As paleo becomes more mainstream, we see more people trying to monetize it. Previously it was mainly authors and speakers, then bloggers, and more recently branded "paleo" products. Looks like even the veteran paleo luminary Mark Sisson is pushing paleo products; the front page of MDA has two posts about them. And Robb Wolf sold paleo products.
But are these products even paleo? There is no agreed-upon, certified and regulated definition of paleo, like there is for organic, so anyone can call their product paleo.
This results in all kinds of fruit and nut bars being called paleo, although you can't go outside and pick fruit bars from the ground. Also, beef jerky has to be cooked to be able to be sold commercially - but many paleo people air dry their meat. And there are cases which are more clear-cut: one of the bars marketed on MDA has "less than 2% flavorings," and I would think most here would agree that is not paleo.
I don't have any issue with people making money off paleo. But many of these products stretch the very definition of paleo, and some are just SAD products with less junk in them. I would think these products are healthier than their SAD counterparts fully loaded with additives and preservatives. But where's the limit? Is it when Kellogg's introduces their paleo granola (don't laugh, I recently saw someone talk about paleo granola)?
