When you go to the grocery store and see “Natural” on a package of ground beef, does it make you think of cattle raised without hormones and routine antibiotics?
It would seem, well, natural to think so. But the only trouble is, the beef ain’t necessarily natural.
Is Natural Beef Really An All Natural Food?
At one time, the USDA defined natural beef as:
Food used is always hormone and stimulant free. NO artificial or synthetic ingredients. Only minimally processed. USDA does not permit preservatives in this product.
That seems a good and reasonable definition for “natural beef” or any other natural meats.
The USDA Does Another About Face
Unfortunately, the USDA did consumers a grave disservice, bowing to pressure from the regular beef industry. They actually downgraded the definition of “natural” to mean:
Meat that is minimally processed and free of additives such as preservatives, artificial flavors, or colors.
Big deal! That means the only meat that doesn’t qualify for the natural label is marinated meat, or those with some other added solution.
In other words, “Natural” on the label doesn’t mean much these days. It’s just a sneaky way of getting you to spend more money on something you think is better than the regular beef, but most likely isn’t that different.
At best, you may at least be getting meat free of coloring or preservatives, and while that’s good, it doesn’t address the problem of how the beef was raised.
Natural Food Starts With Natural Raising
How can you give an animal hormones and antibiotics, then call the food produced natural? The USDA has separated how food is raised from how it’s processed. You’d think anyone with an ounce of common sense could see the difference. The food has to be natural before it’s plunked in a package!
Going Beyond The Natural Label To Find REAL Natural Foods
There are companies out there producing beef and other meat that is truly natural. They do not administer antibiotics or give the animals any hormones, and do not use feed with any animal by-products.
Costco, Kroger’s, Publix, and Whole Foods are some of the grocery stores that carry truly natural meats, such as those produced by Coleman Natural brands.
Other producers offer natural meats for sale online, shipping them with dry ice to the customer.
If you are fortunate, you might also find a local producer.
Watch For Those Misleading Food Labels
If all the package label says is “natural”, that doesn’t mean much. Meats that are truly natural food will have labeling proclaiming the animals were raised without hormones, etc.
So remember, just because the label says natural, doesn’t mean it really is.
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