All natural?

I was not aware of this, but apparently, as part of Frito-Lay's "all-natural" campaign in 2011, they set up a makeshift kitchen in Times Square to promote this new marketing strategy. National Public Radio (NPR) covered the story and was criticized for basically running a commercial for Frito-Lay. Read the transcript below and decide for yourself:

NPR on Frito-Lay stunt 

My personal opinion is that, because the length of the story was quite short, NPR did the story as sort of a silly, light piece. They certainly could have gotten into the debate over whether Frito-Lay's claim of "natural" is accurate, or even what "natural" means in this context. But, throw in celebrity Padma Lakshmi, and the story does seem like mere promotion for Frito-Lay and the television show, Top Chef. How can Fritos and Cheetos actually be good for you?

According to the fantastic new website (beats Consumer Reports by a landslide) that I heard about on NPR the other day, these products aren't so good for you. Then again, what did you expect?

Goodguide on Fritos

Perhaps the real debate is whether or not Frito-Lay's ingredients truly are "natural" when the source of the raw goods used, e.g. corn, potatoes, wheat, are criticized for containing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). See link below:

Milberg lawsuit

Again, I would conclude that the issue is not if these snack products are healthy so much as how they are being advertised. Is the photo of the family above in any way related to being "natural?" What does it even mean? Are they trying to pull the wool over our eyes or am I being overly critical? Maybe I probably should lighten up and be more fun and good like the nice people at NPR and in the wholesome image above.