What does it Mean when You Buy Food Labeled Natural?
Many shoppers looking for healthier foods are familiar with Horizon milk and other “organic” products. Horizon food is a division of Dean Food’s. Marketors know the advertising claims, “natural”, “organic” or “healthy” are all- important catch phrases are big sellers to the health crowd in spite of the fact that these words are hardly regulated in the food industry. In fact these words are essentially meaningless. Our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA have declined to define the word “natural” except for a very narrow class of products. Horizon (Dean Foods) has now defined the term “natural” themselves by saying products are natural if they have no hormones added, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or high fructose corn syrup. The UDSA has labeled meat and poultry natural if it is minimally processed. In other words if the process does not fundamentally alter the raw product plus the label must state there is no added colorings or artificial ingredients. But here is where the boundaries disappear. Dean’s new “natural” yogurts and milk can — and will — come from dairy cows that have eaten pesticide laden feed such as corn and soy, antibiotics, pig and chicken by products, and sewage sludge. The only bad boy from the list of conventional animal feed that Dean has prohibited is hormones. So what’s a little sewage sludge and pesticide residue going to do to your child anyhow? Debates rage on whether organic food is more nutritionally complete or “better” for the consumer. Opinions vary considerably but even the EPA admits that children are particularly susceptible to pesticides for many reasons:
- children’s internal organs are still developing and maturing
- due to their lower body weight, children have increased exposure to anything in substances they eat or drink
- pesticides block nutrient absorption
