Page 44 - Turkey Book from Meathead

ow a word about birds labeled “free range.” This is
yet another case of industry bullying the USDA into allowing a highly misleading term onto the label. The legal definition says “Producers must demonstrate to the Agency [USDA] that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.” In practice, this means the producer can simply leave a door open to a small penned-in area. But the birds rarely go through the door into that scary sunny open area.
The term “pasture raised” has no legal definition either. And most important, the word “natural” on a label has absolutely no legal meaning at all. Marketers can call anything they want natural without any legal repercussions: How about a natural chocolate coated turkey beak? When we see the word “natural” we read it to mean “for suckers.” Suce it to say, as with the word “natural” we see a marketing term with little quality or nutritional meaning other than “higher price.” And don't get us started on the word “organic.” So much of the word’s original intent and meaning has been eroded.
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