What Do I Think of This Pink?

Books on nutrition will tell you to shop the periphery of the grocery store, and try to skip the aisles. I must be doing a good job, because somehow I completely missed these Campbell soup cans, first released for Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2006, and again in 2007. As noted in this press release, they have raised their donation this year from $250,000 to $300,000.

I’ve probably mentioned before that I have ambivalent feelings toward Breast Cancer marketing initiatives, not only because some of them can appear to be self-serving in jumping on the BC bandwagon, as pointed out here, and discussed in a more neutral manner here,

but also because I’m not sure exactly where funds for things like “research and awareness” are going. Who is doing the research? Is my money going to pharmaceuticals companies who will use it to develop new chemo drugs for profit? Or is it going to under-funded studies on things like nutrition, exercise, stress-reduction and the environment? Likewise, of what exactly are we being made aware? Mostly I feel aware that I’m supposed to be aware. I’m also really aware that breast cancer is signified by pink. Occasionally an article (usually in magazine articles which I don’t believe are funded by awareness donations) exhorts me to do self-exams…fine. Sometimes they talk about getting mammograms earlier and more often. I’m not so into that, and urge others out there to consider ultrasound, as discussed in my previous post here, or even digital thermography, (which I am about to try for the first time in a couple of weeks for my annual scans—I’ll give a report). Hardly ever am I made aware of studies on the benefits of walking for survivors of breast cancer—that’s every week, not just at events with custom T-shirts. And I’ve never seen a box of Godiva chocolates (also, I believe owned by Campbells) that said, “Don’t eat me if you have cancer—sugar feeds cancer.”

And on this note, I’ll mention that regardless of my feeling about the pink cans, I can’t eat this Campbells Soup anyway, since I have sworn off the high fructose corn syrup you see in the ingredients.