Blog Post 2 - You Are What You Eat!

 

We are starting to become a fast food nation. We rely so much on food being fast, easy, and cheap that we forget to stop and read the labels. Or instead of reading labels, we just stop at the healthy buzzwords that we see on the box. I know that I am also guilty of this.  

Take this box of Fruity Pebble Treats for example. What are the first things that you see on the box? Maybe your eyes are drawn to the "90 calories per bar" logo in the top right, or the fact that it is gluten free? But what doe these really mean? These are the buzzwords that I was talking about earlier, healthy buzzwords that companies use to appeal to us as a nation wanting to "eat healthy" without having to try so hard; that fast, easy, cheap concept I was talking about earlier. Through the use of logos and these buzzwords, or words that can mean nothing but actually sound factual, they are making us think this is a healthy snack. Oh, it's only 90 calories, it has to be healthy. But what are those 90 calories comprised of? Is it all trans and saturated fats which can increase your risk of heart disease? Or does it contain  unsaturated fat, the "good" fat? After looking at the label, it just solidified my answer. It was complete comprised of saturated fats, contained no fiber, minimal protein and almost no essential vitamins and minerals. However, another advertisement claims that it's a "good source of vitamin D and 6 other essential vitamins." I guess you only need to contain ten percent of your daily value to be considered a "good source." We also see that it says gluten free on the box but just because it is gluten free, does not automatically make it healthy, you have to take in all the other statistics that I talked about just before. 

Another way it may help to convince you to buy this product is the fact that it teams up with Box Tops for Education. You may be a mother or father grocery shopping and see this product and know that your son or daughter is having a competition for their class to see who can bring in the most box tops, so in essence, you buy this product to help them in their endeavors. In a way, they are using pathos because the more you love your son or daughter, the more you will want them to succeed in their endeavors. Or, if you don't buy me, your don't care about your kids education or education in general. 

All in all, make sure you aren't just buying blindly based on the healthy buzzwords on the box, there is always more than meets the eye.