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Beware "Good for you" products

    I know there's a law about truth in advertising, but there are many ways around it.

    Take for example the product honey. How complicated can it be to take honey out of the comb and put it in a jar (other than bees)? Well, reading the label can be very tricky. If the jar says only "honey", then it can be part corn syrup or other additives. If it says pure honey, then there are still legal percentages for additives. Even "100% pure honey" may not be what you really want, but it's closer. If you want natural honey, the label under law must say "100% pure natural honey". That last description will get you honey like the bees made it.

    You fo to a "natural" restaurant and order organic chicken, you may or may not get organic chicken. Customers don't like it when the wait person says, "Sorry, we're out of chicken today." So the restaurant will buy chicken wherever it can locally, and pretend it's organic. Same with eggs. I know suppliers who say it happens every day. Regular supplies are readily available, while organic are not, so shortages are covered up this way.

    Even stores that claim to be organic may not really measure up. They may carry or emphasize organic products, but may carry a lot of things that are not organic. And remember that a claim of "organic" may not be true. Only "certified organic" is legally bound to be organic. This costs more because a government trained inspector is required to do the certifying, not a regular employee, so it's an added payroll cost that non-organic fruits and meats don't have.

    I have neighbors who try to do their own organic garden. They raise some nice peas and lettuce which they share. But they use manure, a natural fertilizer. There is no organic manure in our area, because there are no certified organic farms. The waterways and lakes are not certifiable, so it's impossible to certify any farms. (Farms on all sides of the farm have to be organic, too, because wind and water carry chemicals.) Natural and organic do not mean the same thing.

    So exercise caution, and get accustomed to the idea that you will not always get what you think you're buying.