Let’s Talk Turkey
Factory-farmed turkeys. Yikes! What a mess. If you missed my earlier post, I interviewed a former turkey farmer who supplied a Big Ag company. I think the single best insight from this interview was when George “Buddy” Black said, So what can you do? If you’re not a vegetarian or vegan, but want to serve up […]
Processed Food: Trick or Treat?
Here’s a fun, yet scary post in honor of Halloween. Although it’s meant with a little tongue in cheek, it is alarming what the food industry can get away with putting in their boxes, bags, and bottles without us even knowing it. Enjoy! Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Fillet of a […]
Simple is Always Good, Right?
Food companies are some of the savviest trend spotters around. They literally spend Hundreds of MILLIONS of dollars tracking and following trends. In fact, in some cases, they even help create the trends. Why? It’s all in hopes of selling more and more food. But when simple foods and short ingredient lists became the latest […]
Sun Chips: Creating the Aura of REAL Food
Imagery has always been a very powerful tool in marketing processed foods. When regulations get in the way of what manufacturers want to say, the use of iconic symbols and imagery has helped them bypass most restrictions in their quest to elevate their products and obscure reality. One of the most compelling symbols in existence is […]
High Fructose Corn Syrup: All Natural Really?
Are you confused about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS)? I’m not, but I’m convinced the manufacturers of HFCS are trying to confuse us, despite what they might say. But confusion is one of the tried and true tools of the processed foods industry. Their tactic: if consumers don’t know what to believe, chances are they […]
Wesson All Natural Vegetable Oil: Warning! Slick Road Ahead
So do you use Wesson vegetable oil? I know my family did for years. In fact, I remember the days when Brady Bunch mom Florence Henderson pitched the vegetable oil regularly. Does this print ad jog your memory? Yes, Wessonality! Indeed, the 60’s and 70’s were the heyday for processed food. I call it the […]
Truvia: Honestly Sweet or Dishonestly Marketed?
There’s a new No. 2 zero-calorie sweetener in town. According to AC Nielsen, a company that tracks sales of grocery products, Truvia grew retail sales last year by almost 80% and knocked Sweet ‘N Low from its artificially sweetened perch in the tabletop sugar substitute market. That’s a pretty amazing feat for the two-year old […]
Nature Valley or a Slippery Slope?
Nature Valley introduced the world’s first granola bar in 1975. Since then it’s become a “natural” food brand juggernaut and has expanded into all different forms and flavors. From promotions like the one on the box above to preserve parks to advertisements like the one below, Nature Valley has created an idyllic, natural world where […]
All Natural…Really?: Hormel Natural Choice Deli Meats
In this week’s edition of my new series “All Natural … Really?” I take a look at Hormel Natural Choice Deli Meats. First introduced in 2006, this line has 11 different varieties of deli meat and claims to be “the first nationally distributed line of all natural sandwich meats with zero preservatives and no artificial colors […]
All Natural … Really?: Breyers Ice Cream
As long as I can remember, Breyers Ice Cream has been in my freezer. My Dad loved Breyers All Natural Butter Pecan and Neapolitan Ice Cream. As kids, if we were going to have dessert, it was often a scoop of Breyers that was offered up. Now some may argue that ice cream is bad […]
