Organic Matters Blog rests at the intersection of organic food and culture, taste and travel. Take the journey and subscribe to a blog that explores how food shapes our world. Source Organic helps businesses build a better future for the planet through education and advocacy of organic food and farming.
If you’re like me, the beginning of 2021 is cause for pause and reflection. People are dying, political chaos still agitates, and we’re all searching for better ways of living. Staying healthy and well-nourished, according to our beliefs and bodily predilections, is a good place to start.
Eating trends and diets based on transparency, nutrition, and environmental impact are all on the rise.
Whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian or carnivorous meat eater – we are asking for something more basic – food with purpose.
The word “Regenerative” is a theme I shall ruminate on for a few blogs to drive the idea home.
The definition of Regeneration itself means to EVOLVE capacity – not to do better or follow certain rules. It means to make you, your business – your life – your friends – more able to do what you, they, or it seeks to do to express your essence.
It’s evident now that COVID has socially disrupted us. But it has forced us to reimagine new ways of doing things, bringing stakeholders together, expanding and Regenerating our belief systems.
Organic conferences and events will be virtual for some time, and supporting them is crucial now more than ever. These virtual events provide the opportunity to reach more people and have a greater impact ever before! That’s Regenerative Thinking!
My profession and personal life have been interwoven and influenced by Albert Lusk over the decades. He was driven by his passion for organic agriculture and founded Albert’s Organics in 1980 when Whole Foods had one location.
I was working at Community Foods, a Natural Food Store in Santa Cruz, in the early 1980s. When Albert began delivering organic produce from Southern CA, our store expanded its organic offerings.
He came to be a friend and a mentor, sometimes a competitor, and he married my good friend, Claris Ritter.
Over time his company became the largest certified organic wholesale distributor of organically grown fresh produce in the United States. It was purchased by United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) in 1998. A few years later, UNFI purchased my company, Source Organic. I became part of the Albert’s Organic family and carried on his legacy there.
Albert retired and moved to Costa Rica. He was fond of hiking to a wild waterfall in Braulio Carillo National Park.
In late September, he went missing with his car as the only clue to his whereabouts near this densely forested region.
Albert loves hiking in the Mountains of Costa Rica
While the search is not over, the story of this organic pioneer can be heard from the many produce veterans who helped him build a nationwide organic produce network.
I was recently on the phone with one of the original leaders of Organic Valley. He pointed out that we are both steeped well—like a couple of fine teas—in organic culture and history.
We have both based our life on organic agriculture and food as a starting place of health and healing. We eat organic food because it’s healthier for us and better for the planet. We yearn to support organic farmers with our dollars and our time.
That belief system permeates outward to everything we do. From our home to our business, to the way we teach others, living an organic lifestyle is not a diet fad—it’s a mindset that becomes a way of life. Continue reading “How My Life Became an Organic Lifestyle”→
Since 1937, the Lundbergs have grown healthy, great-tasting rice while stewarding the soil, air, water, and wildlife as carefully as their crops. Lundberg Family Farms, led by the family’s third generation, uses sustainable farming practices and 100% renewable energy to craft wholesome rice, rice cakes, rice chips, risottos, quinoa, and more. All while protecting and improving the planet for future generations.
Before the pandemic, they experienced steady growth thanks to their efforts to optimize the retail distribution of their fastest-selling items.
After shelter-in-place orders were issued, consumers began purchasing staples for home-cooked meals. This resulted in unprecedented demand for their packaged rice, with year-over-year growth never seen before by the company.
Grant Lundberg has been the CEO of Lundberg Family Farms since 1998. He is the grandson of Albert and Frances Lundberg. They moved from Nebraska in 1937 after experiencing the ravaging effects of poor soil management during the dust bowl years.
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