The U.S. government approved GMOs under the premise that they were “substantially equivalent” to Non-GMOs, which means that they are compositionally the same as Non-GMOs, in terms of safety and nutritional profile.

More than anything, however, this substantial equivalence term was a way for Big Seed companies to get their products to market quickly without any long-term safety studies or scientific scrutiny. This was corporate influence and manipulation over the regulatory process at its finest. Read more »

The Pew Research Center recently released its findings from a new report called The New Food Fights: U.S. Public Divides Over Food Science, which largely focused on Americans’ perceptions of organic and genetically-modified foods (GMOs).

It surveyed 1,500 nationally representative adults (whatever that means), and I found the data to be both encouraging and worrisome. Read more »

Here are some of my best healthy gift ideas. Enjoy!

THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION FROM SAKARA LIFE

My friends at Sakara Life, the amazing plant-based organic meal delivery service, have put together The Ultimate Collection from their Clean Boutique.

Not only are you getting a wide array of Saraka Life’s most delicious products, but they are packed with “functional ingredients,” which go beyond nutritional science to also encompass the best of traditional medicine, folk remedies and spiritual healing.

Read more »

Serial entrepreneur Sheryl O’Loughlin has just come out with a phenomenal new book called Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart, and it should be at the top of the reading list for all founders of organic food companies, regardless of whether you’re in start-up mode or well on your way to generating $100 million in revenues.

Aside from the fact that Sheryl O’Loughlin has some serious street cred in the organic food industry – CEO of Clif Bar, Co-Founder of Plum Organics and now CEO of REBBL – and has plenty of experience to draw upon as an entrepreneur, this book focuses on the most important aspect of building a company that rarely gets discussed – the human element.

While strategy, branding, operations, and interfacing with customers are critical components of running a company, Sheryl has us look at the human emotions of being an entrepreneur and how it can be enthralling, debilitating and rewarding all at once.

Love, communication, support, honesty, presence, curiosity, self-reflection and radical self-acceptance must all be a part of the business journey. Yet, so many of us get caught up in the grind thinking that start-ups are nothing more than 16-hour days, rushing from to meeting to meeting, and pitching to investors. As a result, our health suffers and our companies do not thrive. Read more »

Supermarket Spotlight is a bi-monthly column, and it will showcase independent, organic supermarkets throughout the country that people ought to know about, such as Erewhon in Los Angeles.

This column will run every other month and is sponsored by my friends at RangeMe, the leading platform that empowers retail buyers with an efficient way to discover innovative new products and to manage their inbound product submission process. RangeMe gives product suppliers and manufacturers increased control over the marketing of their products and greater access to retail buyers. Read more »

(Photo courtesy of José Andrés)

When you’re running an organic gazpacho company and dream about the people you’d like involved in your company, there is pretty much only one name at the top of this list: José Andrés. The most widely acclaimed Spanish chef here in the U.S., José Andrés was also named “Outstanding Chef” by the James Beard Foundation in 2011 and recognized by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

For Austin Allan, founder of Tío Gazpacho, who used to eat at José Andrés’ restaurants in Washington, D.C. all of the time, this dream became a reality right before Thanksgiving.

And it all began in April when Austin Allan was in a meeting and received a surprise email from this star chef that said the following:

I am a Spanish chef and am watching you from a distance. I would love to talk.

Needless to say, Austin bolted out of the meeting and got on the phone with him immediately. Six months of conversations and negotiations ultimately led to a partnership between Tío Gazpacho and José Andrés, where he and his restaurant company, ThinkFoodGroup, will help with distribution, sourcing, marketing, PR, social media and product development. Read more »

While in St. Louis last week attending the National Organic Standards Board meeting, I spent an inordinate amount of time at Seedz Cafe, a plant-based organic restaurant located in Clayton’s DeMun neighborhood.

Founded by a former buyer at Whole Foods Market and built with many reclaimed and recycled materials, Seedz Cafe is dishing out some truly delicious cuisine. Read more »