There is no definition for natural foods in the U.S. Yet, Whole Foods applies the label to so many products, it is close to meaningless. Alan McHughen, a botanist at the University of California, Riverside, told The Economist that the whole industry is “99% marketing and public perception,” reeling people in through a fabricated concept of a time when food, and life in general, was simple and wholesome. They used to be called snake oil sale thingies. Why not brag about excellent microbial food safety standards instead, you know, the things that make 48 million Americans sick every year, rather than pseudoscience?