Why does it feel like food technology is killing us?
I mean, instead of making a fresh breakfast, I sometimes buy my kids a breakfast sandwich, in all its processed glory. And I feel guilty when I do. We think of such fast food as unhealthful because of all the technology applied to create it.
But, technology makes most products better. With all of the technology available to us, why isn’t American food nourishing us? Initiatives to improve healthfulness energized my teams in the Fortune 20 food company. We wanted to nourish our families just like everyone else does. Why don’t we have a realistic strategy to do better?
We have a communication problem. We rely on food labels to clearly tell us what’s healthful, but they don’t. We live in a country where ⅓ of college seniors can’t interpret a simple table—yet the Nutrition Facts on my bag of apples has 41 numbers (serving size, calories, fiber, etc.) They say a confused mind takes no action, and we’re bewildered. Many Americans have given up trying to eat healthfully, and confusion is a key factor.
Our labels are also incomplete. Medical Facts Today says an apple is healthful because it provides dietary fiber, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and flavonoids. Most of those factors are not listed on the label. In fact, no label could fully explain how a food impacts the 37 trillion cells in the human body.
Companies must focus on sales. So, with healthfulness only driving sales in a few (labeled) situations, companies focus mainly on cost, look, and taste.
What’s the answer? Simple, single, structured scores (3S Scoring) that summarizes complex information in a single number.
Check out my website for a free graphic exploring food scores, at RodWallacePhD.com.
And, let me know, if you were completely truthful, how proud would be you of the food you feed yourself, or your kids? Is that food truly nourishing?
Our society cannot just survive. For the sake of our children, it must thrive.
Rod
Rod’s Recent and Upcoming Appearances:
This Tuesday, December 17, 7-8 PM Eastern time, WEEU Pennsylvania Straight Talk Radio (here)
PS: When you’re ready, here are three ways you can grow your own profit while solving society’s big problems:
- Get insights, tools, and strategies for improving society—while benefiting yourself—in my book, Drowning in Potential: How American Society Can Survive Digital Technology.
- Hire me to speak at your next event. Hit reply and put “speaker info” in the subject line and I’ll send you my speaker information and a link to my demo reel.
- Explore how your business or organization can profitably solve society’s big problems through a customized one-half- to three-day workshop. Just hit reply, put “workshop” in the subject line and I’ll send the workshop highlights.
And, if you have read even parts of my book, please help me by writing a review: