They like me!

I'm so flattered.

I think that Betty Crocker or General Mills or whoever it is that makes Hamburger Helper must be reading my blog. A couple of weeks ago, I went to our local market and found an amazing new product on the shelves: Wholesome Helper!

And then in the past few days while I have been ill and watching far too much television (ergo, far too many commercials) I learned that they have introduced another remarkable line of "helpers" . . .Wholegrain Helper! I believe that one of the commercials mentioned that it contains "wholegrain rice." Hmm, is there such a thing as "half-grain" rice? Oh, yeah, that would be their Minute Rice product. Oh, wait, that's General Foods, not General Mills. Is there a difference? Wait a week and see what corporate takeover happens next


But anyway, folks, wow--it is so gratifying to learn that someone is listening to me. Those folks at the Big Food Company, whatever it is, are so interested in our good health that they are creating new products to accommodate our needs. 


The sad part, as my husband already pointed out, is that people will look at these and buy them actually thinking they are getting something "wholesome" or "wholegrain." I suspect he is right. 

It probably isn't terribly surprising to find that there are no ingredients listed online as yet for these brand-new innovative products. I did, however find a list of ingredients for the "Original" Cheeseburger Mac here: http://www.generalmills.com/~/media/Images/Brands/Nutritional_Images/Helper/Hamburger_Helper_Cheesebuger_Macaroni-330.ashx I'm sure that the "wholesome" Cheeseburger Mac ingredients will be a lot different. Not. I question what have they really changed, other than the color of the box, to make it look a little bit "whole wheat" flavored? They obviously haven't taken the artificial coloring out of the "cheese" product that they're using.

Another commercial I have seen several times over the last few days has touted Procter & Gamble's earth-friendly products. I went to the P&G Web site and learned that their current big push is toward "sustainability." Wow, I am so impressed that they learned that buzzword. Their top goal in this push: "Delight the consumer with sustainable innovations that improve the environmental profile of our products."

Yup, the sustainability of their products really impresses and delights me. I'm thinking specifically of the sustainability of such products as Pampers and Pull-Ups. Ugh. My two least favorite products in the entire world, mostly because my personal experience has been not only that they are specially designed not to be eco-friendly, but even more, to foster a longer-term dependence on these types of products than normally would be required. Even though I'm sure that there are people who can't even imagine life without disposable diapers or training pants, I'm here to tell you there are plenty of other options that don't show up on P&G's "environmental profile." But that's an entirely different blog post subject for a different day.

I also really like this statement, also from the P&G Web site:

" ... Every Sustainability innovation begins with a deep understanding of consumers. Because we are in touch with the consumers’ reality, we can make innovation decisions based on their needs."

I'm so glad to know that these big corporations are so in touch with someone's reality. It's certainly not mine. 

I guess what it all comes down to is that it's hard to know whom to believe any more. These big companies keep telling us they "care" about the environment or our health, but are they just playing us? Do they really care? Or is the bottom line really all about retaining paying customers? I'm sorry to say that I believe that's what it is. Ultimately, the only way we can speak is with our money. And so, we should be very careful where it goes. 

Become an informed consumer. That's all I can say.