Let's say I only wanted to eat natural food…
what exactly does that mean?
Natural…
Sup sup nature-eaters, Trace back again with you at DNews.
Recently, the Food and Drug Administration decided to look into 'natural' as a food label.
We'll see what the FDA decides, but on their website they specifically say, 'natural' foods
are difficult to define because all food goes through processing.
They don't object to using natural on a food if it doesn't have synthetic substances or
artificial flavors, but otherwise?
Pbhht.
Could be anything up in there.
For example, would you say red grapefruit is natural?
Probably.
It's a tasty breakfast delight.
But, the first red grapefruit was a natural mutant which lost its color as it matured,
so companies irradiated the seeds of that red mutant grapefruit creating the Star Ruby
and Rio Red grapefruit in the 1970s and 80s.
Are irradiated mutant fruits 'natural?'
You'd probably think so, until I call them that.
The problem is, no one knows!
What is natural food?
We probably don't have any!
So now the FDA has quite the task ahead of them, because they have to decide what 'natural'
means in our food chain.
Almost ALL soybeans and corn are genetically modified food products, in fact two thirds
of all food in the US is genetically modified -- and 80 to 90 percent of the bacterial enzymes
which create hard cheeses are too.
Is parmesean not natural?
Is genetically modified food NOT real food somehow?
In the 1990s, papaya were being devastated by disease, but genetic modification saved
them, and now 77 percent of all papaya are GM.
Squash, Zucchini… all have species which are genetically modified organisms…
Which isn't inherently a bad thing…
Hundreds and hundreds of scientific papers agree, GMOs are not dangerous, and the World
Health Organization has noted no negative effects on human health from eating GM foods!
Natural foods are not necessarily better for you across the board than other foods, it's
the same with organics.
The problem with Internet debates on food is, food is complicated.
Genetically modified organisms are plants, animals and microbes where genes have been
artificially inserted in a lab -- NOT through selective breeding or natural recombination.
But once they're modified, they grow just like any other thing.
If scientists add genes from a rice crop that evolved in drought-stricken place to rice
with a high yield, ideally we'd have a drought-resistant plentiful crop!
And it would grow just like any other rice… only… more… and in drier places.
Is that natural?
*shrug* Is that good!
In the era of climate change, maybe.
What we commonly hear, is natural foods FEEL a certain way.
That's just marketing.
The Journal of Business Ethics found when people touch things that say "fair trade"
or "made with organic ingredients" they feel better about themselves -- it's called the
positive contagion effect.
They feel as though they're more ethical because they associate with something they believe
to be ethical.
And maybe that's the crux of this 'natural' and 'organic' debate!
A 2015 paper in Cell hypothesizes that we freak out about natural and GMO because we
don't reason, we intuit, we go with our gut!
We use intuition and say, GMOs and cold and scientific...
they're bad, natural feels good!
In all this hubbub a major point is lost -- blanket statements about global food security and
supply are useless.
All natural foods are not one thing, neither are all organics or all GMOs.
The World Health Organization said "safety should be assessed on a case-by-case basis…"
And until the FDA does create a solid definition of what 'natural' means -- scientists can't
create studies comparing natural to non-natural.
Sure, not all GMOs are above reproach, but that's more about the admittedly shady agribusinesses,
not necessarily the foods themselves; geneticists have created tomatoes that resist frost, apples
that don't brown, and salmon that grow faster for fish farming…
all great things in a planet with a changing climate and growing population.
Obviously, skepticism in this area is important, but going with your gut?
That's a good way to eat, but not a good way to think.
If you love going with your gut and finding the best of the best in food, check out our
friends over at EATER
How do y'all feel about GMOs and natural vs regular old food.
Let me know.