Kevin Bhimani Blog #2:
Discussion Question: There are many debates over food today, from whether or not we should reduce pesticide consumption to what we should serve kids at lunch to the rights of food producers to participate in shaping food cultures. We have noted terms such as “organic,” “conventional,” and “real food.” What other words have you noticed in food debates? Which ones have moved you to take action or change your daily practices? Which do you find unpersuasive?
From the plethora of food choices and terminology that we face today as consumers, it is increasingly unclear as to what exactly we are putting in our bodies. Words such as “superfoods”, “artisanal”, “probiotic”, “non-GMO”, and more are used to describe many of the foods we eat daily, yet do we really know what they mean (Tarantino)? I for one, like many others, succumb to the inherent biases that my mind has and think that foods that have such labels are healthier for me so I am more likely to purchase products with such descriptions. This is similar to what Cox described in the reading when talking about the notion of the Water Environment Federation changing the name of sewage sludge to ‘biosolids’ instead (Cox). The idea was to change the way people perceive the waste in an effort to get rid of the “negative connotation” surrounding the word (Cox). They wanted to encourage people to view ‘biosolids’ as something very beneficial that could help sustainable living. For a seemingly different reason, though using the same tactic, I believe that companies are using language in a manipulative manner in order to sway customer preferences. When a fruit or other food product is labeled “organic”, many people instantly think that this food will be better for them and in order to live a healthier life they must consume such products. These companies understand the rhetorical situation surrounding food marketing and are taking advantage of pre-existing biases, when in reality most consumers likely do not know what distinguishes a ‘superfood’ from a regular food for example. It is incredibly interesting to see this dynamic play out in our society today with many lawsuits resulting from this and more, but in the end I believe that the best way to eat healthy is to do research on your own to see what you should and shouldn’t be putting in your body. I have realized I can no longer rely on the companies telling the whole story when it comes to products so I have come to disregard a lot of the words labeled on foods.
Works Cited:
Burns, Tamara. “Whole Foods Dodges Claims in ‘Natural’ Mislabeling Class Action.” Top Class Actions. Top Class Actions, 07 Oct. 2015. Web. 19 Jan. 2017.
Tarantino, Olivia. “25 Health-Food Buzzwords And What They Mean.” Yahoo! Yahoo!, 18 Aug. 2016. Web. 19 Jan. 2017.
