Food for Naught

I normally read labels like I’m studying for the SATs.  I know the gimmicks advertisers use to try to and avoid telling you how bad something is for you and I usually spot them spot on.  But sometimes I’m in a hurry, or like this week I had a bad virus-bug and my online shopping was notably less diligent than usual.  So sure … the word NATURE caught my eye.  Of course that’s not even “natural” and has nothing to do other than allude to nice intentions.  I laughed at the 14g of ENERGY inside, not falling for the illusion that had anything to do with protein (3g) and was happy it wasn’t sugar content (11g).  Whole grains?  Sure ok.  But 3g fiber is really nothing to write home about.  But okay.

Oh look it says with ALMOND BUTTER!  I wanted that.  Oh wait in smaller print it says “Almond Butter Filling” … which turns out to be Almonds, honey, maltodextrin, palm oil, mixed tocopherols.  Hardly what I think of when I imagine almond butter, but heck I may be too picky.

Then I see … way down at the bottom …
Partially Produced with Genetic Engineering
Wait what?  Huh?

A trip over to the GM page … General Mills not General Motors which I pause thinking about all the road dirt and motor grease similarities.  Lo and behold there’s a whole news brief on how awesome GMOs are for you and your family. First off, they call it Geneticically Modified (GM) .. like General Mills GM!  See they make you familiar with the acronym … so for you speed readers (non-readers) everything feels warm and fuzzy.  I’ll spare their long “logic” on why this is a good thing.  And honestly, I am grateful to GM for taking the honest step and labeling their products that contain GMOs.  Sure it wasn’t in a big SUN BURST on the front of the box, but it was impeccable with their word and full or perhaps semi-sweet disclosure.  So that’s a step in the right direction. 

Plus they have a page where you can look up all the General Mills product line and it will tell you in a click whether it contains GMOS.  So hey, honesty feels like a rare ten penny nail and I’m happy to have it.

Sometimes I get surprised by what’s hidden in my food, like now knowing that Stonyfield yogurt for toddlers has sardines in it.  Again, I get that not everyone is vegetarian .. and that’s their thing.  But I would like a little help — like a nice big star burst — on the package letting me know you are putting dead fish in my yogurt.  It helps me make an informed choice.  Ye?  Ok.

Sometimes we need to read between the lines or we need to go ten links deep before we find the information we didn’t even know we were looking for in order the be mindful of our next byte.

UPDATE:  2/12/18
Heard from Stonyfield today … really good news!

Hello Karma Ann,

Thanks for asking about the DHA that used to be in some of our yogurts. DHA
was added to some of our yogurts for kids because of the Omega-3 benefits
it provided. However, we found that many of our consumers were confused as
to whether or not adding the fish oil added a fish allergen to the yogurt.
It didn’t, but because of the concerns that it caused for parents we
decided to remove it from our products. This also happens to make these
yogurts vegetarian-friendly!

The new recipe still provides all of the benefits of organic dairy, so it’s
a delicious and nutritious choice for your whole family. Thanks so much for
getting in touch, and if you have any other questions we hope you’ll reach
out again.

Please note, we are still in the process of this transition. You may still
find our Whole Milk Pouches that come in the 4-packs, still contain added
Omega-3 DHA. None of the pouches will contain Omega-3 DHA by March of this
year.

Sincerely,

Marcia
Community Relations, Stonyfield