When reading through the many rules listed within the book, there was one that stood out to me . Rule number 13, "Shop the Peripheries of the Supermarket and Stay Out of the Middle," which explains how supermarkets are arranged in a way that makes consumers want to buy unhealthy products. The majority of the food items that are legitimately good for you are located on the outer ring of the store. Unfortunately, almost every supermarket has entrances that open up to a grand hall of unhealthy food waiting right in front of our faces. Furthermore, there are several shelves more of products that do not have any sort of nutritional value. It's hard for the outer ring to compete against the numerous middle aisles. This particular rule also stood out to me because of the way it addresses the behaviors of the general public. As a Public Relations major, I am interested in knowing what the public thinks about this concept. Many people confess to sticking to the middle aisles and hardly even going near edges of the store. With that in mind, of those who do visit the outer ring, a great deal of them only go to the dairy aisle to get milk. Pollack addresses milk later on in the book with rule 41. There he discusses that the calorie content of most liquids contain the same amount of calories that could be received from a solid, but liquids are less filling. So, that goes to show that even the people that skim through the edge of the store still aren't making the best choices. I would like for you to consider what you do when visiting the supermarket. Do you dive right into the processed goodness of the middle aisles, or do you take a victory lap around the store?
Don't be afraid to be an outsider. Give the outer ring a chance and see if you enjoy what you find.
I completely agree that being an "outsider" in many cases, especially this one, is far more beneficial. But I was completely interested in the traditional adages that Pollan did not address. I would say that with time we have lost our talents in a plethora of ways as they relate to the natural world, and that has propelled us into the welcoming bubble of the "inner aisles". For example, many tout the benefits of soup when you are sick, that would indeed constitute a seemingly ageless, processed food. As would the chicken stock base someone would most likely purchase if they attempted to make soup (mostly) from scratch. Moreover, many have come to consider boxed mixes as "homemade" because of the necessity of adding ingredients such as eggs (which is clearly within the bounds of the victory circle). So how do we distinguish these grey lines of the grocery store? They may not be as clear as we might like to think.
ReplyDeleteI tend to skim the outside edges, or at least try to. I typically start off in the fruit and vegetable sections and then proceed along to meat and dairy. But an interesting observation is that there are junk food displays on the end of every aisle facing outwards. How can we avoid the junk when no matter where on goes in the store, you can still see flashy displays and ads for junk food? It's a very first-world type of problem. It's very telling that many undernourished third-world countries are healthier than the people of the wealthiest nation in human history.
ReplyDeleteIt is the "easier path" to go towards the middle and get the prepackaged, prepared items. Today's society is becoming increasingly busy and it is sometimes the easier option to go that route. It allows you to spend more time doing other things. Until we get serious about our health and the health of those eating with us, we will gravitate towards being insiders. It is becoming increasingly trendy, however, to sway towards those outer edges and to eat healthy foods. If we, as Westerners, can continue to follow this trend, we may just be okay.
ReplyDeleteI used to think the layout of the supermarket was based on convenience and convention. I am so naive. Supermarket stocking is based on a science and a premium. With over 100K new products competing for limited shelf space every year, shelf space can make or break a product/company. I'm sure you've all heard that the most kid friendly (i.e., most sugar) cereals are all placed at eye level (that's child eye level) so they can be most easily grabbed and/or spotted and whined for. Check out lines are stocked with impulse buy items. The supermarket is a competitive jungle, where it is kill or be killed.
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