This is Nuts! KARMA’s NEXTY Nomination Backed by Nutrition Science
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Ganesh Nair, KARMA, tel 925.961.5491, ext. 509, ganesh@karmanuts.com
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, tel 303.807.1042, steve@compassnatural.com
This is Nuts! KARMA’s NEXTY Nomination Backed by Nutrition Science
Wrapped Cashews Are the Next Big Thing
NEXTY Award finalist KARMA® Nuts’ Wrapped® Cashews pack more healthfulness per bite, says new nutrition study. Among three finalists selected from over 500 nominees in the best snack/convenience category, KARMA® Nuts will introduce five new flavors and two new sizes to mark this year’s Natural Products Expo West.
Visit KARMA Nuts at booth #8709 at Natural Products Expo West, March 11-13, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA.
Dublin, CA (March 2, 2016) – What goes around truly does come around, and that’s great news for KARMA® Nuts, which from the beginning committed to sourcing only the highest quality nuts for its cashew snack line. Now the company’s signature Wrapped® Cashew is being recognized as a nut above the rest for its amazing taste and nutritional benefits. The cashews were recently named a top-three finalist, selected among over 500 nominated in the snack/convenience category in the coveted NEXTY Awards for natural products.
It’s a Wrap
KARMA’s Wrapped® Cashews utilize an innovative, proprietary processing technique that makes the cashew’s skin crunchy and tasty. Fans are nuts for these cashews’ unparalleled rich “cashewy” flavor, plus double the fiber and more naturally occurring health-promoting antioxidants than regular (skinless) cashews.
Also, NIS Labs, a third-party testing facility that evaluates how natural products impact human physiology, recently documented the cellular antioxidant capacity of KARMA® Wrapped® Cashews, compared to other snack nuts.
“The testing to date shows that KARMA® Wrapped® Cashews provide a better cellular antioxidant protection than almonds, hazelnuts, regular cashews and pistachios,” says Gitte Jensen, Ph.D, author of the NIS Labs report. “This suggests that the antioxidants in the KARMA® Wrapped® Cashews are easily available to protect living cells from damaging free radical stress.”
NEXTY’s Nuts About KARMA®
The brand’s cutting edge processing method is now being recognized, having been selected as a finalist among 500 nominees for a NEXTY Award The official award of Natural Products Expo, the NEXTY recognizes innovation within the natural products industry and highlights brands poised for capturing mainstream attention. Of the thousands of companies that attend Natural Products Expo, only three are recognized as finalists in their respective categories.
“Cashews are the favorite snack nut choice of many consumers,” says Ganesh Nair, President of KARMA®. “Our Wrapped® Cashews make this favored nut even more nutritious and tasty by retaining their natural skins. We are very grateful that the New Hope NEXTY award judges provided us this honor to highlight this wholesome product to the health conscious visitors at Natural Products Expo West.”
Visit KARMA® Nuts in Booth 8709, at Natural Products Expo West taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA on March 11-13, 2016.
More Sizes and Flavors
Now consumers will have more options for selecting just how many nuts to nosh. In addition to 10-oz jars, KARMA® introduces new 8-oz jars and easy on-the-go 1.5-oz snack packs. Currently available in Wrapped, Roasted and Raw Jumbo options, KARMA® also adds five new flavors to the line:
● Lightly Salted Wrapped
● Cinnamon Wrapped
● Lime Twist Wrapped
● Peri Peri Roasted (chili spice)
● Crunchy Coconut Roasted
KARMA® products are distributed through KeHE,UNFI and Amazon, and the new products are expected be available for order this summer.
About KARMA®
KARMA’s line of nut products draws from over 80 years of experience in sourcing, processing and exporting cashews. From the beginning, the company determined that it should foster healthy and fulfilling lifestyle choices along with a “pay it forward” mentality both as part of their company culture and through their line of nut products. With this in mind, they created their company motto: Do Good. Eat Good. Feel Good®.
“At KARMA®, we believe that goodness comes full circle and we strive to put our heart into everything we do,” says Ganesh Nair, President of KARMA®. “This is why we’re committed to sourcing only the highest quality, best tasting cashews and we travel the world to do so.”
Visit KARMA® at Expo West
See KARMA® Nuts in Booth 8709, at Natural Products Expo West taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA on March 11-13, 2016. For more information visit www.KARMAnuts.com
Communications by Compass Natural Marketing
www.compassnatural.com
Zemas Madhouse Foods Introduces Ancient Whole Grain Cookies
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Jill Motew, Zemas Madhouse Foods, tel 847.910.4512, jill@zemasfoods.com
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, tel 303.807.1042, steve@compassnatural.com
Zemas Madhouse Foods Introduces Ancient Whole Grain, Better for You Cookies at Natural Product Expo West
Award winning, free-from cookies are simple, delicious and ready-to-eat
Highland Park, IL (MARCH 1, 2016) – Known for its ancient whole grain baking mixes, Zemas Madhouse Foods’ delicious, better for you and “free from” cookies will be available for sampling at Natural Products Food Expo West. Made with ancient whole grains and available in four flavors (Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Cranberry and Peruvian Sweet Potato Spice), these crispy, crunchy cookies are “free from” gluten, dairy, rice, GMOs and the top eight allergens.
Just like Zemas baking mixes, Zemas bite-size cookies are clean, simple and packed with better for you ingredients like nutrient-rich ancient whole grains and a superseed trio of chia, hemp and flaxmeal. In fact, Zema's Sweet Potato Spice Cookies received Prevention magazine’s 2016 Cleanest Packaged Food Award. Each year, Prevention tests countless products, awarding only those that taste great, and meet the magazine’s strict criteria for healthy, clean ingredients.
“Developing ready-to-eat cookies was a natural progression after our award-winning baking mixes,” Jill Motew, Founder and CEO of Zemas explains. “In terms of ready-to-eat snacks, my healthy cookies belong in every household pantry with their safe and better for you ingredients.”
Stop by our booth #5780 at Natural Products Expo West to try Zemas new bite size, crunchy cookies, grab a sample mix pouch of Zemas award-winning Sweet Potato Pancake mix and get a free Zemas tote! Also Zemas will offer 25 percent off all orders placed at Expo West.
Taste the Zemas Difference
Zemas cookies and baking mixes are Top 8 Allergen-Free, Non-GMO Project Verified, GFCO and Vegan certified, Kosher and made without refined sugar or rice flours. Zemas cookies and mixes are made of ancient whole grains (e.g., teff, millet, amaranth and quinoa) and a superseed trio (chia, hemp and flax) with built in Omega 3’s, fiber and protein.
“We are committed to providing consumers with the highest-quality cookies and baking mixes that are delicious, clean and entirely wholesome,” said Motew.
Zemas cookies will be available for $5.99 a box in March at www.zemasfoods.com.
About Zemas Madhouse Foods
Zemas Madhouse Foods is dedicated to manufacturing gluten-free, ancient whole grain cookies and baking mixes that support a clean eating lifestyle through the use of minimally processed ingredients that can safely be a part of diets that are limited, allergy-free and for those looking for overall health and wellness. Zemas commits to being free of the top 8 allergens (dairy, soy, eggs, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, fish) as well as rice, sesame, yeast, sulfites, additives, trans fats, preservatives and refined sugar. Zemas Madhouse Foods cookies and baking mixes are available at select Whole Foods and specialty stores across the country, online retailers and at www.zemasfoods.com.
Communications by: Compass Natural Marketing
www.compassnatural.com
What we talk about when we talk about GMOs
If you want a front row seat to the national fight over GMOs head to Boulder County, Colorado.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
What we talk about when we talk about GMOs
FEB. 28, 2016
Luke Runyon is Harvest Public Media’s reporter based at KUNC in northern Colorado.
If you want a front row seat to the national fight over GMOs head to Boulder County, Colorado.
GMOs, or more precisely, genetically-engineered crops, are lightning rods in discussions of our food. For the farmers who grow them and the scientists who create them, they’re a wonder of technology. For those opposed, the plants represent all that’s wrong with modern agriculture.
That disagreement is playing out in Boulder County, where an elected board of commissioners is considering whether to pull the plants off large swathes of publicly-owned land and bar farmers from planting their preferred crops on fields they lease from the county.
“The fundamental of this discussion is that this is land that’s owned by the public,” says Ron Stewart, director of Boulder County’s Parks and Open Space Department.
Since the 1970s, the county has been aggressive in its land acquisition, an effort to prevent urban sprawl and preserve agricultural lands. The county buys farms and leases the land back to farmers. All told, the county manages more than 100,000 acres of pasture, forest trails and farms. Of that land, about 1 percent is planted with GMO corn and sugar beets every year.
Boulder County serves as a microcosm for the larger national, and international, debate about genetic engineering in agriculture. Conventional farmland butts up against headquarters for some of the most recognized organic food brands in the country. The city of Boulder is home to some of the most prestigious scientific organizations in the world. It’s also a hub of alternative and homeopathic medicine.
The county’s preserved farmland is a small island in the middle of rapidly expanding urban development. The urban dwellers and non-conventional farmers interspersed in it are more than willing to voice how they think farming on public land should be done. That puts the conventional farmers who lease public land in a unique position.
“The public, I think, rightly thinks it should have a significant input into what practices we should have on open space land,” Stewart says. “[Farmers] know they have to be involved in these types of issues in a way that most farmers across America never do.”
After county commissioners made it clear they’d be revisiting the county’s cropland policy in 2016, factions of proponents and opponents organized. The last time commissioners voted to allow GMO cultivation on county open space in 2011, the decision was unanimous. Five years later two new commissioners, Elise Jones and Deb Gardner — who both declined to comment for this story — created a new dynamic. Both voiced a desire to move away from GMO crops on county-owned land while campaigning in 2012.
Those kinds of campaign promises are emboldening community activists like independent health consultant Mary Smith and natural food marketer Steven Hoffman.
“Two of these county commissioners ran on a platform to ban GMOs,” Hoffman says. “It is why I supported them.”
Mary Smith says the open space lands, “are not being utilized for the benefit of the people of this community.”
“Instead they are being mined by conventional agriculture for commodity crops that are sent outside this community,” she says.
Smith and Hoffman list their concerns that stem from GMO cultivation on Boulder County’s public land. They lament organic farmers struggling to compete, agrichemical companies amassing economic power, pesticides seeping into streams, locally-produced foods lacking at Boulder markets. Important issues all, but not direct results from changing a plant’s genes.
For many conventional farmers, defending GMOs amounts to defending their livelihood or the ability to run their own business without interference. To them, the plants represent the march of agricultural technology, which has improved farm productivity since the end of World War II.
Opponents and proponents of the plant breeding technique lump together a range of genetically-engineered crops under the umbrella of “GMO,” and pack them full of social, political and economic meaning, instead of debating each new plant or technology on its merits.
When we think we’re talking about GMOs, are we really talking about them at all? Or do they serve more as a proxy?
“This is not about GMOs,” Smith says. “This is not about inputs. This is about our right to have access to good, healthful food.”
GMOs in many respects are a physical, tangible manifestation of a much larger set of economic and social concerns. Will Toor, a former Boulder County commissioner, knows that firsthand. He sat on the board the last time this issue came up five years ago.
“I certainly think it’s true that GMOs have become symbolic of something much larger,” Toor says.
“And I don’t think they’re a very good symbol at that.”
Toor was the mayor of Boulder when the city’s leaders voted to ban GMO cultivation on the city’s public land, what he calls a symbolic gesture as the city’s property included few parcels appropriate for crop production. When the issue came up during his commissioner tenure he decided to study up. The intense focus on genetic engineering misses the point, Toor says. He’d rather see people organizing for better water efficiency, soil health and adaptation to climate change.
“Those are the interesting questions, and they have almost nothing to do with GMO or non-GMO, or even organic and non-organic,” he says.
Farmers Jules Van Thuyne and Famuer Rasmussen lease some of Boulder County’s land to grow GMO corn and sugar beets. They also include malt barley and wheat in their annual crop rotations. For them, the crops are more than a symbol. The plants are another tool in a toolbox to raise a profitable crop, Rasmussen says.
“We have a win-win situation where we help [the Parks and Open Space Department] maintain their ground and it gives us an opportunity to do what we really enjoy making a living at, and that’s farming,” he says.
Because of certain contractual obligations, and the realities of the market for sugar beets, Van Thuyne says a ban on GMOs would upend his operations. He’s not even sure he’d be able to secure conventionally-bred seed to comply.
“These aren’t corporate farms,” Van Thuyne says. “These are farm families that have been here for several generations whose livelihood is very much affected by this decision.”
Ultimately, what happens to 1,000 acres of farmland on Colorado’s Front Range won’t tip the scales in the much larger national debate about GMOs. But one decision could speak volumes about how elected officials interpret science, and how deep the divide is between urban and rural communities.
Organic agriculture as a solution to climate change
we could remove up to 78 Gt (78,000,000,000 tons) of carbon from the atmosphere simply by rejuvenating soils that have been depleted of carbon by conventional farming methods.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Organic agriculture as a solution to climate change
Feb 03, 2016
[Photo credit: Timothy Swinson]
Photo credit: Timothy Swinson
We’ve all heard about the effects that climate change is having on our Earth: hotter temperatures, sea level rises that threaten to gobble up our coast lines, and more severe weather events including droughts and flooding. The consequences are dire, but what can we as individuals do to remedy the situation? Should we give up our cars or vow to never set foot on a plane again? Luckily, combating climate change can be as simple as supporting organic agriculture. Numerous studies have demonstrated how switching from conventional to organic farming methods can decrease the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy usage all while increasing our food security.
[Photo credit: Mikael Miettinen]
Photo credit: Mikael Miettinen
One of the primary ways in which humans contribute to global warming is by releasing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels such as gas or oil. For example, every time we drive our cars, we release CO2 into the atmosphere. As the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere increases, so will the severity of climate change. One way to reduce atmospheric CO2 and combat global warming is by transferring the carbon from the atmosphere onto the Earth’s surface. Soil contains more carbon than all of the air and forests in the world, and it also happens to be one of the easiest places to deposit carbon from greenhouse gasses.
[Photo Credit: Dwight Sipler]
Photo Credit: Dwight Sipler
According to a study published in the journalScience, we could remove up to 78 Gt (78,000,000,000 tons) of carbon from the atmosphere simply by rejuvenating soils that have been depleted of carbon by conventional farming methods. That’s enough to offset up to 15% of the entire world’s fossil fuel emissions. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences, determined that organic farming is an effective way to simultaneously restore carbon to our soils and reduce carbon in the atmosphere. Furthermore, a 30-year study comparing organic and conventional farming methods conducted by the Rodale Institute found that soils farmed using organic methods were healthier and continued to experience an increase in carbon-based organic matter over time. On the other hand, soils farmed using conventional methods saw reductions in soil carbon and nutrients.
[Photo credit: Chafer 33]
Photo credit: Chafer 33
Organic agriculture also leaves a much smaller environmental footprint than conventional agriculture. Research published in Current Agriculture Research Journal and by the Rodale Institute found that organic farming methods release significantly fewer greenhouse gasses and use less energy than conventional farming methods. Conventional farming relies heavily on the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The synthesis, transport and application of these chemicals are very energy intensive. The Farm System Trials by the Rodale Institute found a 45% increase in energy use with conventional farming methods when compared to organic methods. Greenhouse gas emissions were 40% lower in organic farm systems than in conventional farming systems due to a combination of reduced need for fossil fuels and lower N2O emissions.
Have you ever noticed that during some years, produce is more expensive than it is in other years? Oftentimes this is because bad weather has destroyed crops, leading to a lower yield and forcing farmers to charge you more to make up for their losses. Climate change is ushering in a new era of climate extremes including severe droughts and heavy rains. According to the United States Global Change Research Project,farmers are already experiencing a decline in agricultural yields due to extreme weather events.
[Photo credit: Max Wolfe]
Photo credit: Max Wolfe
In a study comparing organic and conventional systems researchers found that organic farmlands performed better during droughts by capturing and storing water more efficiently than conventional farms. These same fields also outperformed the conventionally farmed fields during heavy rainstorms because they experienced less runoff and erosion. In a world where a more volatile climate is becoming the norm, organic agriculture is more resilient, ensuring greater food security than conventional agriculture. As Steve Hoffman from Compass Natural and Regeneration International says in his blogOrganic, Regenerative Agriculture a Low-Cost Solution to Climate Change,“It seems like a powerful solution to climate change lies literally right under our feet.”
To find out more about how organic agriculture can provide a solution to climate change, check out the panel discussion “Organic & Carbon: The Climate Change Connection”—which includes The Organic Center’s Science Advisory Board Member Dr. Kathleen Delate—at Natural Products Expo West this March.
Session Details
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2016
Time: 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Location: Anaheim Marriott, Grand Ballroom F
Track: Cultivating Organic
Title: Organic & Carbon: The Climate Change Connection
Confirmed Speakers: John Roulac (Nutiva), Tom Newmark, Kathleen Delate, Logan Peterman
Colorado’s Evolving at the 5th Annual Evolve Expo
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Larry Cooper, Evolve Expo, tel 303.469.0306, lcooper@meetingsandevents.com
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, tel 303.807.1042, steve@compassnatural.com
Colorado’s Evolving at the 5th Annual Evolve Expo
Consumer Exhibition Showcases the Best of Healthy and Sustainable Living in the Rocky Mountains
Evolve Expo, April 30 - May 1, 2016
Keys to Positive Living Seminar – April 29, 2016
Denver, Colorado, National Western Complex, Hall of Education
Colorado’s premier healthy lifestyles event, Evolve Expo – a consumer show filled with new ideas and simple solutions for balanced, healthy, happy, and sustainable lifestyles – will be held April 30 - May 1, 2016, at the National Western Complex, Hall of Education in Denver, in conjunction with the one day Keys to Positive Living Seminar. Some featured speakers include Dr. James Rouse, Dr. Steven Farmer and Dr. Nita Desai.
Denver, CO (February 3, 2016) - Local, regional and national healthy lifestyle brands will have a unique opportunity to reach Coloradans at Evolve Expo, set for April 30 - May 1 at the National Western Complex, Hall of Education in Denver.
Now in its 5th year, Evolve Expo will feature leading exhibitors and sponsors from the natural, organic and sustainable product industry. Plus keynote speaker Dr. James Rouse, award winning author and host of Optimal Wellness on Denver’s Channel 9 News. The event also will feature product sampling, hands-on cooking and gardening demonstrations, alternative healthcare, yoga, energy technologies, educational workshops, and fun activities to engage the kids.
“The mission of Evolve Expo is to support the vibrant healthy lifestyles of the communities in the Rocky Mountain region and link consumers with emerging and established companies, services and brands,” says Larry Cooper, Evolve Expo co-founder and producer. “We are excited to create an experiential platform for positive living, with a focus on new ideas and simple solutions for balanced, healthy, happy, and sustainable lifestyles.”
The event, which is open to the public, will offer a plethora of resources and information through exhibits, demonstrations and activities covering six areas: Food and Nutrition, Gardening, Health and Wellness, Energy Technology and Sustainability, Positive Living, Business and Wealth.
Some Exhibitors at the 2016 Evolve Expo include Sprouts, Costco, Mary’s Chickens, Caveman Chefs, Vitamix, Well and Company, Purima, Satiama, Organo Gold Coffee, Clear Sky Medical, Global Wellness, Frangiosa Farms, LCA Project, For Heaven Sake and The Biomat Store. For more information on exhibiting at the show, visit here.
Sponsors for the 2016 Evolve Expo include Natural Awakening Magazine, Sprouts, The Growhaus, Denver Yoga Festival, Mason Works, Sill – Terhar Motors and Westgate Community School.
Explore, Learn and Discover at Evolve Expo
Kicking off Evolve Expo is Dr. James Rouse, award-winning author of 11 books including Colorado Fit Kitchen and Think, Eat, Move, Thrive: The Practice for an Awesome Life. A seasoned entrepreneur, Dr. Rouse has shared the stage in the past with such notables as Dr. Oz, Sir Richard Branson, and Shaquille O’Neil.
Additional speakers highlighting this year’s event include Dr. Steven Farmer, spiritual teacher and world renowned author of Healing Ancestral Karma, Earth Magic®, Animal Spirit Guides, Children’s Spirit Animal Stories and Sacred Ceremony; and Dr. Nita Desai, East/West Integrated Medicine and Salt Spa, Board-Certified Medical Doctor in Holistic Medicine and Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner.
The show also will feature a gardening area that includes demonstrations on soil preparation, worms and composting, planting, building raised beds, hydroponics, aquaponics, permaculture, harvesting, bee keeping, and more.
Other activities include two live cooking demonstrations areas using all organic and non-GMO ingredients, plus health care experts and medical doctors will present talks on nutrition and health, relaxation and mindfulness, plus a live yoga demonstration area. A separate area is set up for the children to learn, explore and create. Additional topics include energy independence, new car technology, wealth and business, sustainability, and the environment.
Show Details
Evolve Expo is open to the public. Ticket prices include free parking, entry to all educational sessions, keynote addresses, and entry into the exhibition hall.
Exhibitor registration forms are available here.
For information about exhibiting or sponsoring please contact Lyn Bacon,lyn@journeysforconsciousliving.com or Jillian Olson, jolson@meetingsandevents.com or Tryna Cooper, tryna@journeysforconsciousliving.com or call 303-469-0306.
Evolve Expo
National Western Complex, Hall of Education
4655 Humboldt St. Denver, CO 80216
Tel: 303-469-0306
Follow us on Facebook.
Expo Hours: Saturday (April 30): 10 am - 6 pm, Sunday (May 1): 10 am - 4 pm
Keys to Positive Living Seminar: Friday (April 29) – all day
About Evolve Expo
Evolve Expo, produced by Meetings and Events LLC and Journeys For Conscious Living, is an experiential platform for positive living, with a focus on new ideas and simple solutions for balanced, healthy, happy, and sustainable lifestyles. Evolve Expo offers opportunities to explore organic and healthy foods, gardening, health and wellness, sustainability and the environment, new energy technologies, wealth and business, mindfulness, and more.
Visit www.evolveexpos.com for more information.
Communications by: Compass Natural Marketing
www.compassnatural.com
Made in the USA: MetaWear Launches First Certified Organic “Farm to Print” Factory
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Marci Zaroff, MetaWear, 561.302.2010, marci@metawearorganic.com
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, 303.807.1042, steve@compassnatural.com
Made in the USA: MetaWear Launches First Certified Organic “Farm to Print” Factory
ECOfashion pioneer Marci Zaroff partners with inventor of Sea Ink to offer custom-printed organic & ethically made T-shirts for marketing, uniforms & promotional opportunities.
Virginia-based apparel manufacturer is the first and only Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified and Cradle to Cradle certified turnkey factory of its kind in the United States.
Fairfax, VA (February 2, 2016) — “ECOfashion” pioneer and leading-edge designer Marci Zaroff, along with her MetaWear partner, savvy dye-master CAS Shiver, are now offering customized, cut, sewn, dyed and printed apparel and other promotional goods from fair trade, 100% certified organic cotton—using a GOTS certified state-of-the-art, formaldehyde-free, seaweed-based screen printing method.
With MetaWear’s unparalleled style and sustainability standards for organic textile production and “made in the USA” manufacturing, mission-driven and conscious companies can be proud to promote their business, brand or cause on custom-printed organic, fashion-right tees.
“For years, I’ve had so many companies and individuals in the natural, organic, environmental, and renewable energy worlds that have asked me to help them source or produce screen-printed organic T-shirts for marketing campaigns, events or trade shows like Expo West,” says Marci Zaroff, co-Founder of MetaWear. “Marrying environmental and social innovation with USA production, I can now offer a quick and easy solution to meeting requests from these companies with whom I share core values. MetaWear is capable of producing runs from 30 tees to tens of thousands.”
Reducing Fashion’s Environmental Footprint
The textile industry represents 10% of the global carbon impact. With over 90% of conventionally grown cotton now genetically modified, it accounts for up to 25 percent of the world’s most harmful insecticide use, with textile treatment and dyeing causing 20 percent of freshwater pollution, according to the non-profit, Textile Exchange (TE), who recently introduced its organic cotton website about the benefits of organic cotton.
“MetaWear is proud to be paving the way for today’s textile industry in the USA,” says Zaroff. “From farm to finished fashion, we give our customers a way to look good, feel good, and do good in the world, while providing authenticity, transparency and powerful storytelling to their end users.”
Why GOTS?
GOTS certification is the textile industry’s equivalent to the USDA organic standard for food. It covers growing, processing, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, trading and distribution. GOTS-certified textiles are produced without the use of toxic, synthetic pesticides, GMOs, formaldehyde, chlorine bleaches, heavy metals, synthetic dyes and other chemicals typically used in the production of conventional cotton textiles.
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) has just launched the Organic Fiber Council to advance organic fiber as the next frontier in an organic lifestyle. Additionally, OTA and TE have now joined forces in an exciting collaboration to strengthen the organic textile industry’s national public policy influence and public relations.
In addition to being the nation’s first turnkey GOTS certified factory, MetaWear has also received Cradle to Cradle (C2C) silver certification. Inspired by William McDonough’s visionary and groundbreaking manifesto, Cradle to Cradle, Remaking the Way We Make Things, the C2C “Fashion Positive” certification is a platinum standard in the fashion and textile industry. The program guides manufacturers through a continual improvement process that focuses on five quality categories — material health, material reutilization, renewable energy/carbon management, water stewardship and social fairness.
Marci Zaroff, who coined the term and pioneered the market for “ECOfashion,” is founder of Under the Canopy and Executive Producer of the documentary “THREAD | Driving Fashion Forward.” As Director/Advisor on numerous boards including the Organic Trade Association, Textile Exchange, Fair Trade USA, Fashion Positive, and Teens Turning Green, Zaroff has been instrumental in driving authenticity, environmental leadership and social justice worldwide for more than two decades.
About MetaWear
With a commitment to ethical closed-loop production, certified organic fibers, renewable energy and creating American jobs, MetaWear is the nation’s foremost sustainable fashion manufacturer and turnkey solution for stylish “Made in the USA,” GOTS-certified, screen-printed and dyed T-shirts and other custom goods. To learn more about MetaWear and/or to inquire about placing orders, please visitwww.metawearorganic.com or email orders@metawearorganic.com.
Communications by: Compass Natural Marketing
www.compassnatural.com
Dr. Mercola Headlines Dynamic Educational Program
Source: Wikimedia Commons
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Len Monheit, William Reed, len.monheit@wrbm.com, tel 312.284.8580
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042
Dr. Mercola Headlines Dynamic Educational Program at Chicago’s Upcoming Healthy & Natural Show
Internationally renowned physician and New York Times Best Selling Author Dr. Joseph Mercola featured as keynote speaker at the Healthy & Natural Show, May 5-7, at Chicago’s Navy Pier.
Chicago, IL (January 27, 2016) - Chicago’s inaugural The Healthy & Natural Show will kick off Thursday, May 5, with an educational program geared toward demystifying topics in the organic, natural and sustainable products marketplace. Seminars, keynotes and workshops include interpreting current science, understanding consumer confusion about product labels, creating product differentiation, and anticipating and understanding emerging needs and demands. The program will be presented over three days, May 5-7, with Friday and Saturday also featuring the trade show exhibition hall.
Headlining the educational program will be Dr. Joseph Mercola, D.O. - a wellness champion who is empowering tens of millions of subscribers to take control of their health. In 2009 he was voted the Ultimate Wellness Game Changer by the Huffington Post and has been featured in several national media outlets including Time magazine, LA Times, CNN, Fox News, ABC News, the Today Show, and The Dr. Oz Show. He is the author of three New York Times Bestselling books, The Great Bird Flu Hoax, The No-Grain Diet, and his latest book, Effortless Healing. He will share invaluable information for retailers and manufacturers serving the burgeoning healthy lifestyles consumer market.
“We are excited to feature Dr. Mercola as part of a unique educational curriculum geared toward all retailers of natural, organic and nutritional products,” says Len Monheit, General Manager, North America, for William Reed Business Media, producer of the Healthy & Natural Show. “We’re in an age where consumers have just as much access to information as those retailers with whom they shop. We’re going to newly empower our retail community by providing them an intimate show experience that leverages new information and also gives them access to an exhibitor base filled with leaders and disrupters.”
Featured speakers at the Healthy & Natural Show include:
Dr. Joseph Mercola, D.O.. Founder, Mercola.com
Dr. Mercola is an internationally renowned physician and New York Times Best Selling Author and will be presenting on Why We Get Sick and How to Fix It. Dr. Mercola will include cutting edge information to improve health and longevity, discuss the pillars of health, what mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation is and how it impacts all consumers.
Kora Lazarski, Business Development and Marketing Manager, SPINS
SPINS is a leading market research group covering natural and organic products. Lazarski will share insights using SPINS data to illuminate the powerful healthy lifestyles consumer movement, helping retailers and brands understand how to leverage this changing market.
Jennifer Amdur Spitz, Branding Consultant at Amdur Spitz & Associates
In addition to being a brand and marketing expert, Spitz is also the producer of the award-winning documentary Food Patriots.Jennifer influences consumer demand for fresh, local, organic and sustainable food through campaigns that reach audiences through live public events, media advocacy and education programs in schools, workplaces and communities. Her presentation will focus on How the Good Food Movement is Scaling Beyond the Fringe.
Registration for the event is currently available online at http://thehealthyandnaturalshow.com/.
For information about exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities please contact:
Heather Howser, Heather.Howser@wrbm.com, tel 303.956.1331
About the Healthy & Natural Show
The Healthy & Natural Show is brought to you by William Reed Business Media, publisher of leading titles in food and drink retailing, manufacturing and distribution. As an international multi-media events company, William Reed is focused on helping customers achieve business success and the Healthy & Natural Products show will be a major part of that success. Welcoming more than 40,000 representatives to over 40 live events, conferences and exhibitions every year — on every continent — the international media company regularly engages with over 2.8 million food, drink, nutrition, restaurant and food service professionals.
About William Reed Business Media
William Reed Business Media launched its first title, The Grocer, in 1862; and with unmatched expertise, the company is wholeheartedly focused on the future. Through aligning its mission with customers’ needs and requirements, William Reed supports the ever-changing dynamics of the sectors it serves – food, beverage, health, hospitality, retail, manufacturing and more. With high-value information and research, robust journalism, innovative events and revered awards, William Reed helps customers to compete and succeed within their markets.
Communications by: Compass Natural Marketing
www.compassnatural.com
Good and Good For You: Bixby & Co.
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Kate McAleer, Bixby & Co., kate@bixbyco.com, tel 207.691.0648
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042
Good and Good For You: Bixby & Co.’s Organic, Nutty For You Craft Candy Snack Bar Wins 2016 Good Food Award™
Bixby & Co.’s Nutty for You bar wins prestigious Good Food Award™ proving that superior taste, environmental stewardship and supporting local communities go hand-in-hand in the natural candy market.
Rockland, ME (January 19, 2016) — Recognized for its dedication to handcrafted natural and organic craft candy snack bars, Bixby & Co. announces it is a recipient of the prestigious 2016 Good Food Award™ in the confections category.
Bixby founder Kate McAleer accepted the award in San Francisco on January 15 for its Nutty for You organic craft candy snack bar. The awards ceremony featured 800 people including farmers, chefs, journalists, and activists united to honor exceptional food crafters, including such luminaries as Alice Waters, Nell Newman and Slow Food Founder Carlo Petrini.
The Good Food Awards, a collaboration between the nonprofit Seedling Projects and a broad community of food producers, food writers and passionate food lovers, celebrates companies and products that represent the forefront of American craft food. The organization requires that products not only taste delicious, but also are respectful of the environment, and connected to communities and cultural traditions.
“We’ve always believed that great taste and socially responsible production should go hand-in-hand,” said Kate McAleer. “We’ve made responsibility, innovation and quality the centerpieces of our business, and we are happy for this recognition.”
Bixby Bars - Everything BUT Traditional
Unlike other chocolate bars, Bixby Bars are noted for their protein and fiber content,dedication to the highest quality ingredients and distinctive flavor profiles, such as Birdie (dark chocolate, sweet currant, hazelnut and Maine sea salt); Whippersnapper (blueberry, black pepper, dark chocolate and walnut); To the Nines (white chocolate, goji berry, cardamom, pistachio and almond); Nutty for You (dark chocolate, peanuts and Maine sea salt); and others. To view all of Bixby’s unique flavors, visit BixbyCo.com
Manufactured in a historic refurbished ice factory on the waterfront in scenic Rockland, Maine, the organic Nutty for You bar was singled out by the Good Food Awards for its superior taste, nutritional value and commitment to social responsibility. According to McAleer, the 1.5oz Nutty for You bar has five times as much protein (5g/serving) and four times as much fiber (3g/serving) as most standard candy bars. In addition to its organic certification, the Nutty for You bar also is certified Kosher, Non-GMO Verified, certified Gluten Free, and Rain Forest Alliance™ certified. All Bixby Bars are made without corn syrup, palm oil, artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives or additives.
About Bixby
One hundred percent women-owned, Bixby & Co. was founded in 2011 by Kate McAleer in Rockland, Maine. Inspired by her mother’s battle with breast cancer, Kate developed a line of better-for-you craft candy snack bars for the natural candy market. With a degree from New York University and a certificate in pastry art and culinary management from Institute of Culinary Education, Kate also is the winner of the 2015 Maine Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Bixby & Co is a recipient of Whole Foods Market’s Local Vendor Loan program. Bixby Bars are available online and in Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Raley’s, Giant, Stop & Shop, and other leading natural, organic and specialty food stores; and through distributors including UNFi and KeHe. For wholesale inquiries contact kate@bixbyco.com. Visit BixbyCo.com for more information.
Visit Bixby & Co. at Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, CA, March 10-13 in the NEXT Pavilion, Room 304, 3rd floor, Booth #9618.
Communications by Compass Natural
Local Producer Loan Enables Emmy’s Organics To Expand Vegan, Gluten Free and Non-GMO Product Line
For Immediate Release:
Contact:
Samantha Abrams, Emmy’s, samantha@emmysorganics.com, tel 855.462.6697
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042 Whole Foods
A Certified B Corporation, cereal and snack maker Emmy’s Organics receives Whole Foods Local Producer Loan and introduces a new raspberry flavor to its line of tasty vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO macaroons.
Ithaca, NY (January 11, 2016) — Mission-driven manufacturer of vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO power snacks and cereals, Emmy’s Organics announces the launch of its new Raspberry Macaroon, the latest addition to its growing product lineup.
As a recent recipient of Whole Foods’ Local Producer Loan, a program that has provided over $25 million in low-interest loans to independent farmers and food artisans, Emmy’s Organics, based in Ithaca, NY, has expanded its product line and is introducing a new raspberry-flavored macaroon. Made with certified organic raspberry, coconut and vanilla, the new addition will be available in the Whole Foods Market Northeast region early this year, followed by a national roll out in the spring. The new macaroon is also available online.
“Our customers have responded well to our macaroon line and the new Raspberry Macaroons are a welcome addition by delivering a burst of raspberry tartness highlighted by a subtly sweet, creamy coconut finish,” says Emmy’s Co-founder and owner Samantha Abrams. “We are thankful for the Whole Foods New York Local Loan Program for giving us the opportunity to expand our line,” she adds.
Available in both 2-oz. bags and 6-oz. gusseted pouches, the new flavor will join current varieties: Chai Spice, Lemon Ginger, Chocolate Chip, Mint Chip, and Dark Cacao.
Forward Thinking, Forward Doing: B Corp Certified
Emmy’s Organics is passionate about its commitment to using business as a force for good. By becoming a certified B Corporation Emmy’s Organics has pledged to conduct business at higher standards for transparency, accountability and performance using the power of business to solve social and environmental issues. The company consciously works towards reducing its environmental impact by manufacturing in a solar and wind powered plant that produces minimal waste, using recycled packaging and using non-GMO, organic ingredients. The company also gives a portion of its sales to local charities and has creative benefits for its staff including health bonuses, paid time off, a monthly free lunch program, and financial transparency.
“Our values are right in line with B Corp values. We wanted a way to demonstrate the amazing things that our company does that our customers don’t see. Being a B Corp shows our commitment to our organization and the impact we make,” says Abrams. “We feel that becoming a B Corp sets us apart from other companies in our industry and we are proud of that,” she says.
About Emmy’s Organics
Emmy’s Organics is a family-oriented, Certified B Corporation based in Ithaca, NY. Launched in 2009 by Co-Founders Samantha Abrams and Ian Gaffney, Emmy’s produces a line of certified vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO macaroons, cereals and chocolate saucefrom premium raw ingredients in a wind- and solar-powered building. Emmy’s products are available nationally at leading and independent natural and organic retailers including Whole Foods Markets, Sprouts, HEB, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Wegmans, Barnes & Noble College, Heinens and more. Emmy's Organics' products are also distributed internationally in Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Visit emmysorganics.com to learn more. Connect on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
Communications by: Compass Natural Marketing
www.compassnatural.com
Organic Farming and Food Can Save the Planet
Message from historic Paris climate summit: Organic food and farming can save the planet.
Photo: Compass Natural
Message from historic Paris climate summit: Organic food and farming can save the planet
With coastal areas, island nations and poorer developing countries poised to bear the brunt of global warming, organic, regenerative agriculture was acknowledged for the first time at the COP21 global climate summit as a central solution for drawing down carbon and reversing climate change.
Amidst the historic COP21 climate accord, signed on Dec. 12 by 196 countries, also of import was the fact that 25 nations, plus more than 50 international organizations, private foundations, international funds, and consumer and farmer organizations, joined France’s pioneering “4 per 1000” Initiative, officially launched at the COP21 summit as a major global agreement to promote healthy soils and regenerative agriculture as a vital solution for food and climate security.
“This is a game changer because soil carbon is now central to how the world manages climate change,” said Andre Leu, president of IFOAM Organics International, the world’s leading organic farmers and producers association, based in Bonn, Germany. “I am stunned. After all the years of advocating for this at UN Climate Change meetings and being the lone voice in the wilderness, it has taken off so quickly and now is global with numerous countries and key institutions supporting it. However this is true of all tipping points,” he added.
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“We now go from trying to convince people about the multifunctional benefits of soil carbon sequestration to developing projects to implement it,” said Leu, who was in Paris to represent IFOAM and also as a steering committee member of Regeneration International, an international nonprofit organization with a mission to advance organic, regenerative agriculture as a practical, low-cost solution to drawing down carbon and reversing climate change.
“Everything is at stake…we have an alternative”
Visible throughout the COP21 climate summit was world renowned author and “rock star” agro-ecologist Vandana Shiva, promoting the connections between food and agriculture, climate change, and economic and social justice. Engaging media, government officials, NGOs and audiences throughout the Paris climate summit, Shiva’s messages were the same: “We don’t have much time,” and “fossil agriculture is the problem; organic agriculture is the solution.”
Speaking at an exhibition at Le Bourget, site of the official UN climate summit in Paris, Shiva said: “Everything is at stake now, and within the next 20 years, either we can shift and walk off the precipice where we stand and build a world that is livable, or walk over that precipice. It’s a human choice that we face."
She continued:
“Even though we know that industrial agriculture – we could call it 'fossil agriculture' – is 50 percent of the climate problem, the two sectors have never been seen as interconnected. And now there’s a deliberate attempt to keep ecological solutions out of the climate discussion. A deliberate attempt to keep the roots of climate change in industrial farming and globalized food systems out, because the very corporations that have given us half the climate problem want to steal the climate negotiations to expand their markets for GMOs; to expand their markets for fertilizers; to expand their control over agriculture to one agriculture…control of all farming.
We have an alternative. The alternative is seed sovereignty in farmers’ hands, and more biodiversity. Ecological agriculture can feed two times the population of the world; it can rebuild soil fertility; it reverses desertification; it can take out the stocks of carbon from the atmosphere and put it into the soil; and most importantly, it overcomes the human crisis of refugee creation and displacement which is at the root of so much of the conflicts and violence today.
So, organic farming offers an answer to sustainability, justice, peace, food security and climate security. And more industrial farming, more corporate control will worsen every crisis. The success of Paris will be for humanity to make peace with the earth and make peace with each other, because otherwise, humanity will have no chance for the future."
Carbon neutral is not enough
According to Leu, a successful organic farmer in his own right with a tropical fruit tree farm in Australia, “The global conversation changed in Paris to more than emissions and fossils fuels. Just
Vandana Shiva and Andre Leu help inaugurate an urban organic garden in Paris during the COP21 Global Climate Summit.
stopping fossil fuels and moving to renewables will not stop climate change,” he emphasized.
“The current CO2 level in the atmosphere is 400ppm,” Leu explained. “To achieve the less than 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature rise targeted at COP21, the level needs to be less than 300 ppm. Just stopping emissions means that we will go into severe climate change because of the cumulative effect of these gases over the next 200 years. We also have to draw down the excess 120 ppm CO2 out of the atmosphere.”
According to Leu, “The Paris Accord gives us the mechanisms to reverse climate change through the flexibility of the INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, or individual country climate actions outlined under international agreement). The real work starts now with developing INDCs that not only stop emissions, but also draw them out of the atmosphere. The French have shown incredible leadership in this with the ‘4 per 1000’ initiative. This is a truly historic moment for our planet,” he said.
Shovel-ready solution
Transitioning from an extractive, fossil fuel-intensive energy system to a clean, renewable alternative is vital to any global strategy to mitigate climate change, but reducing emissions solves only half the problem, wrote Ronnie Cummins and Katherine Paul, founding steering committee members of Regeneration International, in a Dec. 10commentary published by the Organic Consumers Association. “We also have to draw down the billions of tons of CO2 currently heating up the atmosphere. Unless we address the climate change elephant in the room—Big Ag—we will fail to solve the climate crisis.”
According to Ratan Lal, director of Ohio State University’s Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, the world’s cultivated soils have lost 50 to 70 percent of their original carbon stocks and fertility over the past 100-plus years of commercial agriculture. Modern chemical-intensive, factory farm, GMO-based industrial agriculture is largely responsible for that loss, Cummins and Paul assert.
“The French Initiative is the most direct, most practical and only shovel-ready plan for reversing climate change,” they wrote. “We don’t need, and don’t have time to wait for expensive, unproven techno-fixes à la Bill Gates, some of which haven’t even made it to the prototype stage, and many of which could come with unintended consequences. We don’t need a corporate-focused ‘climate-smart agriculture’ scheme that promotes business as usual. And we definitely shouldn’t put our faith in Monsanto’s ‘carbon-neutral’ but ‘poison-positive’ plan.”
Pointing to the fact that the U.S. has yet to sign on to the 4 per 1000 Initiative, Organic Consumers Association, IFOAM and dozens of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are encouraging U.S. citizens to urge President Obama to pledge U.S. support. “If we’re going to subsidize any form of agriculture, it should be the regenerative, truly climate-friendly, health-friendly, farmer-friendly type,” Cummins and Paul suggested.
Grassroots application
Seeking to foster coordinated communications and shared tactics among the diverse organizations, NGOs, businesses and others descending on Paris, the team at Regeneration International – comprising a small, tech-savvy crew of young people and an international board of food, agriculture and climate experts, including Vandana Shiva and World Food Prize winner Hans Herren – sponsored more than 60 delegates from organizations based throughout the world to attend COP21 and participate in workshops, tours, planning sessions and related events.
Many delegates stayed in the same lodging, sharing meals, ideas, resources and conversation throughout the two-week Paris COP21-related event schedule.
“We were very excited to be among the delegates to Regeneration International at COP21 to participate in planning and strategizing how we’re going to mobilize the grassroots,” said Cindy Eiritz, strategic development manager for Healthy Soils Australia. “Together, we can stop soils from being net emitters to being net sequesterers of carbon, which will make a big difference.”
Working with rural communities in northern Zimbabwe, holistic management educator and regenerative rancher Precious Phiri showed audiences in Paris how it can be done. By implementing grazing management concepts promoted by such groups as the Savory Institute, her ranching techniques were able to bring back a diverse ecosystem and healthy grasslands, improve soil organic matter and sequester carbon – and restore water tables enough where ponds returned and elephants gathered to drink water where none had been before.
“For me, COP21 has been, with Regeneration International, a gathering of people who are determined and want to do something to reverse climate change, sequester carbon and heal soils across the world,” Phiri said in a video conversation with Savory Institute’s Chris
Kerston. “It’s been a pool of exchanging ideas and taking action. Speaking of how soils can be a solution to climate change. They are alive – they are the biggest carbon sink; the biggest cooler of the earth, if well managed. It’s where we need to be.”
Editor’s Note: Steven Hoffman participated in the COP21 Global Climate Summit in Paris on behalf of Regeneration International.