What does "Natural" mean anyway?

The American Agricultural Law Association, on its Ag & Food Law Blog, recently wrote on the topic of "natural" labels on food:

"Consumer Reports National Research Center released a poll revealing that 59 percent of consumers check to see if they are buying “natural” products even though there is 'no federal or third-party verified label for the term....'"

Moreover, Consumer Reports indicated that more than 80 percent of consumers think that the labeling of food as natural should connote that the food is free of artificial ingredients, pesticides, and genetically modified organisms.

So far, the FDA has chosen not to exercise its authority to define "natural."

Consumer Reports is currently seeking signatures for a petition to the FDA requesting that the FDA prohibit the use of the term "natural"on food labels.

Neil Pederson, J.D expected 2015, William Mitchell College of Law.