Kroger ads are over the item limit for the anti-science express lane

Going grocery shopping can be quite obnoxious for a chemistry teacher. It’s not just the chemical-free labels but rather an overwhelming amount of misleading and deceptive marketing. It is a stark reminder that there are relentless forces pushing back regardless of how hard I work to teach science, evidence-based thinking and chemistry knowledge. For every time a student learns how to predict the products of a chemical reaction they will be inundated with non-GMO labels. Every particle representation that pushes their thinking will be countered by claims that only ingredients with names that can easily be pronounced are used.

These marketing schemes cause a widespread distrust for many things like aspartame, vaccines, MSG and other items that have had false data perpetuated by public hysteria that lacks any evidence. The impacts of these cause a rift between environmental activism and environmental science. And I understand that people do not always have access to trustworthy sources and the risk of getting scammed an extra few dollars is less worrisome than the false alternative. So while I wish more people would buy food that is better for the environment, better for the health of farmers and not actively trying to scam innocent people out of money, I understand why that takes time to transition.

But I am less forgiving of the advertising for those that are aware of these marketing scams like the non-GMO project that help perpetuate fears among consumers just to profit off of their fear. Companies with the resources and knowledge to do the right thing and educate consumers get far too little criticism when they choose instead to push fear-based rhetoric. The following two advertisements are from Kroger’s Simple Truth brand and the second I heard on the radio one day and it infuriated me.

Ad 1 “We’re proud of what’s not in our food, like GMOs (disgusted tone)” https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dlAO/simple-truth-were-proud

Ad 2 “Free from GMOs and free from things you can’t pronounce”

https://www.ispot.tv/ad/IqtV/fred-meyer-simple-truth-products

I wrote about how the advertisement made me feel and received a reply that showed that Kroger both did not read my comment but also apologized for my confusion rather than address their deceptiveness. Their response is Figure 1 found below. Several response emails were redirected with claims that my concerns would be forwarded to marketing and I couldn’t help notice that Kroger was perfectly content to explain how their food was non-GMO initially before they took time to understand my complaint. But once they were aware of everything the evasiveness grew.

Eventually I received a direct response and explanation (Figure 2 below). While I appreciated an actual response I still feel that Kroger is both disingenuous that they have no knowledge of food systems and farming and are merely responding to consumer requests. The advertisements clearly show they are pushing consumers in a particular direction both with their tone, phrasing and the pronounceable ingredient comment in ad 2. However, I also have hope that they will respond. While Kroger was avoiding my emails I looked through their social media and found a brilliant response where an employee took the time to thoroughly explain pesticides, organic pesticides and more to a customer that appeared to not be aware (Figure 3 below).

So if you are a science teacher, an environmentalist or someone who’s just tired of having the dumbest possible labeling shoved in your face everytime you walk into a grocery store, please consider sending Kroger a message letting them know you would like to see more pro-GMO marketing, more educational labeling and fewer chemophobic messages. If you'd like to learn more about GMOs here are some helpful links. Ingredients in a banana can be found here. If you can pronounce it you should eat it meme.

Figure 1: Initial email response from Kroger after my complaint that their advertisements promoted anti-science

Figure 2: Email response from Kroger after I asked for a medical condition that would be positively impacted by a non-GMO diet