I've just tried this experiment here at home. Here are three of the products I found, and my thoughts on each of their claims. (Note that the boldface is my own emphasis.)
1. Barbara's Puffins (Original flavor). Claim: "100% Natural Crunchy Corn Cereal"Ingredients: Yellow Corn Flour, Corn Bran Flour, Unsulphured Molasses, Oat Flour, Expeller Pressed High Oleic Oil (Canola and/or Sunflower), Salt, Baking Soda, Natural Vitamin E, Vitamin C.
My thoughts: I had to look up what "high oleic oil" was. Basically it comes from rapeseed (canola) or sunflower plants that have been selectively bred to contain higher levels of monounsaturated fats (such as those in olive oil) and lower levels of polyunsaturated and saturated fats. So this is a case of selective breeding, which I admit is natural, and I suppose most people would agree with me, except perhaps creationists. Regarding the Natural Vitamin E: although it may be natural, apparently it is not naturally-occurring in the other cereal ingredients. So Barbara decided to add it to her Puffins to enhance their nutritional profile, even though some scientists question whether isolated vitamins perform as well out of their original context.
2. Brummel & Brown (buttery spread).
Claim: "Made with Natural Yogurt"
Ingredients: Water, Vegetable Oil Blend (Liquid Soybean Oil, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil), Nonfat Yogurt (Cultured Nonfat Milk), Salt, Gelatin, Vegetable Mono and Diglycerides, Soy Lecithin (Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium Edta) used to protect quality, Lactic Acid, Artificial Flavor, Vitamin A (Palmitate), Beta Carotene (for color).
My thoughts: While it may be true that the yogurt component of Brummel & Brown is "natural," this point seems moot, given the predominance of unnatural ingredients in the spread. Partially hydrogenated anything is neither good for us (trans fats! banned in New York restaurants!), nor is it naturally occurring. Soy lecithin, used as a non-spattering agent, must be hydrolyzed enzymatically or fractionated in order to be used in foods. Definitely unnatural. I'm a bit embarrassed that I have this in my fridge.
3. Dr. Praeger's All Natural California Veggie Burgers.
Claim: "All Natural"
Ingredients: Carrots, Onions, String Beans, Soybeans, Zucchini, Oat Bran, Peas, Spinach, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Broccoli, Textured Soy Flour, Corn, Oat Fiber, Red Pepper, Arrowroot, Corn Meal, Corn Starch, Garlic, Salt, Parsley, All Natural Vegetable Gum, Black Pepper.
My thoughts: "Vegetable gum" was the only ingredient that stood out to me as possibly a hoax. Trusty Wikipedia tells me that "natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin... used as thickening agents, gelling agents, emulsifiers, and stabilizers." So I guess vegetable gum, although sort of revolting by name, is natural after all.
By now, you may have begun to sense where I'm headed: the word "natural" on food and beverage packaging is largely unregulated. The USDA, under its Food Safety and Inspection Service, issued a memo in 1982 that explained their definition of "natural" in its use on meat and poultry labels. Here's an excerpt:
"The term natural may be used on labeling for meat and poultry products provided the manufacturer of the products bearing the claim demonstrates that the product does not contain artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient or chemical preservative or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient, and the product and its ingredients are not more than minimally processed." FSIS' Food Standards and Labeling Division, published Policy Memo 55, dated November 22, 1982
As you can see, there are loopholes galore in this policy, most of which have been exploited in some way or another by manufacturers who are eager to capitalize on growing public hunger for "natural" foods. For instance, many processed foods call themselves "natural" even though they contain high-fructose corn syrup (which is not derived "naturally"). Chicken can be labeled "natural" even if it has been bulked up with a saline solution. Is that really natural? Shouldn't natural mean... occurring in nature?
A year ago, the USDA invited interested parties to share their opinion of how "natural" should be used on food labels; however, as of this writing they have not yet changed the 1982 regulations.
So back to the experiment. Try it, and let me know what you turn up in your kitchen. If you find some unnatural-sounding "natural" foods, let the rest of us know by posting a comment.
If you'd like to read more, CNN has a good article about the war among manufacturers over "natural." Dad, they talk about Tyson. Check it out.
2 comments:
Jill,
You are so correct: we are surrounded by food hype, and much of it is hypocritical and/or misleading. Of course, it may not matter all that much, since most of us, if we tested ourselves, would be found to contain dozens, if not hundreds, of unnatural, toxic, and manufactured substances, from plastics and PCBs to
pesticides and food dyes.
I'm 55, and most certainly beyond the reach of anything like a complete "purification" from all of the junk I've accumulated over the decades. So I try to avoid the most egregious "junk" and simultaneously stop worrying about the damage that's already done.
The best we can do is read the labels before we buy, or, with the hindsight (and the embarrassment) you cite, "go forth and sin no more" the next time we go shopping.
goldcoastjon: I agree, aiming for "purer" food is only one of the many steps we would have to take if we wanted truly to detoxify our lives. Reading food labels is definitely an important first step, as long as those labels are taken with the hefty grain of salt that is required. :)
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