Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire, or, Please Pass the Stupid Chicken

Do you trust the word organic? How do you know if it's truly organic? Or grass-fed? Or gluten-free? If the label says they don't use antibiotics or steroids, how does one really know if this is true?

A couple years ago while on my vacation road trip, I found a product clearly labeled gluten-free. I was excited. When eating on the road, selection is limited. I bought it, jumped in the van, and headed back out on the road. Lunchtime couldn't arrive soon enough and eager to eat a new gluten-free product I almost didn't bother looking at the tiny print. It was labeled as gluten-free because ONE ingredient was gluten-free. But what about that wheat flour on the ingredients list? I later found out if only ONE ingredient is gluten-free, the manufacturers can legally label it gluten-free. HOW IS THAT LEGAL?

I've had a lot of people tell me they can't tell the difference between organic food and conventional food. To them it all tastes the same. A few people have told me they think organic produce tastes better. Maybe. My problem is I feel lousy if I eat conventional food. I'll never forget the severe intestinal cramps I got from eating conventional watermelon. I thought my insides were imploding. Same with conventional raisins and Brussel sprouts. It makes me wonder if all these people who have been diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) are just reacting to the pesticides and poisons? Dietary advice includes NOT eating most fresh fruits and vegetables. Hmmm...

So what am I supposed to think if my clearly labeled organic, natural, no artificial ingredients, raised without antibiotics chicken gives me unbearable migraines and nausea? I think most people would blame it on anything else, but I know better. So is this false advertising? How can I prove it?

I bought this chicken at another co-op, one not known for it's impeccable standards. My co-op doesn't sell this brand. It wasn't the first time I bought Stupid Chicken, and not the first time I had migraines and nausea right after eating it that lasted all night, but I was blinded by the sale price. So what does "air-chilled" mean? Is that code for gassed? Chemically-induced refrigeration? What am I missing? The labeling is misleading.

During the same visit to the co-op with questionable standards I also bought a small container of bulk Kalamata olives. The fact they tasted wonderful, better than my own co-op's olives, should have been a clue. I had nightmares and strange, vivid dreams all night. The ingredients include olives, water, salt, oil. Hmmm...what kind of oil? Crude oil? Pennzoil? Sometimes I'm just too trusting. Just because it's being sold in a co-op as a bulk product doesn't mean it's safe.

And then there is Simple Truth Grade B Maple Syrup. My co-op was closed on New Year's Day so I went to the local big-box grocery store. They had a bottle of this grade B maple syrup for sale in their "health" department. Ingredients: organic maple syrup. The label looked fine. I get it home, pour a little out. It's too light in texture and color to be real Grade B which is raw, unprocessed, organic maple syrup. This has the consistency of corn syrup. I stick my finger in it. It tastes like corn syrup! So what is this? Did they cut real Grade B maple syrup with something else? Can they claim it to be Grade B if only a small portion of it is Grade B? Or did they process it just a little and they are lying?

Aren't there labeling laws in our country? It irritates me to no end we can't trust money-hungry companies to tell the truth and their best practices include screwing over the customer for a few extra bucks. But organic is the new catch word. Like natural, it means nothing. For anyone who is chemically sensitive, it's a experiential learning process with dire consequences and lots of wasted money.

Chemical sensitivity is expensive!

Consumer Terrorism, or Air Pollution for Purchase

ScentAir is the latest gimmick in consumer marketing. They call themselves smell consultants. Here is one of their marketing slogans:

Add More Excitement to Your Crowd Experience! 

 

It seems it is their mission to poison people with toxic chemicals worldwide and on a grand scale. Currently they are operating in 105 countries with over 40,000 deployments. Deployments? Isn't deployment a word used during wartime to describe military maneuvers? Fitting. It's no longer enough for the corporate machine to legally poison individuals with perfumes and colognes. If a little is good [for profit], then much more is much better [for much more profit]. To hell with health. Very American.

The trend began with perfumed clothing, then expanded to whole retail outlets in hopes of higher profits. The target is now large gatherings of people: arenas, shopping centers, casinos and stadiums. Where ever people congregate in mass numbers. Sound familiar?  Like a terrorist operation? Legalized terrorism. Here are some of ScentAir's deployments, clients, companies and locations and their choice of stink:

Barclays Center in New York smells like their sponsor Calvin Klein. 

The Edward Jones Dome or St. Louis Rams' stadium smells like Cotton Candy.

Bloomingdale's smells like Baby Powder, Lilac and Coconut, except at Christmas when they smell like Sugar Cookie, Chocolate and Evergreen.

Hard Rock Hotel smells like Sugar Cookies, Waffle Cones, and Ocean.

City of Dreams casino in Macau smells like Rainforest.

Coors smells like something called Ice Show, a mix of peppermint and vanilla. (What? They don't want to smell like beer?)

Times Square in the middle of Manhattan in New York smells like chocolate...right outside the Hershey's store. On the street. "It's not really chocolate. It's nose chocolate."

NOSE CHOCOLATE?

REALLY?

Other stinkers include the Westin Hotel and Resorts, Anytime Fitness, Jimmy Choo Shoes, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, and Florida Hospital. Yep, that's not a typo...a scented hospital. No wonder I have no confidence in our medical system.

ScentAir boasts over four billion individual enduring impressions. In addition to impressions, pretty words like scent and fragrance are used in abundance on their website along with relaxation and belonging. The words POISON, POLLUTION, or DEATH are not found anywhere.  No mention of ingredients used to make this purposeful air pollution. No mention of toxic chemicals. No mention of the health effects of these impressions on at least 15% to 33% of the population. No mention of asthma, anaphylactic shock, depression, joint pain, brain fog, migraines, or illness. No warning label. There is one claim of "scent studies" implying serious scientific research although the focus is entertainment rather than meaningful public education. Great advertising if your target is the unquestionably stupid. I wonder when they'll figure out how to puff toxic chemicals through a computer if someone clicks on their website?

 

Why don't company managers and consumers question how chemically-contaminated air might affect their health and the health of everyone around them? Do they care or is ignorance to blame? And what about the innocent bystanders? Are they warned in advance? Do they get a choice whether to breathe clean or polluted air? Is there a disclaimer to read prior to purchasing event tickets, making reservations, or buying memberships? Do they get their tickets, reservations, or memberships refunded if they can't breathe? Are their medical bills paid by the host company if they are rushed to the hospital with asthma attacks or anaphylactic shock?

But there is still hope! People have been complaining about ScentAir, in Las Vegas, anyway:

The use of air fresheners in Las Vegas businesses HVAC, are creating barriers under Title III of the ADA. The businesses refused to address requests for accommodations resulting in the US Department of Justice filings.

Hooray Americans with Disabilities Act! One of the businesses was Abercrombie & Fitch, a retail business known for offending many. Not only are they perfumed, but they have in the past marketed Nazi clothing and have stated they cater only to "popular" and "beautiful" people so if you are overweight, uncool or just plain ugly, don't bother. They claimed no wrong doing, of course. Several other businesses, mostly casinos, claimed it wasn't their fault and the customer should contact the distributor, ScentAir, directly. Wow. Talk about lack of responsibility. Passing the buck. They don't think they are responsible for hiring a company to create the problem? It amazes me if up to 33 % of the population is negatively affected by chemically-based scents and if these businesses are dependent on having and keeping customers, why wouldn't they figure out toxic impressions aren't good for business? Logic 101. Is the ambiance worth it?


It is good ScentAir lists some of their clients. This is helpful so we know who, where and what to avoid.

 

The world gets smaller every day.