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Opinion
 

Letters to the Editor

Finally, some proof that brand-name food really is the same as generic

To the editor:

I recently heard about the massive recall of wet dog and cat food that may be causing kidney failure in some animals. I applaud their decision to pull all the pet food that might harm our animals, and that they want to err on the side of safety, but it struck me as funny that the same ingredients were all mixed together in brands as disparate as the very posh, high-end Eukanuba and the rock-bottom, basement-deal reputation of Wal-mart brand. 

The interesting fact is that not only did the various products contain some of the same ingredients, they were also coming out of the same factory. Everyone says with a wink and a nod that "really all the brands are the same," but rarely does anyone ever get such confirmation. 

I believe that this applies to human food as well. I have been trying to track down who was the parent company of whom and just which ones were the top companies. In the process of doing that I started examining generic cereals in the grocery store, just as a little game, to see if I could tell who was buying from whom. 

The easiest to track were the generic versions of Lucky Charms (called something like magic shapes) because they were still all packed in clear-sided bags, and the extruded marshmallow shapes were actually fairly distinctive, believe it or not. Since then, they have gone to opaque bags with a printed image of the cereal on the front, so it's no fun anymore.  You can no longer see the exact same cereal for three or four different prices. 

The pipes in the above cartoon are just a comment on that branding of generally the same product at several different levels of posh.

John Hukill
Sculpture/psychology senior

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the UH community and should focus on issues, not personalities. Letters must be typed and must include the author's name, telephone number and affiliation with the University. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity, language and space. Letters may be delivered in person to Room 151C, Communication; e-mailed to dclettrs@mail.uh.edu ; or faxed to (713) 743-5384.