Decoding Grocery Store Labels: Making Informed Choices for Humane Food
By Harry Rhodes, Executive Director
We often hear from consumers that labels at the grocery store are very confusing and they don't know what they can trust. Shopping at a grocery store can take a lot of time between trying to understand the different labels on products to reading through all the ingredients. I know that I often get confused and frustrated, which leads me to my local farmers market when I have the time. But of course, we don’t always have time to go to the market, so need to figure out what is safe and healthy at the nearest grocery store.
A shopper in Chicago recently tried to fight back against Mariano's claim of "farm fresh” eggs. The shopper who brought the lawsuit claimed that "farm fresh eggs" signified to him the chickens that produced the eggs had been ethically treated.
Sadly, they lost their lawsuit. The court ruled that his term has no legal meaning, so the store can use it as they wish. Grocers can use many terms that have no meaning.
It isn't always easy to find good, humanely raised eggs, dairy or meat, but we at FACT are working to give you the tools that make it easier. We have a section on our website that aims to help people make informed decisions when shopping and some of our partners also have some great resources to help consumers.
ASPCA has "Shop with Your Heart"
The Cornucopia Institute has scorecards for organic eggs, dairy, chicken, beef, and more. They rank them according to very specific criteria, including Animal Welfare.
We know that shopping can be challenging, which is why we are bringing you, the shopper, the resources to make your search for safe, healthy, and humanely raised food a bit easier.