--- --- # 'Natural' Food Labels Can Be Misleading, Advocates Say by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Feb 24, 2016 6:23 AM UTC by [NBC News](https://time.com/author/nbc-news/) ## NBC News Feb 24, 2016 6:23 AM UTC The “natural” label can be found on everything from tomatoes to processed ham to root beer, but there is no agreement or standard for what “natural” means. And that’s got consumer rights advocates calling for change. Jane Maynard, who blogs about preparing healthy meals, has a big gripe with the “natural” label found on so many products in the grocery aisle. “That word pulls you in and makes you feel like for some reason that’s a better food,” the San Diego resident told NBC News as she prepared dinner with her kids… [_Read the rest of the story from our partners at NBC News_](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/natural-food-labels-can-be-misleading-advocates-say-n524391?cid=par-time%5F20160224) 'Natural' Food Labels Can Be Misleading, Advocates Say ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4235098/natural-food-labels-misleading-advocates/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4235098/natural-food-labels-misleading-advocates/"},"headline":"'Natural' Food Labels Can Be Misleading, Advocates Say","datePublished":"2016-02-24T06:23:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:19:15.894Z","description":"Consumer rights advocates are calling for change","url":"https://time.com/4235098/natural-food-labels-misleading-advocates/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NBC News","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nbc-news/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4235098/natural-food-labels-misleading-advocates/","name":"'Natural' Food Labels Can Be Misleading, Advocates Say"}}]}] ```