Every time I walk into Whole Foods and pick up a box of something...say...cereal...and read the ingredients, nine times out of ten a box that is touting "100% Natural" and "No Artificial Flavor" has "natural flavor" added in. So what's the problem? Unfortunately, natural flavor and artificial flavor are two peas in a pod, they are basically the same thing. Pretty much all flavors are created in a lab in New Jersey. This includes both natural and artificial. According to the Code of Federal Regulations "a natural flavor is the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional." On the other hand, an artificial flavor is simply made from chemicals. But here's the deal. All flavors, artificial and natural, are made by the same flavorists in that lab in New Jersey. As previously written, artificial flavors come from chemicals, but natural flavors are also made from chemicals. The different is the "source" from which the chemicals are derived. Let's say you want to make lemon flavor. A lemon is used as the "natural" source, but the problem is that chemicals are used to extract the "natural" flavor from the fruit. Chemists then play around with the flavor to enhance it even more. At the end of the day you have a "natural" chemical (aka artificial) flavor. And when you break down the composition of natural lemon flavor versus artificial lemon flavor, the two are very very similar. And, the even worse news is that since natural flavors are newer to the market, they are not as regulated as artificial chemicals, therefore in some cases artificial flavors can be safer than the natural ones. Scary.