Should we put health warning labels on food?

We’ve all seen the dietary information on the back of our chip bags and cookie boxes. But do we actually read it? For years, advocates have argued that our labeling system doesn’t give shoppers the information they really need to make healthy choices. And the FDA seems to be listening. The Food and Drug Administration will soon propose adding warning labels to the front of food packages to highlight their nutritional content.

But the food and beverage industries are pushing back. They argue that labels won’t change shopper habits. And they question the FDA’s authority to require health warnings.

We get started with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has been leading the charge for front-of-package food labels. He chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and just this morning announced hearings in December about the FDA’s food label proposal and design. 

GUESTS

Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent Senator of Vermont who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions which oversees the FDA

Christina Roberto, Associate Professor of Health Policy and director of the Psychology of Eating and Consumer Health Lab at the University of Pennsylvania 

Lauren Weber, health accountability reporter for The Washington Post