If you are reading this, then you are reading blog
assignment #5. For the assignment I was prompted to choose one food that I
enjoy. The requirements for this food were easy; it had to be something that I
eat on a regular basis and/or something that my fellow classmates would
possibly find unusual or interesting. It could either be a single ingredient product
(an apple) or a multi-ingredient product (spaghetti). So, now I am sure you are
wondering what I selected as my one food. Well that was easy, it is the
multi-ingredient smoothie known as Naked (more specifically the green machine).
Now that I selected my product, I was further instructed to
research this item and answer the questions provided in the assignment. So, as usual I will begin with question #1
and work my way down the list. To make it easier, I will be providing the
questions as well as the answers :)
1) If it’s a multi-ingredient food, what are
the ingredients? Figure out what each of
those ingredients is (if it isn’t obvious) …preservative? coloring agent? etc.
Since my selection is multi-ingredient I
suppose it would be appropriate to inform you on what exactly is inside a green
machine. First I will start by listing the fruits (or as Naked calls them, the “goodness”)
which includes: Apple juice, banana puree, kiwi puree, mango puree, and
pineapple juice. As for vegetables (known as the “boost”) a green machine
incorporates: Spirulina, Chlorella,
Broccoli, Spinach, Blue-Green Algae, odorless Garlic, Barley Grass, Wheatgrass,
Ginger root, and Parsley. Lastly, “natural flavors” were included. What are “natural
flavors” exactly? Good question, I too was asking myself that. Upon research I
found out that definition of “natural flavors” under the Code of Federal
Regulations is, “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein
hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis,
which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit
juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf
or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or
fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring
rather than nutritional”. To sum it up, certain products in the green machine are used just for taste/flavoring
rather than for a nutritional value.
Source:http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/textidxc=ecfr&rgn=div8&view=text&node=21:2.0.1.1.2.2.1.1&idno=21
2) Where did your item come from? (Chile?
Alaska? Australia? Right here in sunny CA?)
While researching my product I found out that
my product comes from right here in California. It started out in someone’s
home located in Santa Monica; in 1983 Naked started making homemade juices and
selling them to people on the beach. From there it grew to the larger known company
it is now. Even more, its products are widely distributed in all the 50 states,
Canada, and the U.K.
3) How was it (or its ingredients) grown or raised? (organic? pesticides? hormones? Factory farmed? wild caught? etc.)
Finding out how the ingredients were grown
was not an easy task. The product though has no artificial flavors/ colors, no
preservatives, no added sugar, not from concentrate. While it is considered
vegan/kosher friendly, it isn't considered certified organic. Also, during my
product research I did find out that while it boasted “no GMOs” there were
recent lawsuits filed claiming that their products did in fact contain hidden
GMOs. Whether or not those claims are
true is something I plan to do further research on.
4) Who raised / grew / produced / manufactured
it? (small farmer? major corporation? migrant farm workers? who
benefits economically and who
might be harmed?)
The product started out as something that
was homemade, but the small company was purchased from Pepsi co., so now it is
produced by a major corporation. The good part though is that the values of the
company are still held up from what I read. Farmers, their families, and
communities are said to benefit from the products partnership with The
Rainforest Alliance (a nonprofit organization whose commitment it conserving
biodiversity, and sustainability).
5) What are its environmental impacts? (How was it produced? How is it packaged? How was it transported to you?)
The bottle that the product is stored in is
made from other bottles, and will be used to make new bottles when you’re
finished with it. They’re bottles are
also square, which is supposed to be more efficient. As for the bottling
facility and corporate offices, they also boast be green. They were awarded
LEED status for their environmentally friendly buildings; they have over-sized windows for natural light, they reuse and compost waste, and they also use
solar panels to provide their needed energy.
The products are however transported via trucking, which releases carbon
emissions into the air.
6) What health effects might it have? (Is it healthy? Is it unhealthy but tasty? How do you know about these health
claims? How do you know that they are
accurate?
Green machine is healthier than most
things, especially since it contains a lot of greens (which an average person doesn't consume enough of). So, it is a good way to consume the needed
vegetables and vitamins to maintain a healthy diet. However, it isn't a low
calorie food and it does contain natural sugars. They health claims are
advertised on the products website, and you can see the ingredients for each
individual type of Naked. The health claims seem to be accurate because a green
machine does contain a lot of vegetables, and if you consume at least one
bottle you are consuming those vegetables. As for evidence I haven’t found any.
7) Include any additional information or
answers to any additional questions that occur to you as you do your research.
Doing my research I was interested to find
out some of the answers I couldn't find just from research, or from the
website. So, I figure that next step is to email the company these questions. I
am hoping for an email back. The questions
I am going to ask include how their fruits and vegetables are grown, where
they get those products from (who grew them), and if any research was done about
the potential benefits of the product. They aren't considered organic which makes
me wonder if they use pesticides, or anything on their ingredients.
Researching the product was an eye-opener.
That is, it is surprisingly hard to find out detailed information about the
product. That seems like something that shouldn't be hard to find, but I had
troubles. It’s also interesting to find out the back story of the product, and
to see how its evolved through the years. I will continue to consume the
smoothie, but I am a little disappointed that there’s a possibility that the
company uses GMOs.
