“Natural”
Sounds like
Grown clean, with nothing added.
The rules
FDA has never formally defined it, and its policy was not meant to address how food is grown, including the use of pesticides.1
Why clean food is worth the trouble.
What the label leaves out, what the words on it mean under the rules, and what changes when you eat clean. Every figure is sourced at the bottom of the page.
Natural, organic, bioengineered. The fine print behind the words.
Three words do most of the talking on a produce label. Here is what each one covers, in the government's own words.
“Organic”
Sounds like
Grown and handled clean, from seed to shelf.
The rules
The standard is real, but imported produce passes through many hands you never see. If a shipment is fumigated at the port, USDA says it can no longer be sold as organic.2
“Bioengineered”
Sounds like
The federal word for GMO, printed on the package.
The rules
The disclosure can be a symbol, a QR code to scan or a number to text instead of words. If the modified material can't be detected in the food, no disclosure is required.3
It's no wonder people stopped trusting the shelf. We want to be the farm you don't have to check.
One farm you can name. Picked when it's ready. A short list of what goes in, and nothing hidden behind a code.
What clean food gives you.
Less pesticide, in one small study
In a 2019 peer-reviewed study, four US families switched to an all-organic diet for six days. Measured in urine, malathion metabolites fell 95%, chlorpyrifos metabolites 61% and clothianidin 83%.4
Knowing what you're eating
A short list of what goes in, from one farm you can name.
Flavor you can notice
We believe you'll taste the difference. We're looking forward to finding out.
A shorter trip to your table
Most of America's lettuce is grown in California and Arizona, on the other side of the country from a Florida table.5
A typical long route
- Field
- Packing
- Long-haul truck
- Distribution center
- Store
- You
What we're planning
- Farm
- You
Illustration of the idea, not a measured route. Stops will vary by product and buyer.
We want to be the farm you don't have to check.
Where our numbers come from
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Use of the Term Natural on Food Labeling.
- USDA National Organic Program, Policy Memo 18-1: Impact of Fumigation and Irradiation Requirements on Organic Imports (updated March 2024).
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard.
- Hyland et al., Environmental Research (2019), as reported by UC Berkeley School of Public Health. A small study of 16 people. It measured pesticide levels, not health outcomes.
- UC Davis, Rural Migration News: Lettuce Production and Trade.