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MUST-SHARE Video: The Organic Industry Rolls out its First Advertising Campaign – The Natural Effect

(When I come across a meaningful video, I’ll usually write MUST-WATCH.  Please read below why I wrote MUST-SHARE.)

A very, very important advertising campaign called Only Organic has recently been launched by Organic Voices, a non-profit backed by some of the biggest names in the industry including Stonyfield, Nature’s Path, Annie’s and many others.

While educated organic consumers will watch this video and get a laugh, the reality is that this is no laughing matter. Why?

Because far too many people believe that “natural” is actually better than “organic”, and a majority of Americans continue to put “natural” products into their bodies, thinking that they don’t contain super-toxic pesticides, artificial ingredients, and genetically-modified organisms. More often than not, “natural” products contain all of these things.

According to the USDA’s website, this is what “natural” means.

As required by USDA, meat, poultry, and egg products labeled as “natural” must be minimally processed and contain no artificial ingredients. However, the natural label does not include any standards regarding farm practices and only applies to processing of meat and egg products. There are no standards or regulations for the labeling of natural food products if they do not contain meat or eggs.

Did you see that last line?  There are no standards or regulations for the labeling of natural food products if they do not contain meat or eggs.

As a result, “natural” has become the most abused marketing term in the food world and consumers have been unfairly manipulated.

With the government unwilling to step in and correct the situation, lawyers have gotten involved and filed class action lawsuit against companies such as Naked Juice and Kashi for misleadingly using the word “natural” on their labels.

As I wrote about in 2011 when I attended an Expo West panel discussion by Alex Bogusky, one of the biggest creative stars in the advertising industry, he said that he would attack the credibility of “natural” in order to bolster “organic”. Fortunately for us, the people behind Only Organic got Alex Bogusky involved and what we have is a very smart and savvy advertising campaign for organic.

Now, it is up to every single one of us to share this video with as many people as we can, so the general population understands that “natural” means pretty much nothing.

With “organic”, consumers are getting a product that has strict standards and enforcement by the USDA, and the use of toxic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, artificial ingredients, antibiotics, synthetic growth hormones, and genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) are prohibited.

I urge you to share the link to this video on Facebook and help expose the truth about “natural” to as many people as you can.

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livingmaxwell: a guide to organic food & drink