Natural Product or Not?

As a society, we have become much more interested in the materials and resources we use on a daily basis. Part of this societal maturity has included a turn towards using natural products. The question, of course, is what qualifies as natural?

A line is only as good as the place it is drawn. When defining natural products, this is a difficult place to locate. On an atomic scale, everything is natural. We are just combining naturally occurring elements in different ways.

If we think through the atomic issue, we quickly see the problematic nature of the natural product debate on this scale. The same elements that make up the hood of your car are found in an apple. They are just arranged differently.

Obviously, this is not what is meant by natural products when we consider products. We have a distinct division in our thinking between a piece of corn and a Twinkie. The difficult question to answer is where exactly this dividing line is?

One definition steps up from the atomic level and looks at the biological. It says that a natural product is any substance that is produced by a living organism found in nature. In this case, organism includes both animals and plants.

Although a bit vague, this definition has some logic to it. If we apply it, we can see clearly that an apple is a natural product and a car door is not. An apple tree needs no help from us while car doors do not grow on trees.

The line between natural and artificial products is rarely so clear. Aspirin is a great example. This miracle drug comes from Willow bark. That is as natural as it can be. Of course, we pop one of a million uniform, processed aspirin pills, not bark.

So, is aspirin a natural product or not? Even in pill form, it is still the essential extract from the bark that is the active ingredient. On the other hand, the processing clearly alters that extract significantly.

For many people, the proper definition of a natural product is one that is produced by a biological organism that is not processed in a manner that fundamentally changes its chemical composition.

For instance, an ear of corn is clearly a natural product. Submerging it in water to remove dirt, bugs, leaves and the like clearly is not an issue when it comes to defining it. Altering the genetics of the plant to produce more corn, however, is.

The one thing that is clear in the natural product debate is that nothing is clear. Ultimately, how you answer the question is a personal matter. When shopping, however, take natural product claims with a grain of salt and read the labels closely.