Decoding Food Labels

Go eco crazy—learn the lingo to discover which foods are the best, most natural for your health!  Don’t understand all of the claims on food labels? To help you decode the mumbo jumbo, here’s what you need to know:

 

Organic means that the farmers use only natural fertilizers and employ crop rotation to allow for rest and restoration of nutrients to the soil. No chemicals are used to kill weeds or insects.

NATURAL foods have no artificial ingredients or added colours, and are not fortified with added vitamins.  There is minimal processing.

SUSTAINABLE  agriculture means crops are grown in a way that does no harm to the land or animals.

FREE RANGE chickens are allowed outdoors and not kept in cages all the time.

GRASS-FED  Cattle raised largely on grass and hay are referred to as "grass-fed." Since cows digest grass better than grain, it is a more natural, humane and antibiotic-free way to raise cattle.

ANTIBIOTIC-FREE  The term "antibiotic-free" does not mean the animal wasn’t ever treated with antibiotics; merely that at the time of processing the tests revealed no antibiotic residue.