Naturally Misleading?
Natural food is assumed to be less processed than other food and therefore better for us. But are those two things true? What is 'natural' food and is it healthier?
What is 'natural' food and is it better for us? We explore the language of food labelling. Does a product bearing the word 'natural' on its label make you more likely to buy it? Or, is describing food as 'natural' just a marketing trick? We hear from a cattle farmer in the US state of Vermont who stopped using growth hormones on his herd so that the meat can be sold as 'natural'. Consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow, professor emeritus at Goldengate University in the US, explains how companies market "natural" food to us.
Are some supermarkets misleading their consumers with the way they are presenting their food? Journalist Tom Levitt from The Guardian tells Manuela Saragosa why some packaging may not tell the whole story. And we hear how the mislabelling of food in China can provide rich pickings for professional label readers. With more and more products declaring their 'pure' origins, David Jago, director of Global Insight and Innovation at the market intelligence company Mintel, outlines the size of the market. Should the word 'natural' be more closely defined? We ask Daniel Fabricant, CEO of the Natural Products Association in the US and a former FDA official.
Also, Manuela asks whether a diet of completely unprocessed natural food could actually be healthier for our bodies. Nutritionist Dimple Thakrar from Fresh Nutrition tells us why some processing could add to a healthy diet. And lawyer Kun Hoe describes how some professional label readers in China can benefit from mistakes in packaging.
(Photo: Shoppers in China's Anhui province. Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Next
Clips
-
The secrets of selling 'natural' food
Duration: 02:24
-
The language of selling 'natural' food
Duration: 03:16
-
Meet the cows going natural
Duration: 02:59
Broadcasts
- Sat 27 Aug 2016 07:32GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet
- Sat 27 Aug 2016 21:32GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Mon 29 Aug 2016 00:32GMT91热爆 World Service except News Internet
Food Chain highlights
Tea, coffee, spices, chillies ... snack on a selection of programme highlights
Podcast
-
The Food Chain
Examining what it takes to put food on your plate