Great Green Idea: Green Eating: Natural -vs- Organic

Natural -vs- Organic

Many people are totally misled about natural and organic products. Everything that glitters natural does not equal organic gold. After learning how natural and organic products measure up to your green living standards you can make the right choices.

The All Natural Hype

In reality a manufacturer can place the words "made with all natural ingredients" on any given product. Natural actually means nothing at all when it comes to healthy or green living. Natural simple means the product is produced with something existing in nature. According to the label this may mean pesticides, herbicides, hidden MSG, toxin fluoride and toxic heavy metals just to name a few. Manufacturers can also choose to leave out the ingredient list of these toxic chemicals and slap "all-natural", "natural" or "100% natural" wording on the box and push it out for distribution. Although products that say "natural" may be produced without preservatives or additives they may very well be grown in pesticides and herbicides. The Food and Drug Administration deems only added coloring, synthetic substances and flavors as "unnatural." In reality the food industry induces this natural tag to sell the idea of healthy eating and the idea is what sells.

Organic Labeling

The word organic differs tremendously from the word natural. The FDA states in order for a product to be recognized as organic, ninety-five percent of its ingredients must come from an organic source. Unlike natural products, organic products are truly produced without chemicals such as additives, synthetic pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones, fertilizers or other synthetic or toxic substances. For example organic farming is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture and must adhere to definitive quality and handling standards. Farmers that grow organic foods use reusable resources and are determined to conserve soil and water used in growing or raising products for distribution. Organic meats, fish, poultry, eggs and diary products all come from animals that are not feed with antibodies or growth hormones. Although organic foods do not have harmful chemicals or additives they may still have the same amount of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and dietary fiber as their non-organic counterparts.

The Green Living Choice

The choice is truly up to you. If it is your goal to live a green life then hands down, organic is the only way to go. As a consumer it is your right and responsibility to read food and other product labels to understand what you are actually eating or consuming. Make it a point to choose organic for green living.