Lousy Labels: Health Hype

Posted: October 17th, 2013

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Lousy Labels: Health Hype

            The video known as, “Lousy Labels: Health Hype” is about the underlying issues and concerns regarding the labeling of human consumption products by the manufacturers. In essence, the government requires all the production companies that deal in products for human consumption to label the nutrients and ingredients that comprise these products. The recent increase in concern regarding human nutrition especially in the western world has led to people being more aware about what they take into their system. The increase in ailments that are nutritional related such as obesity and the recent nutritional hype that is being broadcasted on basically all media has led most of the people to be sensitive to their nutritional requirements.

The video indicates that the only way consumers are able to know the nutritional value of a given product is by reading the health information that is contained on the food labels. The video further raises the concern on how reliable the food labels regarding their nutritional content. From the video, Erica Johnson attempts to demystify the truth behind this latest nutritional trend on food packaging. Johnson indicates on the increasing number of companies that are slapping hollow claims regarding the nutritional constitution of their products. This is primarily aimed at increasing the sales for these consumer products. This action comes with it adverse repercussions as it presents an obscure potential health risk as people are bound to believe that they are deriving the necessary nutrients while in essence they are not or tend to make people take up nutrients that they do not intend to.

One of the interesting details that I found disturbing is that there are still a number of individuals who continue to purchase consumer products without taking the ingredients into consideration. One of the reasons such people tend to float is that they do not have time for such. This is a very interesting fact because such is not expected especially in a developed world where education is freely made available. This sort of ignorance is unexplainable judging from the growing number of programs on air and magazines that highlight on the importance of nutrition. Nutrition is very important and should be observed as directly affects out performance both currently and in the future.

Another interesting detail highlighted in the program is the fact that most of these companies make bogus claims on the ingredients label of their products. This act raises anxiety and such companies ought to face punitive measures from the government. This also leaves the audience with a feeling of being lied to by companies that they believed in, in terms of labeling their products. Although there are companies were no surprise to the audience, the information that is revealed in this program highlights unfairness to the many parents and consumers who are trying their best to watch on their nutritional requirements.

Personally, I have liked the show as I find it very informative. There is a lot to learn with one being that the corporate industry is not to be trusted. The program also raises the need for the authorities to intensify their efforts in ensuring that the citizens are protected from exploitation and their right to information is also upheld. The government should also come up with a measure of ensuring that all the loopholes are sealed and only products that have been approved are allowed to enter the market.

The video is very easy to understand because it does not take up a generalized approach but a more specific approach. The program uses products that are found in most of the food stores and continues to examine the claims upheld by the manufacturers. The narrators also tend to refrain from using too much medical jargon but adopt a language that is conversant with the general public.