
The Myth of Natural
Why 'Natural' is a Fraud
With the exception of the “natural” meat sector, where there are limited, voluntary guidelines, there is no definition of “natural”. Many consumers are confused about the difference between so-called “natural” products and nutritionally and environmentally superior “certified organic” products. Whole Foods and UNFI are maximizing their profits by selling quasi-natural products at premium organic prices.
Three U.S. based non profit organizations filed a lawsuit against General Mills on Thursday for misleading the public by labeling their Nature Valley brand granola bars “Made with 100% NATURAL whole grain OATS.” It was recently discovered that the herbicide chemical glyphosate, an ingredient in Roundup and hundreds of other glyphosate-based herbicides, is present in the Nature Valley granola bars, which consumers expect to be natural and free of toxins.
Read moreThe French dairy giant, Groupe Danone (Dannon in the U.S.) has announced the proposed acquisition of WhiteWave Foods for approximately $10 billion. The deal would combine the world’s largest organic yogurt brand, Stonyfield, with Wallaby, a rapidly growing yogurt label, and the nation’s largest brand of organic milk, Horizon
Read moreUrged by federal courts, corporations and private citizens alike to clarify the legal definition of ‘natural’ in food labeling, FDA opened a docket on November 12, 2015, and invited public comments regarding whether it is appropriate for the agency to define the term ‘natural,’ what a suitable definition might be and how the agency should determine proper use of the term on food labels.
Read moreThe latest report by The Cornucopia Institute, an organic industry watchdog, uncovers serious problems in cosmetics industry regulations. Regulatory weaknesses and loopholes allow for the use of questionable, even harmful ingredients in personal care products, such as toothpastes, that could negatively impact the health of the users.
Read moreThis mini-documentary reveals how Whole Foods has become a supporter of Monsanto, deliberately deceiving health-conscious food consumers into falsely believing that Whole Foods Market stores sell no products containing GMOs, heavy metals or toxic pesticides and herbicides.
Read moreThe purchase will help the French company to pursue affluent consumers by adding WhiteWave’s popular health food offerings such as Silk almond milk, Earthbound Farm Organic salad and Horizon organic milk to its product range as it struggles with setbacks in more challenging markets such as Brazil and Russia.
Read moreI did a little experiment the other day. I stood outside a Whole Foods Market in Washington, D.C., with two cartons of large brown eggs. One carton had the words "Non-GMO Project Verified" on it, with a little orange butterfly. It also said cage-free. The other carton had a different label; a green and white circle with the words "USDA Organic."
Read moreYou may have heard by now that the olive oil in your kitchen cupboard may be an impostor. After a 2010 report found that 69 percent of imported olive oil in the U.S. failed to meet international standards, thousands of news stories were published, often incorrectly describing the presence of “fake” olive oils in grocery stores. Shoppers everywhere have been terrorized since, afraid that the olive oils on aisle nine may as well be Louis Vuitton bags from New York City’s Canal Street.
Read moreFrom mercury-laden "snapper" that's not really snapper to antibiotic-loaded honey, Larry Olmsted's book, Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don't Know What You're Eating & What You Can Do About It, details many of the common scams and counterfeits that make their way onto our dinner plates and into our grocery carts. Here, he answers questions about his book's most startling discoveries—and the implications fake food has for American health.
Read morePost Holdings Inc. and its Post Foods LLC subsidiary are being sued by three separate plaintiffs alleging the company markets its Shredded Wheat cereal products as "natural" when they contain an herbicide that might cause cancer.
The companies face suits in New York, California and Washington, D.C., alleging that Post markets Shredded What as "100 percent natural whole grain wheat" when it contains glyphosate, the active ingredient in a weed killer, Law 360 reports.
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