ask questions, do research. And let the habits we form from reading food and supplement labels be those that support our lives.

CHANGING FOOD HABITS: ARE YOU EATING GMOs, ORGANIC FOODS OR … (ISSUE 79)

By Diane Gold

For years, we have been ingesting food that has been modified to yield bigger crop, faster growth, more eye-appealing shape, resist or repel certain insect infestation and more.

We have been polluting our air through crop dusting modification, exposing ourselves to the sickness from toxin exposure, used to bio-technically modify seed and now, are faced with super insects made strong through genetically modified chemical resistance and the sicknesses that come from these super bugs. There is talk that humans should not be eating toxins. Not a new revelation.

Biotech companies want to make money. Great. They should have the right. However, the regulations put forth for these companies should not be removed disguised as developing technologies that will feed the world – IF the health risks have not been examined.

Governments are the regulators. Governments are we, the people. Regulating food is an issue that needs an amendment, as I see it. As part of the wonderful Open Government Act that is fabulous in words, I’d like to see transparency in food labeling. Why would a government as large and powerful as the United States not require transparency from which we could all benefit? And the answer is _________.

Of course, governments are corporations. They deal with other corporations. When one corporation does a business deal with another, a purchase or transaction is made.

Sometimes money is not exchanged, but favors, instead. When a corporation subsidizes government programs, the government may offer lenient regulations, in gratitude. This is where governing gets tricky.
How does a government accept help from big business, (which it needs to subsidize breakfast for children, senior flu shots, food for animals and environmental programs) and still stay neutral? Not easily.

So, what can we do to help?

ACTION STEPS

1) We can become educated about food and genetic modification and change our habit of thinking that food is pure, and we can change our buying habits.

Here are three important points:

a) ingredient labels on packaged food show the major percentage of food substance. Trace ingredients under a certain percentage are not required to be included. That means, if animal bone substance is used to bleach sugar (not common in the US any more), and there is no animal substance detectable in the finished product, it does not go on the label. Our habit of believing in these labels needs to change. It should be noted that packaged goods that have 70% organic substances in them are able to use the word “organic.”

b) there is no ingredient label on produce. Our habit of believing that all produce is the same needs to be looked at. Organic food is not genetically modified. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.That means mineral oil (fossil oil), lipids, proteins, waxes and alkaloids can be used on organics. animals can be used. Yuck. That means oil can be organic since it’s not synthetic.

There are three organic categories:

1. 100% organics, made with 100% organic ingredients.

2. organic, which means made with 95% organic ingredients.

The USDA Organic seal is used with the first two categories only, 100% organic and 95% organic. There is no apparent differentiation between the two categories unless the manufacturer decided to list 100% organic. Most 95% organic producers would take advantage of the public’s ignorance in thinking a product with this label is 100% organic, rather than listing it as 95% organic.

3. made with organics, made with 70% organic ingredients and no GMOs.

Did you know these distinctions?

On both organic and non-organic produce, there are coatings (wax): organics with wax from bees, wood rosin and carnauba and non-organic from petroleum.

c) bananas, both organic and non-organic, are ripened by spraying ethylene on them. This is one synthetic chemical that is allowed because it acts identical to the chemical that naturally off-gasses in bananas that ripen naturally and are not picked early for shipping. Ethylene “gassing” is used on citrus that may look green, organic and non-. This process is not on any label. Why?

2) We can express to our government reps that we want the FDA label what is and what is not a GMO (a genetically modified organism). Since we are striving for a transparent way of living, we, as consumers, deserve to know what is in a bunch of produce or a package of food or prepared food that is ready to eat.

We don’t have this now. Isn’t this our right?

3)  Join a group that knows more about this topic so that you can become more educated and take some of the action steps these groups have set up.

nongmoproject.org/learn-more is a good place to start. There’s also a march on March 25, 2013, targeting the largest supplier of modified seed (around 90%). It is not the only one, but it’s the big one: organicconsumers.org/monsanto

CONCLUSION

The risks of modifying seeds are known to exist. More research is needed to create data on all the side effects, but it is certain that there are correlations between certain sicknesses and genetically modified seeds.

In the same way we have executive, judicial and legislative branches of government, we need some system of checks and balances when it comes to the food industries ability to donate to or benefit the government and the government’s ability to reciprocate by regulating in favor of the industry.

We read headlines all the time that talk about “the government’s” doing this. Aren’t our representatives in government there to listen to what we have to say?

The time is now to be educated and active about the food we eat and the government’s ability to regulate on behalf of the health of its citizens with no eye on how this regulation will affect corporate donation to programs.

Old habits die hard. Now that our eyes are opening, and many of us are aware of the uncertainties of consuming GMOs, let’s work on changing our habit of consuming without asking. Let’s be diligent so that we can create healthier habits to pass on to our children and to theirs. The more of us who require non-GMO food, the less expensive it will be to certify it as “non-GMO” by label on a package or bushel of produce.

In November, 2013, the citizens of Washington State will vote on a mandatory labeling bill. Approximately, 37 states are working on bills. Some call their bills, “Right To Know.”

We’re all in this together. Let’s take action now.

FEEDBACK

Please leave  a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She has been studying labeling for four several decades . She says,

“The fact that the labeling system has not been modernized at the same rate as our discoveries in human nutrition reflects an imbalanced assessment on the government’s part regarding our internal health. This can also be seen by how slowly integrative medicine is appearing, which includes nutrition, fitness, mind body programs. And these, as of this writing, are only insurance reimbursable if an MD, no other kind of doctor, oversees the program.

“Be tenacious with nutrition. Spread the word about the benefits of organic food, non-GMO food, plant based food, unprocessed food. Take a step to change food habits one step at a time.

“SPECIAL ACTION STEP

“If you want to go for it, make a special commitment that for one meal on the day of your choice, you will refrain from any GMO foods. Do it for 3 weeks in a row, and see how much easier the third time is than the first. Then, if you’ve accomplished three weeks worth, continue the process, whatever that is for you. Your old ways that didn’t include this will be changed. And you will be healthier.”