Truth in Labeling, Part 1

(A follow-up to this article was posted on January 30)

I have been thinking for quite a while about discussing the need for a bit more honesty on package labels. For instance, have you ever gotten a bag of potato chips whose contents are even close to what's pictured on the bag, big handsome examples of the epitome of the chipmaker's craft? Or do you open the bag to find, at the bottom, a dense heap of broken little bits that more closely resemble garden mulch than potatoes? Oddly, the big beautiful chips seem to float to the top of the bag while the mulch settles out on the bottom just above the dust.

The Wheat Thins package shown here is approaching honesty. Observe the outline around the name, "Wheat Thins." See how ragged and uneven it is? A subtle hint of what you might find inside? Look at the cracker that's broken in two. A common sight inside the package for sure, but I doubt you'll find its mate as neatly as is shown. Why do you think they show a broken cracker? Is it so you'll take their serving suggestion and not eat a whole huge cracker like some socially unrefined glutton?

In the interest of science, I tried to break a Wheat Thins cracker that way. After several minutes' effort, I never even got close. I think they either sawed the cracker with a very fine blade or simply succumbed to the efficiency of "breaking" it in Photoshop.

Many questions, few answers. I'll keep working at this. Wish me luck.