[predictmktegirl]

I'm not convinced that Oatly is so tremendously bad, all things considered, and I forgive a little marketing-speak so long as they are being honest and forthcoming when engaged. That being said, I find the amount of "good for you" literature and products out there to simply be overwhelming. Do I want to know about what I put in my body? Sure. Do I want a PhD in nutrition? Umm...

There is a simple rule I follow which I, probably erroneously, call the Law of Nature. If you want to trust what goes in, make it yourself and make it with whole foods that you can see and touch. Why is a food refined? To make it easier to preserve, store, and transport or to modify it's consistency, taste, or nutritional characteristics. 99% of these refinements lead to a product which is less nutritious for you and likely bad for you in some way. Indulge occasionally but realize that most forms of modern food refinement is not natural, and our bodies have evolved over tens of thousands of years to efficiently consume what occurs in nature. If you need a lab or the bacteria doesn't seem to manifest magically, it doesn't meet my definition of natural.

I know this basically sounds like a Paleo plug, but my purpose isn't to define a practice you should follow. My main problem is information and deception. I don't have time to vet an entire grocery store of products, so I trust my evolution as a default. I want to feel comfortable and confident about what I consume rather than building an ideology out of it.

[enkid]

I think for the most part your philosophy is a good one, if you can afford it (in money and time). The problem is that for many people, healthy foods aren't as accessible. It takes more time to cook your own food, or places that sell fresh foods are not close by. Or you don't have time to make grocery trips more than once every two weeks. If you are a single parent working a full time job, it's going to be very difficult to find time to cook from scratch every night. That's why we have to move toward making food more healthful by default.

[berkes]

I only partly agree.

After 10+ years of baking my own bread, for example, it takes under 5 mins to drop my selfmade premix, or mix it there and then, in the bread machine. Preparing a sourdough and baking it off in the morning, takes a few times a few minutes, spread out.

Point is, baking bread, takes me less time than going to the bakers. And is cheaper. Same for making my own jams, tomato sauce, pizza, syrup, honey, veggie garden, veggy burgers, wine, beer. It all takes time, but mostly planning. Saves money if done right.

I realize that I'm priviledged with having space and opportunity to try and learn it all, but that is also because I pursued precisely that freedom and opportunity.