Logical fallacies

appeal to nature

It’s natural, therefore it’s good. Hemlock is natural.

  • “It’s all-natural, so it’s safer.”

    “What does the safety data say?”

    Nature produces botulism, radon, and hurricanes. It isn’t on your side.

Nature is not a quality-control department. Plenty of natural things will kill you and plenty of synthetic things—insulin, anaesthetic, clean water—will keep you alive.

The legitimate version: sometimes “natural” is shorthand for something real, like fewer processing steps or a longer safety record. If so, say the actual thing, because that’s the part doing the arguing.

Now go check the data instead.