Natural Cereals That Aren't |
Question: Which of the following can be legally labeled "natural"?
a. Foods with added sweeteners
b. Foods with chemical preservatives
c. Foods with artificial sweeteners
d. Foods with added color
Answer: Every single one of them. It's true, outside of the meat counter, the FDA makes no stipulation about the use of the term "natural," leaving manufacturers to abuse it however they see fit. Gross, right? But here's something even worse: When the Cornucopia Institute, an organic watchdog group, recently analyzed so-called "natural" cereals, it found that they're often contaminated with pesticides and warehouse fumigation chemical residues, genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) and ingredients grown in sewage sludge.
"It's important for consumers to know that these companies are using conventional ingredients to produce their 'natural' cereal, most likely produced with pesticides and fumigants," explains Charlotte Vallaeys, director of farm and food policy at Cornucopia. Despite the fact that over half of the population believes "natural" means no pesticides or GMOs, it's nothing more than a fancy label, she adds. Read on for the cereals that promote themselves—explicitly or not—as natural alternatives to traditional cereals.
a. Foods with added sweeteners
b. Foods with chemical preservatives
c. Foods with artificial sweeteners
d. Foods with added color
Answer: Every single one of them. It's true, outside of the meat counter, the FDA makes no stipulation about the use of the term "natural," leaving manufacturers to abuse it however they see fit. Gross, right? But here's something even worse: When the Cornucopia Institute, an organic watchdog group, recently analyzed so-called "natural" cereals, it found that they're often contaminated with pesticides and warehouse fumigation chemical residues, genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) and ingredients grown in sewage sludge.
"It's important for consumers to know that these companies are using conventional ingredients to produce their 'natural' cereal, most likely produced with pesticides and fumigants," explains Charlotte Vallaeys, director of farm and food policy at Cornucopia. Despite the fact that over half of the population believes "natural" means no pesticides or GMOs, it's nothing more than a fancy label, she adds. Read on for the cereals that promote themselves—explicitly or not—as natural alternatives to traditional cereals.
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