The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) at Vermont Law School today launched a new food labeling website, LabelsUnwrapped.org, the only site of its kind that explains to consumers the law behind food labels.
LabelsUnwrapped.org encourages consumers to "take charge of your food purchasing decisions" by exploring terms associated with various types of labels. The site features pages for separate categories of food—organic and natural processed food, conventional processed food, eggs, poultry, beef and pork—with interactive labels and a quiz to test one's knowledge. On the pork page, for example, an interactive hickory smoked bacon package invites consumers to click on individual terms on the label, such as "minimally processed," "uncured," "locally grown" and "naturally raised," to learn more.
"We are pleased to offer consumers a practical, easy-to-use tool that they can reference as they grocery-shop and make food decisions for themselves and their families," said Professor Laurie Beyranevand, associate director of CAFS. "As we say on the site, food labels are supposed to inform, protect and empower consumers, but too often they just confuse consumers. At LabelsUnwrapped.org, we explain what food labels really mean. We break down the terms and also explain the oversight behind food labeling and the role of the USDA and FDA."
In addition to interactive food labels, LabelsUnwrapped.org includes a Q-and-A page that invites consumers to submit their food labeling questions, to be answered by food and agriculture law and policy experts at Vermont Law School.
"CAFS faculty and the staff attorneys at our Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic (ENRLC) are leaders in food and agriculture law and policy, and committed to empowering consumers on these issues," Beyranevand said. "The ENRLC made national headlines for its work in support of a genetically engineered (GE) food labeling law in Vermont, and CAFS faculty and clinicians continually develop innovative yet practical tools for the food and agriculture community."
CAFS worked with the Neukom DALI Lab at Dartmouth College to design LabelsUnwrapped.org. For more information about the site, email lbeyranevand@vermontlaw.edu or call (802) 831-1030.
The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law School is the most comprehensive agriculture, food and environmental law program in the nation, emphasizing systems-based problem-solving and entrepreneurial innovation. CAFS supports scholars and practitioners by producing practical, robust scholarship for use by the food and agriculture community. For more information about the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, visit www.vermontlaw.edu/cafs.