08/23/06 Intrigued with Labels

08/23/06 Intrigued with Labels

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
I know Fall is right around the corner when that fat September issue of Vogue magazine begins appearing in supermarket check-out lines. The magazine is packed full of advertisements touting labels like Lauren, Dior and Karan? But so is the whole grocery We are a culture obsessed with brands. We want them front and center on our vehicles, soft drinks, tennis shoes and even our meat , because the majority of us believe labels validate our purchases. Yet it is interesting that something we consume daily, produce, is one of the few categories least affected by branding. This is unfortunate because the label on an apple, or onion can tell you a lot more than the one on your jeans. You can tell what country it was grown in and often even what company. By reading the number on the label, called the price look-up code, you can learn if produce was grown conventionally (if it is a four digit code) organically if a number 9 precedes the four digits or if it has been genetically modified if begins with the number 8.
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