We live in a society where there is a warning on everything. Be careful: wet floor… Caution: detour… Danger: hot coffee…
It is instinct that we look out for one another when belonging to the same tribe, group, family… Animals do it, we do it… As parents, we are accustomed to looking out for the welfare of our family, our spouse, our kids. But common sense, if we pay attention, tells us what is a dangerous or a safe activity.
I remember thinking it rather odd so many years ago when I moved here and went to Home Depot to buy a ladder. There was a warning label on the ladder, stating that it was dangerous, you might fall from it and get hurt. It even used the word death…
Well, I guess, technically it is right, although common sense would dictate that climbing a ladder is inherently dangerous and you might want to look where you place your feet…
Warning labels have lulled our society into a false sense of security, a feeling that someone is always looking out for us.
It took decades for the tobacco industry to admit that smoking makes you sick! It is now an accepted, scientifically studied fact. Education about the dangers of smoking should come from parents and be taught early on, so children know that smoking is dangerous for your health. With all that we know today, cigarette package warnings are not teaching us anything we do not know, you buy at your own risk!
Common sense seems to evade us in one industry where real dangers abound, and there are NO warning labels, plenty of misinformation and not very much education: the food industry.
It is not always easy to separate truth from fiction, it is not simple to know what is good and not so good. Unlike climbing ladders, where there is implied danger, food is a necessity to survive and thrive, and danger is not what comes to mind first when planning the dinner menu.
Transparency is not very high on the food industry list of priorities!
There aren’t any warning labels that tell you your food is sprayed with pesticides, that is contains GMOs, that it comes from farm-like industrial complexes (CAFOs) that use antibiotics like candy…
No warning that what you are about to buy and eat is not really food at all, but a food-like product that is detrimental to your health, that it contains fake sugar and more preservatives than you can pronounce, and that the nutrient content is so poor, you might be malnourished even when food is overabundant…
Now, for a second, imagine a world where there was truth in advertising? Where dangers, illnesses and risks were openly discussed? Where big money did not run the show, but where we have a genuine interest in keeping our population healthy…
Who is looking out for you?
Not the food industry, who is intent on selling us what they produce, by hook or by crook, to satisfy their shareholders.
Not the FDA or the government, who have too many conflicts of interests. So, who??
JUST YOU!
Be an informed consumer, your health and your family’s health deserve it. It is time for a food revolution. Demand truth in advertising, and truth in labeling. It is time!
