Knowing your foods – Natural vs. Organic

Imagine you’re shopping for some groceries. Most products have very appealing packaging, in order to try and persuade you to buy the goods (in favour of their competition). Some of these foods have food claims in order to inform you about their benefits. When strolling through the supermarket, you come across a new applesauce brand, and are eager to try it. There are 2 jars that you can choose from: one with an “organic” label on it, whereas the other one says “natural”. What jar would you choose?

Food Claims 

Did you pick the “natural” applesauce jar? If you did, then you’re like the majority of consumers. But why did you make that choice? Does it sound better? And is it this really a better choice? Do you know what these claims really mean?

Take it with a grain of salt! .... or not?

Everybody consumes salt on a daily basis. It is present in most of our food, either naturally (such as in meats or vegetables), as an added substance for flavour, or as a preservative (such as in cheese, bacon, canned foods, and most convenience foods). The main sources of salt in our diet are bread and cereal products, meat products and milk and dairy products (Buss & Robertson, 1973), next to the use of table salt. But what is salt?

     Common salt is a mineral that consists out of 2 elements (and sometimes some trace elements): sodium (Na) and chloride (Cl). Normally, salt crystals are translucent but appear to be white and are cubic in shape. If table salt contains e.g. impurities or added elements, it may have a different shade of white such as a white with a pink or blue hue.

Source: salt-91539_960_720.jpg

Simplifying food: what popular culture can teach us about food

In the midst of abundant information about what constitutes a healthy diet, it is sometimes hard to decide what to believe and what to take serious. Nutrition labels are an incomprehensible list of ingredients. Medical experts fight about the healthiness of GMO’s (genetically modified organisms). And how do we know when an organic food label can or cannot be trusted?

These kind of food issues have infiltrated our society to such an extent that they also appear in the arts. Many food-related art projects criticize the food industry or the lack of sustainable food practices. However, some merely aim to illustrate human behaviors in relation to food, such us our perceptual biases of food size, or the excuses we use to justify unhealthy food choices. American pop artist Claes Oldenburg, for instance, created supersized soft sculptures of food objects in order to illustrate the increased availability of fast food in the 50s and 60s. Among his works are a sculpture of a giant hamburger, BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato) sandwich, and pretzels.

Floor Burger (1962) by Claus Oldenburg, source: http://www.turkoisdesign.com/blog/2013/6/19/the-street-the-store 

The many faces of the Fat Tax

Source: National Cancer Institute

The world is getting too fat. In the United States obesity and overweight affect a shocking 68% of people, of which half meet the criteria to be labeled obese. In Belgium obesity levels are also becoming a problem, as both 41% of men and women are ranked as overweight and/or obese (Eurostat, 2011).