100% All Natural Products Can Be Chock Full of GMOs
What this video covers
A 2013 Food Babe video taking aim at “100% all natural” labeling. Hari argues that labeling a product all-natural without verification is, in her words, “fraudulent and irresponsible marketing,” and she directs the charge at Lean Cuisine and its parent company Nestlé. She plays a recorded phone call with Lean Cuisine headquarters — noting she received permission to record it — to press the company on the gap between its “natural” claims and its actual ingredients.
Hari lists companies she says have been sued over “all natural” labeling of products containing synthetic material or GMOs: General Mills (Nature Valley granola bars), Conagra (Wesson Oil), Pepsi (Naked Juice), Frito-Lay (Tostitos and Sun Chips), Kashi cereal, Barbara’s Bakery cereal, and Pepperidge Farm (Goldfish). Her question to viewers: how long before Nestlé/Lean Cuisine joins their ranks? She urges viewers to share the video and call Lean Cuisine’s consumer line with their opinions.
Key points
- Hari argues “100% all natural” labels that can’t be verified are fraudulent and irresponsible marketing — her characterization, aimed at Lean Cuisine and Nestlé.
- She plays a recorded call with Lean Cuisine headquarters, stating she had permission to record it.
- She lists companies she says were sued over “all natural” claims on products with synthetic ingredients or GMOs, from General Mills to Pepperidge Farm.
- The video is an early example of Hari’s pressure-campaign playbook: public video plus consumer call-to-action against a specific company.
- Her framing of “natural” labeling as deceptive predates the later industry-wide battles over GMO labeling standards.