Decline and fall of food labels

This USDA ERS report on consumer use of food nutrition label confirms something we instinctively know is true. We don't read nutrition labels - ever. At least I don't. Here is the quick and dirty summary, from the report "The Decline in Consumer Use of Food Nutrition Labels, 1995–2006":

Packaged and processed foods sold in the United States began carrying standardized nutrition labels in 1994 when the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) took effect. In addition to a standardized Nutrition Facts panel, the NLEA standardized serving sizes and placed limits on the content and format of health and nutrition claims on the front of packages. The major goal of the new labeling requirement was to increase access to nutrition information and improve consumers’ ability to make healthful food choices.


What Did the Study Find?
The study reveals that from 1995-96 to 2005-06, consumer use of nutrition labels when making food purchases declined. Consumer use decreased for most label components: it declined approximately 3 percentage points for the Nutrition Facts panel, 11 percentage points for the ingredient list, and 10 percentage points for the panel’s information about calories, fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Only the use of information about fiber and sugars did not decline over the 10-year period. Use of fi ber information increased by 2 percentage points, while that for sugars held steady.

The change in use of the Nutrition Facts panel varied by population groups over the 10-year period. The decrease in use was greatest for individuals 20-29 years old, those with no education beyond high school, and those who spoke primarily Spanish, a group that increased from 2 to 6 percent of the population over the 10-year period. Younger adults and new residents in the country were least likely to have benefi ted from the public awareness campaigns conducted just after the new labels were introduced, suggesting that decline in use by those cohorts could be due, in part, to a relative lack of knowledge or awareness. The decline in use observed among the rest of the population suggests some depreciation in the value of the information conveyed since the initial awareness campaigns occurred.
The 2-percentage point increase in use of information about dietary fiber was led by an increase among individuals over age 30. This increase in use may be the result of the increasing popularity of low-carb diets, interest in identifying whole grain foods, or an aging population that is more aware of dietary fiber's health benefits.

TK: I guess fresh produce is not missing out by commonly not having nutrition fact labels displayed in the produce department. The question is: how can the government get people to care? Bingo or lotto numbers hidden somewhere on the label - some kind of sudoku puzzle, perhaps? And now we want to put on carbon footprint labels - another piece of information consumers won't care about?