Now that's what I'm talking about! Progress in Action
I read an interesting article this morning in the NY Times about the grocery chain Hannaford Brothers. I have to give them major kudos, major points, stars, thumbs up, any other type of praise that is imaginable, I give to them...
Why you ask??
Because, they are taking a stand.
They are raising the bar. They actually have dietitians analyzing there thousands of food-products that they sell, rating them with stars, and no, they are not just subjectively doing so.
This grocer is actually analyzing 100 calorie-size portions of each food item, measuring calories, fat, saturated fat, trans-fats, sodium, and sugar. With this, they have set criterion which states, that any food-item within a certain level receives a star-rating.
Zero stars = unhealthy
One star = could be worse
two stars = improvements
three stars = decently good for you!
Ok, so I made up the actual commentary on what each star represents, but, the point is, they're making progress, and they're doing so in an unbiased fashion.
They are rating their own store-brand products in the same way.
In general, fruits, veggies, low-fat meats, low-fat dairy products, and other natural food-items receive three stars.
Zero stars are usually given to items I tend to shun, such as bacon, full-fat milk, butter, cream, potato chips, cakes, cookies, etc. Zero stars just means that, it's not that it's a bad food, because I strongly disagree with labelling foods "good" and "bad" that just gives them too much power.
Rather, it means, don't eat this food on a regular basis.
Anyway, why this is so valuable is because it gives consumers more information.
This is what I am working on for my masters degree over with UCLA. In the med-cafe, we're trying to employ a similar method of consumer information.
We have a new logo/icon sticker which we place on foods that "healthier" and therefore better for you.
Look, people can still choose to eat whatever they want, they will, and they do, because changing behavior is far harder than providing information, but hey...at least it's a start.
Why you ask??
Because, they are taking a stand.
They are raising the bar. They actually have dietitians analyzing there thousands of food-products that they sell, rating them with stars, and no, they are not just subjectively doing so.
This grocer is actually analyzing 100 calorie-size portions of each food item, measuring calories, fat, saturated fat, trans-fats, sodium, and sugar. With this, they have set criterion which states, that any food-item within a certain level receives a star-rating.
Zero stars = unhealthy
One star = could be worse
two stars = improvements
three stars = decently good for you!
Ok, so I made up the actual commentary on what each star represents, but, the point is, they're making progress, and they're doing so in an unbiased fashion.
They are rating their own store-brand products in the same way.
In general, fruits, veggies, low-fat meats, low-fat dairy products, and other natural food-items receive three stars.
Zero stars are usually given to items I tend to shun, such as bacon, full-fat milk, butter, cream, potato chips, cakes, cookies, etc. Zero stars just means that, it's not that it's a bad food, because I strongly disagree with labelling foods "good" and "bad" that just gives them too much power.
Rather, it means, don't eat this food on a regular basis.
Anyway, why this is so valuable is because it gives consumers more information.
This is what I am working on for my masters degree over with UCLA. In the med-cafe, we're trying to employ a similar method of consumer information.
We have a new logo/icon sticker which we place on foods that "healthier" and therefore better for you.
Look, people can still choose to eat whatever they want, they will, and they do, because changing behavior is far harder than providing information, but hey...at least it's a start.
posted by Dana M. Ellis, MPH, R.D. @ 9:40 AM
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