IS YOUR FAVOURITE "NATURAL" BRAND REALLY NATURAL?

According to Dr.Mercola "Many of the products you may trust and respect for their independence and social responsibility are now owned by big corporations that are going out of their way to hide their link to the small, socially responsible brands. "
So your favorite 'Natural' Brands MAY NOT BE WHAT THEY SEEM e.g.organic, natural Burt’s Bees lip balm was originally sold at independently owned health food stores but more recently, Burt's Bees products have appeared everywhere -- in grocery stores, drug stores,and large stores like Target and Wal-Mart. Dr.Mercola goes on to explain as follows:

"Burt's Bees is now owned by Clorox, a massive corporation that has historically cared very little about the environment.Tom's of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive, a massive company with revenue of approximately US$11.4 billion. Danone, the French conglomerate which also owns Brown Cow, has acquired a majority holding in Stoneyfield -- the same Danone that had to recall large quantities of its yogurt in 2007 after it was found to contain unsafe levels of dioxins. Horizon Organic milk was bought out in 2005 by the largest dairy company in the U.S., Dean Foods.
Odwalla is now owned by Coca-Cola. Almost as soon as Coca-Cola bought the company, it stopped selling the fresh-squeezed OJ that had made Odwalla famous and popular -- fresh squeezed can't last the days and weeks so the juices are now in transit or not on the shelf. Pepsi bought Naked Juice in 2006, in order to compete with Odwalla. Smuckers grabbed several juice mainstays from the health food store shelves. Kashi cereals was bought in July 2000 by Kellogg's , the 12th-largest company in North American in food sales (but if you look at a box of Kashi's "Go Lean Crunch", for example, you will find not one mention of the fact that Kellogg's owns them.) Kraft Foods bought the natural cereal maker Back to Nature. Kraft is a subsidiary of Altria, which also owns Philip Morris, one of the world's largest producers of cigarettes.
General Mills owns Cascadian Farm. Barbara's Bakery is owned by Weetabix, the leading British cereal company. Health Valley and Arrowhead Mills are owned by Hain Celestial Group, a natural food company traded on the NASDAQ, with H.J. Heinz owning 16 percent of the company.
Green and Black's organic chocolate was taken over in 2005 by Schweppes, the 10th-largest company in North American packaged-food sales."

You really believed in them right ....enjoy your Godiva my dears, might be better for you. Marketing strategies have been fooling you, convincing you to trust that the niche brands continue to be small, environmentally conscious businesses with ecologically sound practices. In fact, as they are all taken over, this changes and they are caught up in the giant corporate wheel so it`s time to question if the time has come for you to cross these "pseudo" responsible brands off your shopping list. And it is time to find products more in tune with your values -- at least till they get gobbled up by the big conglomerates. Dr.Mercola explains as follows:

"For those of you still under the assumption that your Horizon organic milk, your Kashi crackers or your Green and Black’s chocolate was being churned out by a small farm or mom-and-pop shop nestled in a pristine valley, brace yourself for disappointment.The reality is that many of your favorite organic products are owned and operated by the same corporations that make the worst kinds of highly processed junk foods on the market -- soda, potato chips, sugary cereals, candy, etc."

Always remember these big conglomerates operate only for the bottom line so don`t fool yourself into believing that its using the same quality that mom and pop would be using.....They need bang for the buck!
Here in Jamaica we need to read labels carefully and go for the brands that say no added sugar! Most box juices are pure sugar and water people ...KEEP YOUR CHILDREN AWAY FROM THAT.
On the other side, remember that when you speak with your pocketbook and start demanding healthier food choices, Dr. Mercola reports that "the largest corporations have no practical economic choice but to respond. With the involvement of large corporations, organic food has turned into a $16-billion business, with sales growing by as much as 20 percent per year so this means that there is more access to organic foods at lower prices – which is a great thing."
BUT ARE THEY REALLY ORGANIC? That's all I`m asking.....
Also with organic foods being so expensive we have to make sure we don`t pay premium for fruits and vegetables where no pesticides or herbicides are used or where they can be peeled e.g. why would you need an organic avocado or orange? Companies, eager to gain market share don`t inform you of this.
Although many people are now getting the core message that organic is far healthier for you, they also don’t stop long enough to make a distinction between raw organic food and processed food that contain organic ingredients. Dr.Mercola warns that "It’s important to realize that organic versions of junk food are STILL just as detrimental to your health as their original counterparts."
In fact unprocessed, natural foods are more often than not better for you as they contain little or no MAN-MADE substances!