What's behind "free from" marketing?
posted on
June 8, 2026
I made a smoothie the other morning and noticed on the package of frozen mangoes the words “FREE FROM” and in smaller print “unwanted ingredients.” After this vague phrase, it specified “no artificial sweeteners or flavors.” It made me pause. Has our food system become so full of ultra-processed foods that we have to specify when something as simple as frozen fruit is “free from” junk?
I’ve noticed this marketing trend on many foods. Whole milk that says “free from growth hormones.” A bag of fresh spinach that states “no preservatives.” Instead of emphasizing the goodness in foods, companies advertise what their products are free from. It’s a strange way to talk about foods that are supposed to be full of nutrients, vitamins and flavors.
Similarly, there’s a certain pride I’ve seen people take in what their recipes don’t have in them — I’ll hear someone say “these cookies are gluten-free and dairy-free!” or “this dish is paleo, no grains, dairy, or legumes!” As if the best dish is the one that checks off the least number of food categories.
What’s behind this language? I have three theories.
- The first is a cultural obsession with dieting, abstinence, and restricting oneself. Perhaps it’s rooted in Puritan ideologies? Americans love to feel guilty about the food we eat. We’ve all heard a coworker express guilt about having another drink at happy hour or our inner voice saying “I shouldn’t” when passing on dessert. We call our favorite treats “guilty pleasures” after all. Perhaps companies have seized upon this guilt, showcasing that their product is free from stuff, so it must be healthier.
- My second theory is related to the trend of clean, minimalist, colorless aesthetics. The Millennial gray that replaced vibrant colors in homes is a rejection of lush and abundant color. The same change happened in our entertainment as the bright colors of 90s era movies transitioned to the current grayscale tones we often see. This desaturation feels akin to emphasizing how foods have less in them and are somehow better because of it. Perhaps less is seen as more now, in our entertainment and our food.
- If those first two theories are a stretch, this one might be the most real. Most likely this “free from” labeling trend exposes a food system where the norm is highly processed foods. If a product has to proudly state what it’s free from, the assumption is that other foods are filled with the bad stuff. If my mangoes say “free from unwanted ingredients” then what’s hiding in the competition’s mangoes? What milk brands do contain growth hormones?
While I’m somewhat annoyed with this labeling trend, I realized that we do the same thing! The standards we publish on our website say:
- Grass-Fed & Finished (No Grain)
- Pasture-Raised (moved to fresh pasture daily!)
- Hormone Free
- Never Fed Antibiotics
- GMO-Free
- Regenerative Agricultural Practices
Because we have a food system where the majority of beef comes from feedlots where cattle are fed antibiotics preventatively or hogs are given GMO feed, we have to make it clear to our customers that we’re different. The marketing boils down to — “the norm is X, we’re not X.” These statements will continue to be necessary until the majority of food on our grocery store shelves is raised healthfully and humanely.
But perhaps there’s a way to share some truths with more positive language. For example:
- Packed with B12 Vitamins
- Naturally Engineered Feed
- High Levels of Omega-3 Fats
- Rich in Phytochemicals
How would our culture shift if we embraced what’s in our food, instead of what it’s free from?
