Natural farming offers less hassle to producers than organic

This article dealt with the issue of falling numbers in the organic food trade in the Prairies. The cost, hassle and rules of being an organic farmer we sighted as the main issues for this decline. However, Quebec has increased its organic farming practices and on the whole numbers are slowly rising. The article mentioned “natural” products and I was not exactly sure what that meant.  “Farmers have learned it’s possible to sell “natural” meat and vegetables for a premium price without the hassle and cost of organic certification.” To my limited knowledge this seems like it means that farmers are trying to con people into buying products that are no better for the environment at a higher cost simply to increase profit. This reminds me of the “heath check symbol” that is sometimes bought my companies to make their food more attractive to buyers, when no actual health benefits are present. However the article did end on a positive note stating that Canada was the fifth largest market in the world for organic food and ninth highest in the world for per capita consumption of organic products, showing that there is a pretty solid market for organic food, should Canadian famers take more of an interest.