Are you frazzled and confused every time you go to the grocery store and attempt to strain your little brain to read those labels with all of the big, scary words? Do you stand in line, wringing your hands over the terrifying experience of trying to shop for your family? Is it a horribly trying experience, culminating in a paroxysm of anxiety at the checkout stand?
Well, thank goodness for us moms, the First Lady of the United States understands.
When she gave a speech on Thursday at the White House introducing the new and improved nutrition labels proposed by the FDA, she attempted to step from her image as the woman who takes the multi-million dollar taxpayer-funded vacations and who serves her dogs dinner with from crystal and fine china.
Moms of America, Michelle Obama understands how hard it is to navigate those baffling and scary food labels with all of those great big words, and she’s got your back. Grocery shopping no longer has to be traumatic.
So there you stood, alone in some aisle in a store, the clock ticking away at the precious little time remaining to complete your weekly grocery shopping, and all you could do was scratch your head, confused and bewildered, and wonder, is there too much sugar in this product? Is 50 percent of the daily allowance of riboflavin a good thing or a bad thing? And how on Earth could this teeny little package contain five whole servings?
This stream of questions and worries running through your head when all you really wanted to know was, should I be eating this or not? Is this good for my kids or not? And if it is healthy, how much of it should I be eating? But unless you had a thesaurus, a calculator, a microscope, or a degree in nutrition, you were out of luck. So you felt defeated, and you just gave up and went back to buying the same stuff you always buy.
And that’s a familiar scenario for far too many families and parents trying to do the right thing for their kids — and it’s simply not acceptable.
As consumers and as parents, we have a right to understand what’s in the food we’re feeding our families. Because that’s really the only way that we can make informed choices — by having clear, accurate information. And ultimately, that’s what today’s announcement is all about.
Among other things, the revised nutrition label shows the calorie count in large, bold print; it includes the amount of “added sugar,” and it reflects more realistic serving sizes.
Now, I know there will be many opinions on what this label should look like, but I think that we all can agree that families deserve more and better information about the food they eat. So this is a huge deal, which is why everybody is here. And it’s going to make a big difference for families across this country. (source)
Well, here’s the real issue with labels, Mrs. Obama. Not only did you fail miserably with your insulting attempt to “relate” with us mere mortals, you did nothing but espouse the propaganda of the Big Food giants that helped foot the bill to elect your husband. We certainly can’t tell the truth about our corporate cronies, now, can we?
Despite Mrs. Obama’s condescending attempt to obscure the facts with folksy rhetoric, here are a few things her new labels won’t do:
- The labels don’t tell you how much the food manufacturers had to pay to get the deadly carcinogenic ingredients which are banned in other countries to be approved by the FDA as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) in the US
- The labels don’t tell you whether you’re feeding your child glyphosate because the GMO contents have been so heavily sprayed with the herbicide.
- The labels straight out LIE, touting AMA approval and referring to things as “heart smart” when the “food” is highly processed, chemical laden, stripped of naturally-occurring nutrients and “enriched” with indigestible fake vitamins and minerals.
- The labels don’t warn you about the growth hormones, the antibiotics, or the GMO feed that the animal was given.
- The labels like to cheer about the item being low calorie but the problem is, the calories that are being stripped are the ones with the vital nutrients – and those are being replaced with neurotoxins like MSG and artificial sweeteners.
- The labels don’t tell you if the contents contain the FDA’s allowable amount of rodent feces.
Here’s the thing about labels. If you want to make healthy choices for your family – don’t look for labels TELLING you something is healthy. Look for things without any labels at all because real food doesn’t have a UPC code. If you’re buying real food, you won’t have to read an ingredients list because there is only one ingredient in the item: fruits, vegetables, meats, milk, rice, for example.
Don’t worry about consuming too many calories after watching this video. I can promise you that you won’t have an appetite left.
I do not require instructions from a woman who wore a gown worth $12,000 at her latest party, thank you very much.
“The Queen is alive and well.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2557639/Michelle-Obama-covers-famous-arms-12-000-Carolina-Herrera-gown-White-House-state-dinner.html
I really do resent this behavior. I have not had work in three months as of March 8 and my job was not covered by unemployment. I do not choose to be preached at by these people.
Seriously, Daisy, THANK YOU for this. For me this was her TRUE Maria Antoinette moment … we are just STUPID IGNORANT wasters of air who don’t know HOW to read a goddamn label? Seriously???!!! And you’re all “that?” Or do YOU Ms. Obama find it hard to read the label (in which case, speak for YOURSELF and don’t assume we are equally incapable). Most of us not only understand how to read the label, we don’t need a dictionary to understand the toxicity associated with the items listed on the (more meaningful) food ingredients label. The only ones that might need preaching to are those who continue to eat the non-food items sold as “food-like products” in packages … and even if that population understood how to read the label, it is meaningless for all the reasons which Daisy enumerated so well above.
I was really excited to check out your website and was baffled when I saw this title on the of your page. Michelle Obama’s new labels? Uhh, it’s the FDA’s..they just asked her to announce it.
I thought, “this lady must just be clueless..” then read your article.
Nasty.
I understand the frustration with our food industry but this kind of ugly behavior doesn’t help. Writing letters to your politicians, picketing at protests, obviously voting with your dollars, getting your work out there.. not acting like a condescending little girl.
At least we the great unwashed get the last laugh. Obama is married to this witch.
funny thing? other nations have had these label requirements by law for many years.
theyre still crap.
no GMO listings for many espec imported usa ones.
soo people I know buy NO american imported or not listed C.O.O.L products.
and Maureen above..how many decdes have letters protests and refusal to buy etc been done?
and still dont n wont get through to the dumbed down masses that thnk missus O is a smart lady whos there to help them?
talking down to the “people” is also RUDE and both the O family do it on a daily basis.
She said “…we have a right to understand what’s in the food we’re feeding our families.”
But “understanding” is an “ability” not a “right”.
If you don’t know that sugar, starch and fat are high in calories, then no fancy food label is going to help you.
Furthermore, adding vitamins to a bad food that contains no vitamins does not make it a good food.
Vitamins should be taken as “figures of merit” that identify good foods, not as ingredients that when added to crap make it OK to eat.