Welcome to Debate Club! Please be aware that this is a space for respectful debate, and that your ideas will be challenged here. Please remember to critique the argument, not the author.
Should you be able to pronounce the names of product ingredients?
lorrpb
Posts: 11,464 Member
in Debate Club
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
20
Replies
-
You'd need a special sub-rule for people like me who think they're pronouncing something correctly but actually aren't.33
-
janejellyroll wrote: »You'd need a special sub-rule for people like me who think they're pronouncing something correctly but actually aren't.
There's also some regional differences in pronunciation. When I travel, does that reduce my diet?13 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Same. I think I'm probably dangerous. Most people should probably leave me alone. :laugh:
And I agree, it's more about the language skills than the product.4 -
I've always been good at reading. That wouldn't make me immune to actually toxic ingredients. Of course you should be able to pronounce the ingredients, but not as some sort of prerequisite to ingesting the product - there's just no shame in being able to sound out an unfamiliar word.5
-
I haaaaate this silly rule. My aunt used to spout it all the time. If you can't pronounce the thing or you don't know what it is then maybe you should look it up rather than running away from it??
I just looked up those first three chains of incomprehensible syllables and now I know things that I didn't know 5 mins ago. Very scary indeed.13 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Using that silly standard, a lot of scientists/chemists would be allowed to eat almost anything and illiterate people would quickly starve to death. And many of us would never be allowed to eat foods from other countries where we're not conversant in their language. And any kind of hors d'oeuvre would be right out the window for many.
Fortunately I have a decent command of Spanish, so all Mexican food is good to go for me! I also speak a tiny bit of Japanese, enough to pronounce everything on a sushi menu.
7 -
...and I guess a lot of people won't be eating many strawberries or bananas:
19 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
Using that silly standard, a lot of scientists/chemists would be allowed to eat almost anything and illiterate people would quickly starve to death. And many of us would never be allowed to eat foods from other countries where we're not conversant in their language. And any kind of hors d'oeuvre would be right out the window for many.
Fortunately I have a decent command of Spanish, so all Mexican food is good to go for me! I also speak a tiny bit of Japanese, enough to pronounce everything on a sushi menu.
I tell you, if I tried to live by that rule I'd damn well be learning Japanese for this reason.10 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce?
No.
I think if someone wants to eat minimally processed whole foods that is fine but deciding a food will be harmful if you can not pronounce all the ingredients on the label is silly.
I may or may not pronounce many scientific or foreign names correctly but that does not make the ingredients unsafe or unhealthy. I have tested with higher than 5th grade reading level.
I pronounced quinoa wrong for a long time as I had never heard it. I don't pronounce the food gyro correctly. I have heard people saying Keto different than the way I would pronounce it. I struggle sometimes to remember and pronounce long medication names correctly every time. Just because I pronounce something wrong does not mean the thing itself is bad.
6 -
This is such a silly rule. If you're advocating for some kind of "clean" diet, just define what you mean by clean foods.5
-
I have excellent pronunciation skills thanks to the nuns pounding them into me in grade school. Therefore, the nuns are to blame for me getting fat! Right?
I have a sister who follows what I call the "ignorance diet" - she won't eat anything that has ingredients she doesn't instantly recognize. I have yet to figure out why this otherwise highly intelligent and sane person would follow such a silly rule.5 -
Do you think that a criteria for a safe/healthy product (food, health, or medical) is that it contains ingredients you can pronounce? Isn't this more a reflection on the language skills of the consumer than the efficacy/safety of a product? (This could be scary since the average American tests out a 5th grade reading level.)
Would you use a product that listed any of these ingredients?
ergocalciferol
cholecalciferol
nicotinamide riboside
dihydrogen monoxide
On a related note, most people can't pronounce my last name. Does that mean that I'm dangerous?
This rule has an unintended effect in highlighting the academic inadequacy of a significant percentage of the population.8 -
It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".17
-
People who advocate this silliness should think about this scenario - shopping with a friend for food for a shared home cooked meal. You pick up a package and can pronounce all the ingredients. Your friend doesn't recognize one or two. You put the package back because she can't eat it. Seriously?
8 -
Clarification: do you have to be able to pronounce it, or pronounce it correctly?
Definitely wouldn't use a product of bottled dihydrogen monoxide. It's contaminated with microplastic filaments.3 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
This is the one I think the stores have caught onto. They've put bulk candy, bacon and all kinds of sweets around the perimeter of some of the stores here. Yes the veggies are there, but the put pop and chips on the end of the aisles so you can grab them on a perimeter run.
Then they put the wine tasting area right in the middle of the store....8 -
Should you be able to pronounce the names of product ingredients?
Yes adults should be able to pronounce words...learn some damn chemistry already general population, geez.20 -
SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
I'd argue it is dumber because people apply the "chemical-sounding things are dangerous" rule to just about anything. The analogy would be if people heard the perimeter rule about grocery stores and believed in it so much they just started applying it to all aspects of their life, avoiding the middle of anything.2 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »SuzySunshine99 wrote: »It's almost as dumb as "Only shop on the perimeter of the grocery store".
This is the one I think the stores have caught onto. They've put bulk candy, bacon and all kinds of sweets around the perimeter of some of the stores here. Yes the veggies are there, but the put pop and chips on the end of the aisles so you can grab them on a perimeter run.
Then they put the wine tasting area right in the middle of the store....
I'm not up to date, but I know retail stores typically place high markup items at the perimeter on in traffic patterns. Lower/negative markup items are typically necessities and are placed towards the back of the store, so they know they have loads of marketing opportunities to place along routes.3
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.3K Introduce Yourself
- 43.4K Getting Started
- 259.7K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 387 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 7.8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.2K MyFitnessPal Information
- 22 News and Announcements
- 901 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.2K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions