David Bronner is the CEO of Dr. Bronner’s and one of the most influential and actively engaged leaders in the organic industry.

When it comes to taking a stand on important social and environmental issues, I do not believe there is another company in our industry that has stepped up more than Dr. Bronner’s. The company has given millions to GMO-labeling, regenerative organic agriculture, organic hemp farming, the Organic Farmers Association and many other important causes. Read more »

(The Impossible Burger from Impossible Foods)

* Impossible Foods is “misleading consumers” about the key ingredient in the Impossible Burger.

* The Company told the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that its soy leghemoglobin was  “substantially similar” to proteins consumed daily by the global population, in the form of meat and other vegetables.

However, on the Impossible Foods website, it claims that the heme in the Impossible Burger is “identical” to the heme humans have been consuming for hundreds of thousands of years in meat and other foods. 

* The FDA told Impossible Foods that its arguments “do not establish safety of SLH (soy leghemoglobin) for consumption.” The company decided to sell the Impossible Burger to the public anyway.

* Impossible Foods relied on the expert testimony of scientists who have worked for or have links to Monsanto, the Gates Foundation, Philip Morris and all of the major biotechnology companies.

* 20 minutes after eating an Impossible Burger for the first time, a man Tweeted “went into anaphylactic shock & taken to ER.”

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One of the biggest stories in the food world over the past few years has been the Impossible Burger, the plant-based burger that bleeds when you bite into it.

The goal of the Impossible Burger is to help make a dent in climate change by offering a plant-based burger that does not come from an animal. Animals require a tremendous amount of water and feed, and also produce greenhouse gases. Because the burger is made from plants, the other thing that the Impossible Burger would do is to help alleviate the killing of animals.

Impossible Foods, which makes the Impossible Burger and has raised $257 million in venture capital funding from Khosla Ventures, Bill Gates and others, has captivated the food media landscape and vegans everywhere because it offered a burger-eating experience yet with no animals involved. Read more »

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia)

When Donald Trump won the presidency last year, I discussed what this would potentially mean for the organic food industry. At the time, it was all conjecture because he hadn’t taken office yet.

In this week’s Organic Insider, I have done an extensive analysis on Donald Trump’s impact on organic food after his first six months as president – the good, the bad, and what to watch out for going forward. Read more »

John Roulac, founder of Nutiva, the world’s leading organic brand of hemp, coconut, chia, and red palm superfoods, announced today that he is stepping down as CEO, a position he has held ever since founding the company in 1999.

Aside from being one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the organic industry, he is also one of the most longest tenured CEOs. So, his decision to pass the baton to CPG veteran Pankaj Talwar, who has held senior management roles at Goodman Fielder, Bimbo Bakeries and Procter & Gamble, and received his MBA from Harvard Business School, comes as a real surprise.

Under John’s leadership, Nutiva has certainly thrived, being named as one of Inc. magazine’s fastest-growing companies in America for seven years. Yet, his contributions extend far beyond bringing superfoods to supermarket shelves. Read more »

Well+Good, one of the country’s leading health & wellness websites and a personal favorite of mine, has just dipped its toes into the organic beverage market with the limited release of #99DaysofSummer, a fantastic and incredibly refreshing juice.

Launched in collaboration with New York City’s Juice Generation, this drink is being rolled out in conjunction with Well+Good’s summer editorial and social program, aptly named #99DaysofSummer. Read more »

(Co-Founders Jarrett McGovern and Grant Gyesky accepting their award at BevNET Live. Photo courtesy of Nathan Brescia/BevNET)

In all honesty, I am not a huge coffee drinker. So, when it comes to the up-and-coming trends in the coffee world, I am definitely not ahead of the curve.

Yet, when I was at BevNET Live recently and watched RISE Brewing Co. win the 13th Annual Beverage Showdown, it was clear that I was missing something. And I knew that I had to take a closer look.

After I did, I thought to myself that this could very well be the next big organic beverage success story to come out of New York City. Read more »

For the last few days here in New York City, I was attending the Fancy Food Show, one of my absolute favorite trade shows of the year.

What makes this show different from many of the others that I attend is the number of international exhibitors. This gives me the rare opportunity to discover organic products from abroad that I otherwise would not get to see. And two of my picks below are produced from countries outside of the U.S.

(If you’d like to get my full recap and analysis of Fancy Food Show, be sure to sign up for a free trial of Organic Insider – no cost, no obligation, no credit card required – and I will send it right over.)

Here are my Top 5 Organic Food Products from Fancy Food Show 2017.

HAVEN’S KITCHEN KALE WALNUT PESTO

Nearly every time I go to the refrigerated section of the supermarket, I go looking for an organic pesto sauce, knowing full well that I probably won’t find one. For some inexplicable reason, they barely exist.

So, when I saw that Haven’s Kitchen had introduced a kale walnut pesto – and an amazing one at that – I was beyond thrilled. Not only is it flavored perfectly and has great texture, but this product fills a massive void in the market.

Alison Cayne, owner of New York City’s Haven’s Kitchen and author of The Haven’s Kitchen Cooking School, has also rolled out a few other fantastic sauces, including an herby chimichurri and a red pepper romesco. Read more »