P3: Unknownly Persuaded

It is kind of disturbing to me to discover the tactics and theories the government and major companies use to draw in consumers like myself and to control the masses. Even more disturbing to realize it works on me and I had no idea!

    Typically the idea of being under control is unsettling to everyone , especially americans where our culture and we were raised to value individualism and freedom.  I would be interested in finding out the opinions and reactions to the idea from someone who was raised in a more community oriented culture such as china. Maybe they are less sensitive to the idea of, for lack of a better way to phrase it, “prodded/advised/controlled”? into buying different brands.
    The scarier part of this is I admit it works. When I go to the store and see packaging advertising healthier and more exotic kinds of ingredients on it, I gravitate towards it, than evaluate the price to see if it is worth it to me. If it is not too much above the cheaper version, I go with the one that is advertised and the one I believe is healthier and has more “natural” ingredients. 
   
    Maybe one reason I do this is this new variety is wider than I have ever lived with before. Before I sound like I live under a rock, let me explain I have travelled quite a bit and am adventurous and open to everything and all opinions. (my parents went to extra lengths to make sure my brother and I were exposed to all kinds of cultures so we could not have the usual boxed-in imagination and worldly view associated with my town.) However the place where I grew up is far from any of that. I live one hour away from the nearest Walmart, we have one store to buy food from, and to put it into even greater perspective my hometown has one stoplight and the opening of a Pamida made the from page of our newspaper for nearly a week.  Variety at this one store was most definitely not present.  So now even when I go to Safeway food shopping is exciting for me, and I enjoy deciding upon a final product. When you think you have the better brand, for whatever reason it seems to taste better. 

    I  need to keep the advertising  tactics in mind while shopping however, at least to realize how I am being manipulated.  The same kind of advertising tactics can be applied to organic vs. inorganic produce. Organic is advertised as more natural, exotic and having better “ingredients”.  Inorganic has a better price and more traditionally farmed with a more “American pride” kind of feel. Ironically, (and take it from a legit farm girl such as myself) most organic food is far from it. Organic farming is so expensive for farmers no one can afford it for more than 10 years in a row, and it generally takes 5 to become “organic certified”. Generally, farmers become certified then go back to using chemicals after 5 years and make more profit than their more honest neighbors. However,  I do not personally buy the whole chemicals are bad for you in food, you receive it in such small quantities it has no effect on your health and there are extremely strict laws on how far along the crop is and when you can spray.  But hat topic is a whole other debate.