When did natural food become so artificial?
The word natural holds consumers in its thrall, but the term isn’t as plain and simple as it seems. Julian Baggini gets to the bottom of some knotty terminology
THE KITCHEN PHILOSOPHER
Do you prefer your food natural? If you don’t, you’re unusual – and retailers know it. It’s hard to find anything these days that doesn’t claim to be free from artificial ingredients. But what does it mean for food to be ‘natural’, and what’s so good about it anyway?
The market cheerleader for natural food is the organic sector, which this month is promoting itself during ‘Organic September’. But organically produced food comprises a tiny fraction of sales – despite recent growth, it still makes up only 1.5 per cent of the total UK food and drink market.