In this week’s blog post Stacey Mensah discusses the misleading marketing strategies that influence our decisions about the food we eat using milk as an example.

I’m sure that we can all agree that knowledge is power. I would like to take it one step further however, and suggest that applied knowledge is power, especially when dealing with the various amounts of marketing strategies that tell you what you should be feeding your family and why. Now as this is a safe space so let me share something with you all. I don’t know why but for some reason my millennial brain is attracted to the most outrageous marketing gimmicks. I’ve spent ludicrous amounts on various types of water and that was only because one was in a can, the other was in a box and the last one was black. I mean really, Stacey? Four years of university education and this is what you’re contemplating. But thankfully over the years I’ve grown a lot smarter, and I think society has in general. We are more aware now than ever of what we are putting in our bodies.

An example of a misleading marketing strategy would be that of dairy. Growing up my mum would constantly rattle on about drinking more milk so that I could have strong bones when I grow up. Every child in the playground would be sipping on their milk cartons, or perhaps two, if they had managed to barter with a fellow classmate, everyone was quite blissfully unaware. Fast forward a couple of years and the consumption of milk has dramatically declined. This can be seen in the sale of milk as sales have declined by £240 million. There are now dairy alternatives that many more of us are now opting for. When looking back I realise the power of advertising because I now recall the children’s adverts promoting milk as the key to calcium to the point where many of us, with myself include,  thought that you could only get calcium from milk and boy was I wrong! Did you know that there is more calcium in Kale than there is in milk ? Now that’s something…

As a society I believe we are getting more educated about what we are putting in our bodies. The rise of alternative lifestyles including the vegan diet and the paleo diet shows that people are no longer willing to consume so much processed foods due to the way it makes them feel afterwards and because of ethical reasons. I, myself, can no longer consume dairy as I have a hard time breathing once it has been consumed. It’s all well when you say I’m going to have a cheat day but if you consistently keep eating what doesn’t agree with you, sooner or later you will pay the price. Now this is such a hypocritical statement coming from me as I’m known to be quite indulgent – but let’s roll with it. In ‘theory’ this is what we all should be doing.

A recent documentary called, ‘What The Health’, has got everyone talking and has even converted a few people to veganism. This is a documentary in which they lay bare the secrets of the food industry. This is a must watch for anyone who cares about  what they are putting into their body. I personally found it incredibly insightful and wouldn’t rule the vegan lifestyle out completely. Since watching the documentary I have seen a reduction in my consumption of meat which has been quite surprising to be honest.

With something as complex as diet there is no singular answer. My one piece of advice is this: read, watch, listen. Read articles and studies on the affects of animal products or any foods you want to consume. Just make sure that it’s contributing to your inner health and not simply satisfying a temporary craving. Watch – YouTube is your best friend when it comes to this. You have people across the world who are sharing their stories with you. They are doing the hard work so you don’t have too. And finally, listen to professionals and always seek more than one opinion.

Feel free to comment down below and let us know what you think about the documentary we mentioned…