Natural Grocers® Even More Affordable Earth Day Specials - April 22-24, 2026

NOT ON OUR WATCH: “Anything you put on your body, take, or consume should be made with the purpose of enhancing your health and wellbeing—not detracting from it. That’s our philosophy, and there isn’t a product on our shelves I wouldn’t endorse.” —Heather Isely, Executive Vice President, Natural Grocers The Ingredients Natural Grocers® Will Never Carry Your neighborhood grocery store is meant to be a place where you can stock up on everything from avocados to milk to body wash. The Natural Grocers difference is this: you’ll find organic avocados, 100% pasture-based milk , and synthetic-fragrance-free body wash—but you won’t find their conventional counterparts. We supply all the good4u staples, while excluding products crafted with processes or ingredients that the evidence shows are problematic for human health, animal welfare, and the planet. That’s why we’ve banned 500+ ingredients throughout our stores. Read on for a snapshot of banned ingredients and unique standards that reveal how what isn’t on our shelves matters as much as what is! Grocery—because food should be nourishing, not artificial! In 2025, the FDA finally banned the synthetic dye—Red 3—from food, beverages, oral drugs, and supplements because it causes cancer in animal studies. We have never allowed it! We also prohibit artificial preservatives, flavors, and sweeteners, synthetic colors, hydrogenated oils, and other dubious additives. Banned Ingredient Spotlight: High Fructose Corn Syrup Manufacturers don’t use high-fructose corn syrup to improve food quality—you can count on that. One reason they love it? It’s a cheaper way to sweeten foods and beverages. But we humans don’t metabolize fructose the way we do the simple sugar glucose. It’s primarily processed in the liver, leading to new fat formation and an increase in circulating triglycerides. And recent studies show it may increase the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by damaging the intestinal barrier. More Stand-Out Grocery Standards • GMOs: We don’t allow GMOs in new grocery products, and we trace high-risk ingredients back to their origin— checking crop sources and processing methods. • Glyphosate: Products with key ingredients (equaling 25% or more of dry weight) that are at high risk of glyphosate contamination—like oats—must be Certified Organic or third-party certified glyphosate residue free. • Natural Flavors: Unnatural substances, like propylene glycol, are often used to manufacture natural flavors. We require natural flavors to meet the same standard as organic flavors, which prohibits these substances. Meat & Seafood—humanely raised and sustainably sourced, period. We don’t just ban hormones and antibiotics and call it a day. We identify and prohibit a range of drugs currently allowed in conventional meat production, including ionophores and beta-agonist drugs like ractopamine. And we don’t stock fish or seafood that isn’t certified sustainable. Banned “Ingredient” Spotlight: Ractopamine The FDA has approved this drug as a feed additive in pork, beef, and turkey production, despite at least 160 countries worldwide banning it due to animal welfare concerns and potential human health risks. Its sole purpose in animal feed is not to improve meat quality, but to increase muscle growth and feed efficiency—benefiting producers’ bottom lines. The Center for Food Safety reports that it has caused more harm to pigs than any other animal drug used in pork production and has been linked to cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, reproductive, and other health issues in animals.