Consumers are paying more attention to where their food comes from. But the govt labeling agency isn't always keeping up… A quick stop at your grocery store reveals many meat products are labeled with the word NATURAL. But consumer advocacy groups say the word is misleading. The USDA is working on clarifying the label -- but it's been debating for years now. Harvest Public Media's Kathleen Masterson went to Washington DC -- and some Iowa grocery stores -- to get the story. (30)

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[SCENE at grocery -- consumer montage.] km: When you hear word natural, see on meat product, what think means about the product? Well I thought that they just grass raised 'em, I assume doesn't have a lot of preservatives in it. I would guess prolly be natural, the animal was naturally fed from natural foods. Km: Would it surprise you to learn that natural has nothing to do with how raised, only how meat is treated after slaughter? Yeah, that does surprise me, doesn't sound natural at all. [Like I said, how it was raised, eating food without chem, steroids, but wouldn't think how it was processed…]

The word "natural" is LADEN WITH connotations…some labels even go so far as to picture an idyllic red barn… the kind that conjures up an old-MacDonald style farm and feeding animals from bucket. But yeah, I kind of gave it away there -- the US Department of Agriculture meaning of the 100% natural or All Natural label isn't what most people think: All it means is the meat is:

tammy1: minimally processed with no artificial ingredients

That's according to a Food Safety and Inspections Service representative. They're the USDA agency charged with verifying that MEAT labels are truthful, accurate and NOT misleading. But, they ONLY deal with labels about FOOD --not ANIMALS.

The USDA knows this is confusing to consumers -- they've done surveys that find most people are like those I talked to in the grocery store--they think the term refers to how the animal was raised.

But despite the confusion -- the use of the word "natural" on labels has been growing…

Label expeditor Susan Glenn says nearly half the label applications she sees include the word NATURAL.

Glenn works at Prime Label Consultants in Washington DC. Basically, she helps meat companies get their labels approved by the USDA. Glenn says attended a meeting a few years ago with USDA, industry, and consumer advocacy groups:

Glenn2 (18) -Everybody had their own definition of natural, some were adamant and said it should be nothing in there, others disagreed -- everyone had own definition, so it's hard to define--

Not only that, but many consumers think the term 'natural' is fairly similar to 'organic', says Patty Lovera of the consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch.

Lovera5 (18)-- If you go look at a store that has some organic, they probably have some natural right next to it, that's cheaper, and if the marketing hype works and ppl think that label means something, they can save money and go to natural, that might cut into organic.

Unlike natural, organic foods have to go through a USDA verification program and meet a series of strict rules. Organic meat generally is more expensive to raise because it comes from animals that aren't treated with antibiotics and only eat organic, non-genetically modified food.

(In part) to address the misperception that many consumers think the NATURAL label is about how the animal is raised, the marketing branch of the USDA developed a new LABEL called: Naturally Raised.

Lovera3 (19)-- They got bright idea at the end Bush admin, to put out kinda a super umbrella that was NATURALLY RAISED, and when you look at what they put out -- it's not all that impressive. [So it's collection a couple things, lumped together, and gave grandiose label of Naturally raised.]

But you won't see that label in your grocery story anytime soon. When the USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service went to release the term 'naturally raised" a few years ago -- a flood of complaints erupted from consumer advocacy groups, including Food and Water Watch:

Lovera4 (14)-- So you've got 2 diff wings of agency creating chaos for consumers at the meat case who shouldn't have to have law degree to figure out which branch of govt certified which claim.

Unlike natural, which only means the meat doesn't have any artificial ingredients added -- The Naturally raised label was meant to refer to livestock raised entirely without growth promotants, without antibiotics, and that have never been fed animal by-products.

[CUT for IPR --- I asked Craig Morris of the Ag Marketing Service why don't they just list the three traits on the meat label? Doesn't naturally raised get really confusing -- it's so similar to "natural" and yet it has a totally different meaning:

Morris1 (22)--You're right. These subjective umbrella terms are really difficult. That's been one of the greater challenges in AMS bec in general marketers like those umbrella terms, bec if end up with package of meat with 15 or 20 claims, you don't see the meat anymore, so they like to encapsulate in one catchy word. ]

Still - USDA regulators put the label Naturally Raised label on hold:

Tammy2-- We're not approving it as of now… until we have regulation for natural -- (fades off)

USDA is still in the process of coming up with a more clear definition of natural.

Until then, the term natural will still mostly be a buzzword for marketers that tells consumers very little about the meat behind the label. For consumers who want to know how their meat was raised -- look for more specific terms like organic, cage-free or 100% grass fed beef.

Consumers are paying more attention to where their food comes from. But the govt labeling agency isn't always keeping up… A quick stop at your grocery store reveals many meat products are labeled with the word NATURAL. But consumer advocacy groups say the word is misleading. The USDA is working on clarifying the label -- but it's been debating for years now. Harvest Public Media's Kathleen Masterson went to Washington DC -- and some Iowa grocery stores -- to get the story. (30)

------------------------------------------------------
[SCENE at grocery -- consumer montage.] km: When you hear word natural, see on meat product, what think means about the product? Well I thought that they just grass raised 'em, I assume doesn't have a lot of preservatives in it. I would guess prolly be natural, the animal was naturally fed from natural foods. Km: Would it surprise you to learn that natural has nothing to do with how raised, only how meat is treated after slaughter? Yeah, that does surprise me, doesn't sound natural at all. [Like I said, how it was raised, eating food without chem, steroids, but wouldn't think how it was processed…]

The word "natural" is LADEN WITH connotations…some labels even go so far as to picture an idyllic red barn… the kind that conjures up an old-MacDonald style farm and feeding animals from bucket. But yeah, I kind of gave it away there -- the US Department of Agriculture meaning of the 100% natural or All Natural label isn't what most people think: All it means is the meat is:

tammy1: minimally processed with no artificial ingredients

That's according to a Food Safety and Inspections Service representative. They're the USDA agency charged with verifying that MEAT labels are truthful, accurate and NOT misleading. But, they ONLY deal with labels about FOOD --not ANIMALS.

The USDA knows this is confusing to consumers -- they've done surveys that find most people are like those I talked to in the grocery store--they think the term refers to how the animal was raised.

But despite the confusion -- the use of the word "natural" on labels has been growing…

Label expeditor Susan Glenn says nearly half the label applications she sees include the word NATURAL.

Glenn works at Prime Label Consultants in Washington DC. Basically, she helps meat companies get their labels approved by the USDA. Glenn says attended a meeting a few years ago with USDA, industry, and consumer advocacy groups:

Glenn2 (18) -Everybody had their own definition of natural, some were adamant and said it should be nothing in there, others disagreed -- everyone had own definition, so it's hard to define--

Not only that, but many consumers think the term 'natural' is fairly similar to 'organic', says Patty Lovera of the consumer advocacy group Food and Water Watch.

Lovera5 (18)-- If you go look at a store that has some organic, they probably have some natural right next to it, that's cheaper, and if the marketing hype works and ppl think that label means something, they can save money and go to natural, that might cut into organic.

Unlike natural, organic foods have to go through a USDA verification program and meet a series of strict rules. Organic meat generally is more expensive to raise because it comes from animals that aren't treated with antibiotics and only eat organic, non-genetically modified food.

(In part) to address the misperception that many consumers think the NATURAL label is about how the animal is raised, the marketing branch of the USDA developed a new LABEL called: Naturally Raised.

Lovera3 (19)-- They got bright idea at the end Bush admin, to put out kinda a super umbrella that was NATURALLY RAISED, and when you look at what they put out -- it's not all that impressive. [So it's collection a couple things, lumped together, and gave grandiose label of Naturally raised.]

But you won't see that label in your grocery story anytime soon. When the USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service went to release the term 'naturally raised" a few years ago -- a flood of complaints erupted from consumer advocacy groups, including Food and Water Watch:

Lovera4 (14)-- So you've got 2 diff wings of agency creating chaos for consumers at the meat case who shouldn't have to have law degree to figure out which branch of govt certified which claim.

Unlike natural, which only means the meat doesn't have any artificial ingredients added -- The Naturally raised label was meant to refer to livestock raised entirely without growth promotants, without antibiotics, and that have never been fed animal by-products.

[CUT for IPR --- I asked Craig Morris of the Ag Marketing Service why don't they just list the three traits on the meat label? Doesn't naturally raised get really confusing -- it's so similar to "natural" and yet it has a totally different meaning:

Morris1 (22)--You're right. These subjective umbrella terms are really difficult. That's been one of the greater challenges in AMS bec in general marketers like those umbrella terms, bec if end up with package of meat with 15 or 20 claims, you don't see the meat anymore, so they like to encapsulate in one catchy word. ]

Still - USDA regulators put the label Naturally Raised label on hold:

Tammy2-- We're not approving it as of now… until we have regulation for natural -- (fades off)

USDA is still in the process of coming up with a more clear definition of natural.

Until then, the term natural will still mostly be a buzzword for marketers that tells consumers very little about the meat behind the label. For consumers who want to know how their meat was raised -- look for more specific terms like organic, cage-free or 100% grass fed beef.