Last week I discussed the Smart Choice program, which aims to help Canadians make smart dietary choices at the grocery store. I argued that it does not promote overall health and well being, and may in fact pose problems by misleading people into believing that all nutritional requirements may be obtained through products containing the Green Check Mark. This week I will expand my discussion on the Smart Choice Program and whose interests are behind it. We will discuss what qualifies a product for the Smart Choice Program. Finally we will determine why the Smart Choice program may not lead you to your healthiest choice when making food purchases.
Having big corporations finance the Smart Choice Program may be counterproductive and unethical. Currently Smart Choice is sponsored by 14 companies. Between 2008-2009 these companies paid a combined total of $1.4 million dollars to get the program on food labels. What is contributed is based on a sliding scale measured by a company’s profit. These numbers are not publicly available. The program was initiated by the Keystone Center, “a non-profit group that mediates public-policy disputes.” The program is governed by a board of nine directors, comprising four independent experts, four food industry executives and one for someone with "no skin in the game…" (according to a recent Forbes article). What this means is that in order for this program to function, a lot of accommodations need to be made so that the big food companies will have a seal of approval, which is required for the managers of this program to continue to get funding.
Here’s where corporate sponsorship may lead to unethical guidelines. Essentially, three criteria will grant sponsors the right to use the Smart Choice stamp:
- Limited total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, added sugar and cholesterol.
- Added calcium, potassium, fibre, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C and Vitamin E.
- Encouraging or promoting fruits and vegetable, whole grains, low-fat or fat free.
Therefore, according to the Smart Choice program, a bowl of sugar laden cereal would be healthier than two eggs! Why? Because eggs have cholesterol in them! But it goes further. Margarine (which qualifies for the program) contains saturated fats, which raise blood cholesterol far more than eggs do (LiveScience). Cereals with sugar encourage insulin spikes, which cause excess sugar to be stored as fat! Regular Mayonnaise and light Mayonnaise both have the Smart Choice stamp, which may not be helpful for those with serious heart/health conditions.
The Smart Choice Program does little to promote a healthy diet primarily made up of fresh food. The healthiest foods to eat are fruits, vegetables, fish and meats. These foods contain most of the vitamins, enzymes, minerals, fibre, fats, carbohydrate and protein we will need in a day. As soon as food is processed it begins losing its nutritional value. The Smart Choice program fails for this reason, because you cannot put a Smart Choice stamp on fresh foods. Fresh unprocessed foods need to be promoted and consumed for optimum health.
Join me next week when we will discuss the benefits of natural and whole food choices.
