Reading the ‘Other’ Food Labels

Learn food terms to better understand the way the foods you eat were grown and raised

Since you not only what you eat but what your animals eat as well, it's important to know how they were raised. LADO/Shutterstock

Are you an avid reader of food labels? If so, you probably know there are scores of words and phrases that describe the foods you can buy at the grocery stores and farmers markets.

We’re not here to talk about the regular vernacular—the nutrients, additives, or claims like “low fat,” “high fiber,” or “good source of protein.” Instead, we are going to explore the ambiguous, mysterious, and often confusing terms used to describe the (often) fresh, unprocessed foods in our midst.

Let’s Talk About Protein Foods

When you’re shopping for meat, dairy products, fish, and poultry, labels can reveal the environment in which the animals were raised or produced and what they were fed. Since the food and activity of food animals can have an impact on their nutritional content and density, these factors in turn can have an impact on the people who eat these foods. That is, you are not only what you eat, but you are what the animals eat as well.