The Flaws of Do-Gooder Food Ratings

Everyone knows you should be watching what you eat. But how exactly do you watch the people who grew and packaged it? How do you trust that the food you buy meets the ever-growing list of requisites for a right-minded shopper? Not just the right kind of fats in the right proportion but also low sodium, organic, GMO-free, with no added sugars or artificial colors or whatever has been high on your nutritional priorities lately. Try factoring in how the animals were raised, on what kind of land, and what they were fed, how the people who work in the company are paid and where they get their health care, how much fuel the trucks use to get to the market, whether the boxes or labels use recycled material, whether their subcontractors pay health insurance and attend town meetings. ... Once you start, it’s hard to stop. How to keep track of everything you want in the way your food is produced? Check the backs of food boxes and cans and you’ll encounter a fairly limitless mystery of symbols and marks and scores (around 350 potential certifications, according to one estimate). It’s exhausting just to think about.