Something ‘free’ on a label is the ultimate attention diversion tactic of a brand. Sure, sometimes it’s a wonderful way for brands to show commitment to what they’re not including in their product.
BUT…
” Gluten free” organic cheesy puffs are still a highly processed food that you’d want to steer clear of.
“BPA Free” Plastic that’s actually BPA plastic and thought to be every bit as damaging in preliminary research, is not something worth getting excited about when choosing your baby’s bottle.
“Petrochemical free” doesn’t save the sins of a forest and orangutan habitat destroyed by unsustainable, destructive palm oil.
“Meat Free” doesn’t bring much virtue when the ingredient list is a mile long of high glutamate, hydrolysed proteins, flavours, GM soy and more, for that vegan burger.
“Cruelty Free” isn’t as awesome as it sounds when the handbag is made from high phthalate-containing PVC – endocrine disruptive damage instead? No thanks!
“Fat Free” only to be sky high in gels, thickeners and sugar hardly seem a healthy trade-off in the end…
The ‘something FREE’ is someone out there knowing that we want to tell ourselves the story that we’re removing the unfavourable things from our shopping baskets.
What they don’t know is that WE – You and I – are savvy, swing straight past the ‘what it’s free from’ section and ask the tougher questions:
What exactly is in it, then?
Who made it?
Do their values as a business match mine as a human being?
Do I like the answers to all those questions once I’ve done the hard yards to decide whether I’m handing over my cash?
Being a REAL label reader takes hard work sometimes, but we were never meant to bring hundreds of new things a year into our lives without thinking about them beyond a quick catch phrase. And we were never meant to eat foods our bodies don’t biologically recognise. That just doesn’t make sense on any level to do that repeatedly, multiple times a day, multiple days a week.
Keep asking the tough questions. Keep taking your time.
It buys you financial savings for overall accepting less into your basket and life. It buys you time for our precious planet and the people on it, long may they thrive.
BUT…
” Gluten free” organic cheesy puffs are still a highly processed food that you’d want to steer clear of.
“BPA Free” Plastic that’s actually BPA plastic and thought to be every bit as damaging in preliminary research, is not something worth getting excited about when choosing your baby’s bottle.
“Petrochemical free” doesn’t save the sins of a forest and orangutan habitat destroyed by unsustainable, destructive palm oil.
“Meat Free” doesn’t bring much virtue when the ingredient list is a mile long of high glutamate, hydrolysed proteins, flavours, GM soy and more, for that vegan burger.
“Cruelty Free” isn’t as awesome as it sounds when the handbag is made from high phthalate-containing PVC – endocrine disruptive damage instead? No thanks!
“Fat Free” only to be sky high in gels, thickeners and sugar hardly seem a healthy trade-off in the end…
The ‘something FREE’ is someone out there knowing that we want to tell ourselves the story that we’re removing the unfavourable things from our shopping baskets.
What they don’t know is that WE – You and I – are savvy, swing straight past the ‘what it’s free from’ section and ask the tougher questions:
What exactly is in it, then?
Who made it?
Do their values as a business match mine as a human being?
Do I like the answers to all those questions once I’ve done the hard yards to decide whether I’m handing over my cash?
Being a REAL label reader takes hard work sometimes, but we were never meant to bring hundreds of new things a year into our lives without thinking about them beyond a quick catch phrase. And we were never meant to eat foods our bodies don’t biologically recognise. That just doesn’t make sense on any level to do that repeatedly, multiple times a day, multiple days a week.
Keep asking the tough questions. Keep taking your time.
It buys you financial savings for overall accepting less into your basket and life. It buys you time for our precious planet and the people on it, long may they thrive.
Alexx x
ps. If this topic interests you, you might like archive posts I’ve written such as the Greenwashing post, things you can get tripped up on with “green products”. or this one on food labels or this one beginning to decode food labels.
ps. If this topic interests you, you might like archive posts I’ve written such as the Greenwashing post, things you can get tripped up on with “green products”. or this one on food labels or this one beginning to decode food labels.
And if you’re ready for a deep dive into food, kids, preconception, inflammation or environmental toxins, 5 of our 6 online courses are “on demand” meaning you can start whenever you like. You can join one here from just $75AUD
