Natural versus organic foods the raw truth

On first look of the title, natural versus organic you might say, well organic and natural mean the same thing. But you would be very wrong because organic and natural do not mean the same thing and by far. In fact, it is a common misconception that organic means the same as natural and vice versa. But do not feel bad if you have always thought that the two words meant the same thing. Most consumers that are new to the organic and natural health world think the same way.

Reason being is because of lack of homework on the consumer’s part, people are not doing research before jumping into something new. The internet is a black hole of information and it grows bigger every day. In fact, it’s common knowledge in the natural health world that manufacturers want consumers to believe that they are the same. And actually, try to make more and more people believe that natural is just as good as organic.

The problem there is that is one very big lie. At first glance, the word natural on a pack of chicken in the local grocery mart might sound really good. You read further and see that it also states on the package that the contents have minimal processing and no added hormones. Here is where the research becomes important. In sales of anything, the wording is important, if a package of chicken says “no added hormones” that means that the factories where they process the chickens have not added extra growth hormones.

What they hope you have not done is research and learned this, then if you were to read it one could potentially think, “Well this chicken is all natural because it says natural on the package and as an added bonus it states no added hormones”. Then you could think, “That means this chicken is better than other chicken and it is what is best for my family”. Problem is it was still raised with antibiotics, growth hormones, and steroids known as ASH in the natural health world.

So they didn’t lie, it does not have any added hormones, but it does contain harmful ingredients that anyone does not need to be eating. So you ask what about the “all natural” stated on the package, what does that mean? Well, you see that little note that says “minimal processing”? That is how they can say it is “all natural” chicken. You see that chicken is not free range and was raised in the same cramped and disease infested closed in chicken houses that other chicken’s that has more processing was raised in.

Organic means that the product is free of any harmful ingredients, has no harmful processing, no harmful preservatives only natural ones, was not grown or raised with chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, steroids, antibiotics, or growth hormones. But it goes farther than that, it also means it was grown or reared using conventional methods that are better for the product, the people that produce and eat it as well as the earth.

It also means that the soil it was grown in is also free of all harmful products and that that soil is treated very well so that it will continue to produce only the best foods for centuries to come. You see after so long soil loses its nutrients and it has to be replenished or the food will be nutrient deficient. Organic soil is kept sufficient and so the food will always be better for you. Now let’s take a look at what separates "natural" from organic and why it is so important to understand all this.

Organic foods are always third-party certified to comply with strict, far-ranging USDA organic regulations. “Natural” foods are not, the FDA is the fault of how these companies can take the word natural and lie and mislead you. This is some regulations taken from the FDA just about organic and natural dairy products:

Natural dairy products

-Toxic synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or fertilizers allowed
-Animals confined with no outdoor access allowed
-Animal feed may be grown with sewage sludge and genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), containing rendered animal by-products allowed
-Antibiotics used to compensate for unhealthy diet and stress allowed
-Animals injected with growth and breeding hormones allowed
-Ever-increasing amounts of soil damaging synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides used to make food grow allowed

Organic dairy products

-Toxic synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or fertilizers never allowed
-Animals confined with no outdoor access never allowed
-Animal feed may be grown with sewage sludge and genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), containing rendered animal by-products never allowed
-Antibiotics used to compensate for unhealthy diet and stress never allowed
-Animals injected with growth and breeding hormones never allowed
-Ever-increasing amounts of soil damaging synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides used to make food grow never allowed

Let the truth be told!