When I moved here ~12 years ago one of the things that surprised me the most was how comfortable companies were at flat out deceptive marketing. The lesson I le

When I moved here ~12 years ago one of the things that surprised me the most was how comfortable companies were at flat out deceptive marketing. The lesson I learned very quickly was to assume any claim made on any package by any company was unsubstantiated and usually a lie. What I took away from this is that as a consumer you have to be very engaged in evaluating your food choices. Unfortunately most people aren't, it seems. I continue to be surprised by how many otherwise intelligent people fall for claims of "low fat", "sugar free", "high calcium", "organic", "natural", "gluten free", "kale", other fads etc. The other thing I learned is if you want to be a low-information consumer, there are far better countries in the world for you to live than the US, places where the government takes a stronger hand in enforcing population health and consumer protection. If you live in this country, you had better be smart and look out for yourself, because the companies and the government not only don't care, they are actively trying to screw you.