This post is a quick update on an affiliate relationship that readers can use to help support the extensive free content here at Casual Kitchen.
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Long time readers know of my deep respect and admiration for Jules at Stonesoup. Well, right now, Jules is offering an enormous discount on her latest e-cookbook, The Tired & Hungry Cook's Companion, and I wanted to tell readers that Casual Kitchen is honored to have an affiliate relationship with Jules' consistently exceptional work.
This cookbook is exactly the kind of thing we love here at CK: it's designed to help cooks with little or no time put inexpensive, healthy and easy-to-make dinners on the table. And right now, (until Sunday October 17th) this cookbook is on sale at 48% off!
Jules brings you 95 recipes, each with multiple variations, for the laughably cheap price of $19. And there's also a premium version complete with video instructionals, available for $49 with the same generous discount.
I recommend Jules' work absolutely and without reservation to my readers, and Jules, to her credit, backs up her work too--with a 100% unconditional money-back guarantee. Stop over at her site and take a look!
The Sad, Quiet Death of Campbell's Low-Sodium Soup
For those of you who missed it, several weeks ago Campbell's gave up and killed off their line of lower-salt soups.
Why? Because consumers hated them.
Unsurprisingly, there are quite a few food bloggers and public health pundits who are spinning this into yet another tale of corporate greed. Hey, Campbell's--just like every other food company--will do anything to increase their profits. Including killing off their own customers by adding salt back to their soup.
Maybe it's just me, but you'd think it would be understandable that a food company might stop trying to sell food that their customers clearly don't want to buy.
Here's the problem: when you use a paranoid lens like that to consider a situation like this, you also adopt a fundamentally disempowering view that corporations are too powerful for us. You adopt a view that these companies, with their enormous advertising and marketing budgets, can tell us what to buy. And it assumes that we consumers are powerless to resist all those billions of dollars in ads.
Of course there's a hilariously huge hole in the logic of that lens. If Campbell's (or any other food company's) marketing was really that powerful, they could easily convince us to buy low-sodium soup. And they could make us like it too! Such a powerful, greedy corporation would quickly persuade us mindless zombies that their low-salt soups were delicious. Right?
Hmmm. But yet they couldn't. People still hated them--and didn't buy 'em.
Which proves a somewhat inconvenient truth: that we consumers actually decided that these soups would be unsuccessful--by not purchasing them. As with every other decision about what corporations sell us, we choose everything on our store shelves by making the final decision to buy or not buy.
There's one more appalling logic error that comes flying out of the mouths of public health pundits whenever a major food company makes a seemingly anti-consumer decision like this. The flawed logic goes something like this: Yes, our culture has an obesity problem, a hypertension problem, and we are getting fatter and fatter as a nation as we effectively eat ourselves to death. And every public health pundit has an obligation to at least appear to care about these important and serious problems.
Well, there's no better way to appear to care about these issues than to appear on TV (or write in your blog or book) pointing out new examples of food companies greedily putting profits before the health of their customers. In other words, a pundit can easily say that Campbell's should sell soup with less salt, but they won't--because they only care about making money. Somehow, this message seems vaguely logical, and it gives the pundit's audience a tasty and easy-to-swallow message that goes down very easily.
Except that any company that insists on selling things its customers don't want to buy is gonna fail faster than Lehman Brothers. The bottom line, however, is that this anti-corporate, easy-to-swallow message is so easy to articulate, and it resonates so well with the average consumer, who wouldn't say it? Especially if doing so will burnish your reputation as the next Eliot Spitzer of food.
Uh, whoops. Wait. I meant the next Eliot Ness of food.
But here's the problem: that public health pundit is actually saying "Campbell's: stop selling foods that people like, and start selling what I think people should like. After all, I'm a food expert."
If this seems vaguely arrogant and condescending to you, good. Because it is.
To me, selling a hyperpalatable message like this--a message that encourages consumers to give away their power, and a message that appeals to consumers' emotions at the expense of their intelligence--is way more greedy and unethical than selling a can of salty soup.
Okay. There's another, better, solution--and CK readers already know it.
Let's face it, it's just as easy and far cheaper to make your own soup at home. Sure, with Campbell's you can easily get 1-2 servings of soup on the table in just 10-12 minutes. But take a look at any of the amazing soups available here at CK's recipe index. With a few incremental minutes of work, you can get three, four or even five times as many servings of a delicious, healthy, homemade soup or stew on your table, and enjoy leftovers for days afterward. You'll have healthier, better tasting food on the table for a fraction of the cost and time commitment.
And then you can control the sodium level in your food yourself, rather than letting some company control it for you.
Resources:
Campbell Adds Salt To Spur Soup Sales. Reuters
Campbell Soup Fights the Salt Wars. Food Politics
There are no good studies linking salt to hypertension. Scientific American
But wait! There's no doubt about the dangers of salt. NewScientist
Who's to Blame For Obesity? Marc Gunther
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com
via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
Why? Because consumers hated them.
Unsurprisingly, there are quite a few food bloggers and public health pundits who are spinning this into yet another tale of corporate greed. Hey, Campbell's--just like every other food company--will do anything to increase their profits. Including killing off their own customers by adding salt back to their soup.
Maybe it's just me, but you'd think it would be understandable that a food company might stop trying to sell food that their customers clearly don't want to buy.
Here's the problem: when you use a paranoid lens like that to consider a situation like this, you also adopt a fundamentally disempowering view that corporations are too powerful for us. You adopt a view that these companies, with their enormous advertising and marketing budgets, can tell us what to buy. And it assumes that we consumers are powerless to resist all those billions of dollars in ads.
Of course there's a hilariously huge hole in the logic of that lens. If Campbell's (or any other food company's) marketing was really that powerful, they could easily convince us to buy low-sodium soup. And they could make us like it too! Such a powerful, greedy corporation would quickly persuade us mindless zombies that their low-salt soups were delicious. Right?
Hmmm. But yet they couldn't. People still hated them--and didn't buy 'em.
Which proves a somewhat inconvenient truth: that we consumers actually decided that these soups would be unsuccessful--by not purchasing them. As with every other decision about what corporations sell us, we choose everything on our store shelves by making the final decision to buy or not buy.
There's one more appalling logic error that comes flying out of the mouths of public health pundits whenever a major food company makes a seemingly anti-consumer decision like this. The flawed logic goes something like this: Yes, our culture has an obesity problem, a hypertension problem, and we are getting fatter and fatter as a nation as we effectively eat ourselves to death. And every public health pundit has an obligation to at least appear to care about these important and serious problems.
Well, there's no better way to appear to care about these issues than to appear on TV (or write in your blog or book) pointing out new examples of food companies greedily putting profits before the health of their customers. In other words, a pundit can easily say that Campbell's should sell soup with less salt, but they won't--because they only care about making money. Somehow, this message seems vaguely logical, and it gives the pundit's audience a tasty and easy-to-swallow message that goes down very easily.
Except that any company that insists on selling things its customers don't want to buy is gonna fail faster than Lehman Brothers. The bottom line, however, is that this anti-corporate, easy-to-swallow message is so easy to articulate, and it resonates so well with the average consumer, who wouldn't say it? Especially if doing so will burnish your reputation as the next Eliot Spitzer of food.
Uh, whoops. Wait. I meant the next Eliot Ness of food.
But here's the problem: that public health pundit is actually saying "Campbell's: stop selling foods that people like, and start selling what I think people should like. After all, I'm a food expert."
If this seems vaguely arrogant and condescending to you, good. Because it is.
To me, selling a hyperpalatable message like this--a message that encourages consumers to give away their power, and a message that appeals to consumers' emotions at the expense of their intelligence--is way more greedy and unethical than selling a can of salty soup.
Okay. There's another, better, solution--and CK readers already know it.
Let's face it, it's just as easy and far cheaper to make your own soup at home. Sure, with Campbell's you can easily get 1-2 servings of soup on the table in just 10-12 minutes. But take a look at any of the amazing soups available here at CK's recipe index. With a few incremental minutes of work, you can get three, four or even five times as many servings of a delicious, healthy, homemade soup or stew on your table, and enjoy leftovers for days afterward. You'll have healthier, better tasting food on the table for a fraction of the cost and time commitment.
And then you can control the sodium level in your food yourself, rather than letting some company control it for you.
Resources:
Campbell Adds Salt To Spur Soup Sales. Reuters
Campbell Soup Fights the Salt Wars. Food Politics
There are no good studies linking salt to hypertension. Scientific American
But wait! There's no doubt about the dangers of salt. NewScientist
Who's to Blame For Obesity? Marc Gunther
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com
via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
Welcome, Eating Rules Readers!
Just a quick alert to readers: Casual Kitchen is featured at Eating Rules today in a guest post. I'm helping out blogger Andrew Wilder in his second annual October Unprocessed, an event that seeks to encourage people to reduce or eliminate processed foods from their diets.
Here's the post:
Zombies, Processed Foods and the Advertising-Consumption Cycle
Stop over at Eating Rules, say hello and join the conversation!
Finally, for the many new folks visiting Casual Kitchen for the very first time, feel free to check out some of the featured recent writing here:
The Do-Nothing Brand
Divorce Yourself from the False Reality of Your Grocery Store
The Tragedy of Ersatz American Restaurant Food
Why Davis Baking Powder Put in a 23% Stealth Price Hike
Companies vs. Consumers: A Manifesto
How to Defeat the Retail Industry's Ninja Mind Tricks
Weight Is Just a Number
On Spice Fade, And the Utter Insanity of Throwing Spices Out After Six Months
What's Wrong With the Government Limiting Food Marketing to Kids?
How to Own the Consumer Products Industry--And I Mean Literally Own It
The Top Lame-Ass Excuses Between You and Better Health
A Simple Rule To Make Your Life Environmentally Sustainable and Worry Free
Last but not least, please have a look at CK's full Index of Posts, Recipe Index and the Best Of Casual Kitchen page. Welcome!
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
Here's the post:
Zombies, Processed Foods and the Advertising-Consumption Cycle
Stop over at Eating Rules, say hello and join the conversation!
Finally, for the many new folks visiting Casual Kitchen for the very first time, feel free to check out some of the featured recent writing here:
The Do-Nothing Brand
Divorce Yourself from the False Reality of Your Grocery Store
The Tragedy of Ersatz American Restaurant Food
Why Davis Baking Powder Put in a 23% Stealth Price Hike
Companies vs. Consumers: A Manifesto
How to Defeat the Retail Industry's Ninja Mind Tricks
Weight Is Just a Number
On Spice Fade, And the Utter Insanity of Throwing Spices Out After Six Months
What's Wrong With the Government Limiting Food Marketing to Kids?
How to Own the Consumer Products Industry--And I Mean Literally Own It
The Top Lame-Ass Excuses Between You and Better Health
A Simple Rule To Make Your Life Environmentally Sustainable and Worry Free
Last but not least, please have a look at CK's full Index of Posts, Recipe Index and the Best Of Casual Kitchen page. Welcome!
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com
via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
Retro Sundays
This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:
Who's Watching the Watchdogs? Ethical Problems in the "Ten Riskiest Foods" Report By the CSPI (October 2009)
An important post on how on supposedly pro-consumer watchdog organization manufactured a health scare out of nothing. Who gets hurt? Read this post and decide for yourself.
Four Steps to Put an End to Overeating (October 2009)
Author David Kessler shares four key recommendations to rein in what he considers a food industry run amok. I examine each one of his conclusions--some good, some hopelessly misguided. PS: If you haven't already, be sure to read his book The End of Overeating,
a book I rewarded with a rabidly positive review.
Braised Pork in Guajillo Chile Sauce (October 2007)
This recipe, from the exceptional cookbook Daisy Cooks,
changed how I cook. It introduced me to brand new ingredients, taught me a totally new cuisine--and eventually, after an embarrassing attempt at speaking to a cute shopgirl in a Mexican specialty foods store, it led me to Chile to get competent at Spanish. Funny how life works sometimes.
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
Who's Watching the Watchdogs? Ethical Problems in the "Ten Riskiest Foods" Report By the CSPI (October 2009)
An important post on how on supposedly pro-consumer watchdog organization manufactured a health scare out of nothing. Who gets hurt? Read this post and decide for yourself.
Four Steps to Put an End to Overeating (October 2009)
Author David Kessler shares four key recommendations to rein in what he considers a food industry run amok. I examine each one of his conclusions--some good, some hopelessly misguided. PS: If you haven't already, be sure to read his book The End of Overeating,
a book I rewarded with a rabidly positive review.Braised Pork in Guajillo Chile Sauce (October 2007)
This recipe, from the exceptional cookbook Daisy Cooks,
changed how I cook. It introduced me to brand new ingredients, taught me a totally new cuisine--and eventually, after an embarrassing attempt at speaking to a cute shopgirl in a Mexican specialty foods store, it led me to Chile to get competent at Spanish. Funny how life works sometimes.How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com
via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
CK Friday Links--Friday October 7, 2011
Here's yet another selection of interesting links from around the internet. As always, I welcome your thoughts and your feedback.
PS: Follow me on Twitter!
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Sign up for email delivery of Jules Clancy's new food blog, and get a copy of her exceptional 5-Minute Salads cookbook--free! (stonesoup)
So you think you've had failures in the kitchen? (A Life of Spice)
What's your reaction when a personal injury attorney writes a post about the cantaloupe/listeria outbreak--and titles it Dealing in Death? (Marler Blog)
How a fearful novice turned herself into a confident home cook... in just one month. Proof that home cooking isn't as intimidating as it seems. (Remodeling This Life)
Recipe Links:
Healthy, easy, vegan... and spicy! Green Pea Curry. (Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen)
Two ways to make delicious Drip Beef. (Pioneer Woman Cooks)
Forget those awful 60's-era TV dinners. THIS is the real thing: Salisbury Steak. (Kalofagas) Bonus Post! Crispy Fried Onions.
Off-Topic Links:
The Wall Street protests don't mean what you think they mean. Not even close. (The Last Psychiatrist)
What will you really get from Social Security? (Get Rich Slowly)
The Steve Jobs I knew. (All Things)
Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
PS: Follow me on Twitter!
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Sign up for email delivery of Jules Clancy's new food blog, and get a copy of her exceptional 5-Minute Salads cookbook--free! (stonesoup)
So you think you've had failures in the kitchen? (A Life of Spice)
What's your reaction when a personal injury attorney writes a post about the cantaloupe/listeria outbreak--and titles it Dealing in Death? (Marler Blog)
How a fearful novice turned herself into a confident home cook... in just one month. Proof that home cooking isn't as intimidating as it seems. (Remodeling This Life)
Recipe Links:
Healthy, easy, vegan... and spicy! Green Pea Curry. (Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen)
Two ways to make delicious Drip Beef. (Pioneer Woman Cooks)
Forget those awful 60's-era TV dinners. THIS is the real thing: Salisbury Steak. (Kalofagas) Bonus Post! Crispy Fried Onions.
Off-Topic Links:
The Wall Street protests don't mean what you think they mean. Not even close. (The Last Psychiatrist)
What will you really get from Social Security? (Get Rich Slowly)
The Steve Jobs I knew. (All Things)
Do you have an interesting article or recipe that you'd like to see featured in Casual Kitchen's Food Links? Send me an email!
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com
via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
Still Sixteen Ounces
I'd like to share something that strikes me as hilarious. Look at the following photo: Anything seem unusual?
This otherwise normal container of delicious Ben & Jerry's ice cream says "Still 16oz" on the label. Repeatedly.
Now, why would Ben & Jerry's do that?
Well, because a key competitor in the so-called high end ice cream category, Häagen-Dazs, has recently employed stealth price hike tactics, cutting their container size from 16 ounces to 14 ounces. This effectively works out to a per-unit price increase of 14.3%.
It's also worth noting that these "pint" containers of Häagen-Dazs appear noticeably smaller on store shelves now, which kind of takes the "stealth" out of this stealth price hike.
In response, Ben & Jerry's is doing just what any self-respecting, honest company should do: competing for your consumer dollars. They didn't put a stealth price hike over on us, and they have every right to tell us about it. Hey, these guys rule.
Of course, as a consumer, you have your own options and alternatives. And if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know exactly what you can do: practice brand disloyalty--and drop Häagen-Dazs like a bad habit.
Readers, what are your thoughts?
Related Posts:
Why Davis Baking Powder Put in a 23% Stealth Price Hike
Companies vs. Consumers: A Manifesto
Understanding the Consumer Products Industry
What's Your Favorite Consumer Empowerment Tip?
The Mysteriously Shrinking Hershey's Bar
Ask CK: How Do You Like Your Prices Raised?
Can You Resist $107 Worth of Advertising?
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
This otherwise normal container of delicious Ben & Jerry's ice cream says "Still 16oz" on the label. Repeatedly.
Now, why would Ben & Jerry's do that?
Well, because a key competitor in the so-called high end ice cream category, Häagen-Dazs, has recently employed stealth price hike tactics, cutting their container size from 16 ounces to 14 ounces. This effectively works out to a per-unit price increase of 14.3%.
It's also worth noting that these "pint" containers of Häagen-Dazs appear noticeably smaller on store shelves now, which kind of takes the "stealth" out of this stealth price hike.
In response, Ben & Jerry's is doing just what any self-respecting, honest company should do: competing for your consumer dollars. They didn't put a stealth price hike over on us, and they have every right to tell us about it. Hey, these guys rule.
Of course, as a consumer, you have your own options and alternatives. And if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, you know exactly what you can do: practice brand disloyalty--and drop Häagen-Dazs like a bad habit.
Readers, what are your thoughts?
Related Posts:
Why Davis Baking Powder Put in a 23% Stealth Price Hike
Companies vs. Consumers: A Manifesto
Understanding the Consumer Products Industry
What's Your Favorite Consumer Empowerment Tip?
The Mysteriously Shrinking Hershey's Bar
Ask CK: How Do You Like Your Prices Raised?
Can You Resist $107 Worth of Advertising?
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com
via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
Retro Sundays--With a New Format!
Readers! Beginning with this week, I've adjusted the Retro Sundays format slightly. Instead of sharing links to several articles from CK's archives, I'll instead feature just one or two. My goal is to find a balance between overwhelming you with links, and helping you dig into the very best of CK's back catalog. As always, I live for your feedback.
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This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:
The Do-Nothing Brand (October 2010)
How a decision by a well-known food company should make you reconsider forever the true value of higher-priced branded foods. I'm extremely proud to say that this post single-handedly changed the purchasing and eating habits of hundreds of Casual Kitchen readers.
Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup (October 2007)
An all-time favorite recipe here at Casual Kitchen, perfect for a cool fall day. I guarantee you'll love this hearty and easy-to-make soup.
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
******************************
This Week in History at Casual Kitchen:
The Do-Nothing Brand (October 2010)
How a decision by a well-known food company should make you reconsider forever the true value of higher-priced branded foods. I'm extremely proud to say that this post single-handedly changed the purchasing and eating habits of hundreds of Casual Kitchen readers.
Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup (October 2007)
An all-time favorite recipe here at Casual Kitchen, perfect for a cool fall day. I guarantee you'll love this hearty and easy-to-make soup.
How can I support Casual Kitchen?
If you enjoy reading Casual Kitchen, tell a friend and spread the word! You can also support me by purchasing items from Amazon.com
via links on this site, or by linking to me or subscribing to my RSS feed. Finally, you can consider submitting this article, or any other article you particularly enjoyed here, to bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg or stumbleupon. Thank you for your support!
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