Quality: (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quality)

1.       Level of excellence.

2.       A property or attribute that differentiates a thing or person.

3.       In a 2-phase liquid-vapor mixture, the ratio of the mass of vapor present to the total mass of the mixture.

4.       (archaic) High school position.

5.       The degree to which a man-made object or system is free from bugs and flaws, as opposed to scope of functions or quantity of items.

What Do I Mean, Perversion?

The English language has been the language of invention, business, freedom, expression, computing, and much more.  Its development from Germanic roots through the centuries has resulted in a variety of countries which lead the world in many measurable ways.  However, there is one major shortcoming of this mish-mash of different languages (romance languages; Slavic languages;  ethnic languages like Jewish and many, many others).  In all forms of English (British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and United States among others), it is quite notably difficult to express a precise meaning.

First of all, many words have multiple meanings.  Many words are phonetically exactly the same, but different spellings give different meanings (to, two, too; there, their, they’re; etc.).  However, there is one word whose meaning is pretty much unequivocal.  Quality.  Especially, meant as “level of excellence.”

Since this word is so clearly defined, the use of that word must be pretty easy to define as well, right?  One would think so.  However, what we have noticed especially in the past 20 years is an industrialization of the word Quality.  As a business consultant working in engineering and manufacturing, and as an activist in agriculture and food issues, it has become abundantly clear that law and industry have a completely different meaning for the word:  Consistency.  From all of the “Quality” audits (ISO 9000 and its derivative standards), Quality Assurance departments, Quality Control procedures, and so on, when a company uses the word Quality, they always are referring to Consistency.

How?  When a part is manufactured, the Quality of the part refers to the variance in dimensions from the model, or variance in tolerances from the requirements.  In other words, if they make a steel rod that is supposed to be exactly 18.0 cm long and 1.8 cm in diameter, a high Quality is said to be within plus or minus .005 cm of those dimensions for some applications.  This is not exactly the same thing as the definition at the beginning of this document – this is not exactly a level of excellence, definitely not a property that differentiates the product, however perhaps a degree to which it is free of defects.

Now, in manufacturing, Consistency can definitely be related to product Quality.  Consistency of part measurements can mean that more of the finished product off the assembly line work, and work better than the competition.  However, when applied to food, this is absolutely not the case.  Consistency of ingredients is almost always a product of processing, and in no known case is industrialized processing producing a healthy food product.  Instead, processing is designed to produce a consistent product that extends shelf life, or produces a desired consistency, or even may provide a lower-cost alternative (for example high-fructose corn syrup is cheaper than other sugars; however, it has been shown by much research to be one of the most unhealthy sweeteners).  Indeed, processing was invented in order to introduce consistency – so that everything looks, acts, feels, and tastes the same.  Many companies and industries have claimed that their industrially-processed products are healthier than the alternative, even in the face of conflicting scientific evidence.

Think about it – is this the type of world you really want – the Ray Croc world where you have 2 potatoes to choose from: Idaho, or Yukon Gold?  3 onions:  Yellow, Red, or Vidalia?  4 kinds of beans: black, white, green, or pinto?  2 kinds of lettuce: Romaine or Iceberg?  Yellow Sweet Corn, period?  Because the hundreds of potato varieties are simply not consistent – they don’t grow en masse, they don’t grow the same from year to year, and they certainly don’t keep as well when shipping thousands of miles because a farmer in Mexico undersells a farmer struggling to make a living in your neighboring town.  But boy are they tasty, and far more nutritious!

What’s Wrong With That?

Languages grow and evolve, unless they become “dead” languages.  Latin, Aramaic, and (until the mid 20^th century) Hebrew have been considered dead languages because the definitions are static, and new words are not invented for new things.  Nothing sinister there.

However, the word Quality has a very strong association especially with the first definition, level of excellence.  To use the word Quality in a TV commercial, for example, a company is knowingly substituting a technical trade definition for a common one, with the understanding that it will be misconstrued to convey the desired message, without strictly violating laws requiring truth in advertising.

So, when McDonald’s claims that they maintain the highest Quality, do you really believe that they maintain the highest level of excellence in food?  Consciously, no; but subconsciously, our brain has already associated McDonald’s with that definition.

There is nothing more sinister than this deliberate abuse of the definition by the food industry.  Did they really unintentionally choose the word Quality in their marketing and advertising, thinking that everyone understands what they really mean is consistency?  Ray Croc was the first to understand that what the mobile, affluent masses wanted was consistency.  They wanted a product that met expectations from location to location.  The “McDonaldization” of the food industry has resulted in a windfall for companies, not least of which because they can advertise Quality while lowering costs because level of excellence is not a goal.  Think, why have some restaurant chains been able to offer 99¢ “value” menus where the price has not changed in about 30 years, while inflation has risen and portion sizes have increased?  And, how have they been able to increase profits nonetheless? But, has there been any down side, any con to the pro?

Many physicians and researchers over the past 100+ years have associated the industrialization and processing of foods with a large variety of diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease (heart attack, atherosclerosis, strokes), cancers, Gut and Psychology Syndrome (which consists of the medical diagnoses of schizophrenia, ADD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and depression), and more.  [For references, visit http://www.westonaprice.org, http://www.ppnf.org, “The Untold Story of Milk” by Ron Schmid, ND; “Gut And Psychology Syndrome: Natural Treatment for Autism, ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Depression, Schizophrenia” by Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, MMedSci (Neurology), MMedSci (Nutrition); and “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser.]

However, in every case, the producers of these foods, as well as the regulating agencies, claim that their product is of the highest Quality.  This subversion of the word Quality has left us with societies that have rapidly increasing obesity rates, rapidly declining quality of life (meaning, of course, “level of excellence” – not consistency!), vastly outrageous rates of juvenile diabetes, cancers, and a whole host of childhood-onset diseases that are “only treatable with drugs.”  Now, tell me if there is any harm in a word – a misuse and abuse of an excellent word?

What To Do?

First, it is very important to put rigor back into the English language.  When we buy a product, or when we shop around to consider a product, it is crucial to make a point to clarify exactly what the salesperson or marketing message means by Quality – consistency, or level of excellence.  Ask people, call or write or e-mail.  It’s your money – do you want to spend it on the first person who says “look at my product, it’s Quality stuff!” or do you want to truly get a good value for your money?

The consequences of purchasing a durable good of questionable quality can range from dissatisfaction, to injury, perhaps in rare cases even death.  A poor quality automobile might break down more often, or might malfunction during transit.  However, a poor quality food can have devastating effects on health, especially when introduced to the very young, and especially in combination with other environmental hazards.  Many of these effects are near-term and almost immediate (allergies, eczema, digestive issues, acute illnesses); but the most devastating of these are long-term, and show up after years of abuse and neglect.

It is imperative that our legislators are educated as to the problems of abusing the word Quality, especially for the intentional express purpose of profit to the detriment of the consumer.  It is exactly this kind of abuse that the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and United States Department of Agriculture are supposed to protect us from.  Hold our representatives and appointees accountable to their duties; write, phone, fax, and visit your representatives at the State and Federal level.

Did you know that, so few people contact their Congressmen, that when one person does take the time to do so, they have to consider it as if 13,000 of their constituents have the same opinion?  And if they are repeatedly contacted about the same issue, it becomes foremost in their minds.

Surprisingly, the government makes it astoundingly easy to contact these people.  Also, Internet access makes it simple and painless.  Go to http://www.congress.gov and enter your postal ZIP code for both State and Federal representative contact information.  You can also discover committee memberships, and contact committee members when considering legislation to bring to the full House or Senate.

Remember This

1. When we hear or see the word Quality in an advertisement, they are most probably referring to Consistency, not to Level of Excellence.  This is a legally defensible position that deliberately gives us the misunderstanding that the product is very good, or even very good for us.
2. When interacting with a salesperson, we can ask whether they mean Quality or Consistency.  We can ask if they really mean Quality, then what exactly is it that sets the product apart?  Do the ingredients or components really come from a source that produces Quality?
3. Not only is it easy to contact your government representatives, it is always productive.  At the very least, you will have a better Quality of knowledge of whom to vote for or against the next election.  At best, your representative will act upon your information.