How to know what you’re really getting
by Dana Logan

You want to make smart and healthy decisions for you and your family, right? So you try to buy fresh produce and don’t eat too many processed foods. But when you head to the grocery store, things can get confusing.

It used to be that the most difficult choice you had to make was whether to buy Gala apples or Fuji. Now, for nearly everything you put in your shopping cart, you’re choosing between organic and conventional. And then, just to muddy the waters a bit more, there’s a similar item with the words “all natural” screaming at you.

You want to make the healthiest choice for your family and the environment, but you’re considering the impact on your pocketbook, too. So how do you decide what to buy when it’s hard to even know what each label really means? We’ve broken it down to help you get a handle on what you’re putting in your shopping cart and, ultimately, in your body.

Conventional
Despite the terminology, which leads you to believe that the technology used to grow these fruits and vegetables is the traditional approach, conventional produce is not the stuff your great-grandma grew up on. In fact, it’s pretty far from the hand-planted, hand-harvested veggies that nourished Great Granny Smith.

Conventionally grown produce is grown by farmers who use chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth. Conventional farmers also spray insecticides on plants to reduce the threat of pests and disease, and they use chemical herbicides to manage weeds.
When it comes to meat, conventional farmers give animals antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to prevent disease and spur growth.

Conventional meat and produce is usually the cheapest choice on the shelf, but it also tends to cause the most negative impact on the environment. And, if you do buy conventional produce, be sure to wash your fruits and veggies well, as there may be lingering pesticides.

Organic
Through a strict process of certification, products that meet government standards for how food products are grown, handled and processed may be labeled “organic.” Products certified as 95 percent or more organic display a USDA sticker that qualifies them as “Certified Organic.”

To achieve the organic label, farmers apply natural fertilizers, such as manure or compost, to feed soil and plants. Instead of using chemicals, they employ beneficial insects and birds to reduce pests and disease. To manage weeds, organic farmers rotate crops, till, pull weeds by hand or mulch, as opposed to spraying herbicides that may be harmful to people and the environment.

Organic meat farmers give their livestock organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors (conventional livestock may never see the light of day). Instead of giving their animals hormones and antibiotics, organic farmers use preventive measures like rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing to help minimize the risk of disease.

Look out for these other terms from the FDA:

“100 percent organic” — Products that are completely organic or made of all organic ingredients.
“Organic” — Products that are at least 95 percent organic.

“Made with organic ingredients” — These are products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients. The organic seal can’t be used on these packages.

Foods containing less than 70 percent organic ingredients can’t use the FDA organic seal or the word “organic” on their product label, but they can include the organic items in their ingredient list.

Natural
Natural food is defined as food that does not contain any artificial ingredients, coloring ingredients or chemical preservatives and, in the case of meat and poultry, is minimally processed. But because there is no certification process for foods to use the term “natural,” there is plenty of room for abuse or misinterpretation of this label.

Many times, consumers are vulnerable to dishonest marketing campaigns that use the term natural to take advantage of the recent increase in consumer demand for organic products.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that any product with the word “natural” on it is bad or that the company is being dishonest. In many cases, “natural” products are, indeed, minimally processed and lack artificial ingredients and preservatives — qualities that many consumers appreciate and look for. It does mean, however, that shoppers must be careful, read labels, and know that just because something has the word natural, doesn’t mean it’s organic. Nor does it mean it’s good for you. In fact, even certified organic products may not be healthy — a common misperception. It’s important to remember that eating healthfully means avoiding processed foods, even if they are organic.

The bottom line is that when you are trying to buy healthy food for your family, read labels, look for the FDA organic seal (if that’s important to you) and know that just because something claims to be natural or healthy, doesn’t mean that it is. In fact, Michael Pollan, author of several bestsellers including The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, told Boulder Weekly in an interview earlier this year that one of the quickest ways to tell if something is good for you is to look for claims that it is health food or that it’s natural. Most often, he said, that’s a dead giveaway that it’s processed and you should probably steer clear.

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