I noticed a jar of peanut butter on a co-workers desk the other day and it was obviously a Jif label but it was green. When I see green I am always intrigued by the strange ways companies are starting to package their foods to attempt to appease the “healthy” food movement, whatever that is within processed foods. I saw that the label says Omega 3 on it and I immediately thought of 2 things: 1. This is ridiculous. We are so lazy that soon enough something like peanut butter will just come with a multi-vitamin in it. 2. What in the hell are they putting in an already horrendous product to enhance it with Omega 3s? Do you know what is in my peanut butter? Peanuts. Do you know what is in a product like Jif? Roasted peanuts, sugar, Molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oil, mono and diglycerisdes and salt. Do you know what is in “Simply Jif”? Same exact ingredients but looks better on the outside, right? What about “Jif Natural”? Roasted peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt and molasses. They all look the same to me. And then we get to the new Jif Omega 3:
ROASTED PEANUTS, SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT], ANCHOVY* AND SARDINE OIL*, TILAPIA GELATIN, TOCOPHEROLS AND CITRIC ACID (ANTIOXIDANTS).
Seriously? I’m not saying this because I am vegan, but this is disgusting. Guess what? Did you know you can get Omega 3s from these other natural, whole foods?
- Leafy green veggies
- Nuts such as walnuts, brazil nuts, hazelnuts and pecans
- Seeds – just put flax seeds in anything you eat anyway. They are awesome in salads, granola, name it.
- Eggs (you know to only buy the good ones from local farmers, right?)
- Fish (I had to put this in there for pure fact)
Side note: Forget fish all-together though, the first 4 from the list will be just fine for you. Fishing practices are horrific if you didn’t know.
I can only imagine where Jif sources their sardines, anchovies and talapia for their fancy peanut butter.
What do you guys think about this?
#1 by L*3 on October 9, 2009 - 10:10 am
I’m not vegan… and this is totally disgusting. No me gusta.
#2 by Jen on October 13, 2009 - 2:01 pm
You’re right, this product does seem pretty stupid. I bought it mostly for my husband because he’s not a big fan of things with Omega-3 in them (no matter how good I make them taste). Also, Jif is a childhood favorite of both of us. Believe me, I now feel duly chastised…
#3 by gary chiu on December 1, 2009 - 12:09 pm
gary from banyan foods again.
another case of a “frankenstein food”.
from the food manufacturing perspective, it’s all relative, of course. but there are distinct lines not to cross. tofu isn’t “natural” b/c it can’t be picked off a tree or harvested from the field… but then again, it does mostly contain water, soybeans, and the mineral gypsum.
personally, i have a problem seeing “natural” labelled anywhere, so i decided never to use it in our food labels. for that matter, i’ve shunned the term “healthy” as well. just overused food marketing terms that once had a meaning assigned to it, but is now a wide, catch-all phrase.
overall, the trend in food has been to identify a panacea substance.. be it omega 3… or phytoestrogens in soy… isolate it from it’s natural source (fish or plants)… encapsulate it or combine it with other foods so you can “mega dose” yourself.
since the logic behind this is… if a panacea is good… MORE of a panacea would be even better, right? (HA.)
first off, no food is an utopian cure all (unless you’re talking eating straight up switch grass, or something). it’s always been about moderation and balance. secondly, the average consumer is woefully lethargic and passive with regards to what famous brands market to them.
#4 by Camila Perry on May 18, 2010 - 11:23 am
I am just concerned about the main source of Omega 3 which is the liver of fish. as you can see, fishes can accumulate mercury and pcb. “;”