For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s All About Organics page, Genetic Engineering page and our Myth of Natural page.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that “All Natural” has been disappearing from supermarket shelves. That’s because over 100 companies have been sued for using the label incorrectly.

This past summer, Care2 brought you the story of Naked Juice:

Naked Juice, a subsidiary of Pepsi Co., recently settled a lawsuit alleging that it falsely advertised some of its juice and smoothie products as all natural and not genetically modified.

While the company officially maintains its innocence, it has established a $9 million settlement fund for consumers who feel that they were duped by this marketing scam.

The sad thing is that, instead of removing GMOs and any other nasty ingredients, companies have responded by getting rid of the “All Natural” label entirely.

As an informed consumer, you’ve probably been checking on your favorite products to see if they are Fair Trade Certified, meaning that the farmers and farm workers in developing nations have received a fair price for their product, they encourage sustainable farming methods, limit the use of pesticides and do not use forced child labor. You may also want to know about deforestation – like how many trees were cut down in Central America to produce your hamburger.

These are important considerations, but there are more.