PETA Investigation Verifies Edward & Sons' Native Forest® and Let's Do Organic® Brands of Organic Coconut Products Are 'Monkey Labor-Free'
CARPINTERIA, Calif. (Nov. 20, 2024) – After visiting and conducting an extensive audit of organic food leader Edward & Sons Trading Company’s organic coconut supplier in Thailand, the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has officially verified that the Native Forest® and Let's Do Organic® brands are “monkey labor-free following PETA investigations."
"When we launched Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk in 2002 as the first certified organic coconut milk in North America, we partnered with a Thai supplier committed to sustainable, monkey-free harvesting practices. As a vegetarian company, we have kept animal well-being at the heart of our values from the very beginning," says Edward & Sons founder Joel Dee.
In October 2024, PETA issued an updated Shoppers Guide to educate consumers about this important issue and to identify brands that have been verified as monkey labor-free. Among a small number of coconut milk brands that PETA’s investigations identified as monkey labor-free are Edward & Sons’ Native Forest® brand of organic coconut milk products, and its Let’s Do Organic® line of organic coconut products.
“Our customers trust us to uphold the highest ethical standards, and PETA’s verification is a testament to our commitment. By offering monkey labor-free coconut products, we’re proud to give consumers high-quality organic options that align with their values," says Alison Cox, VP Sales & Marketing.
Soaring worldwide consumer demand for food products made from coconuts – including coconut water, coconut milk and plant-based coconut yogurt, among others – led to focused attention on a 2022 PETA exposé about the shocking abuse of monkeys by some Thai farmers, who use enslaved, forced monkey labor to harvest their coconuts.
“Curious, highly intelligent monkeys are denied mental stimulation, companionship, freedom and everything else that’s natural and important to them — all so they can be forced to pick coconuts. By purchasing from brands that support monkey labor-free coconut-harvesting methods, you’ll be helping to end the cruel practice of exploiting vulnerable monkeys while also sending a powerful message to companies that make products from coconuts picked using abusive methods,” PETA said in its updated Shoppers Guide. In addition to PETA’s monkey labor-free verification, Edward & Sons’ supplier partner’s farm has also been inspected and certified “Monkey Free” by the Thai Department of Labor under a program launched in 2023.
“Edward & Sons is dedicated to upholding our values by ensuring that all of our coconut products are ethically produced using no monkey labor,” says President Russell Parker. “Further, we actively support the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand, providing care and shelter for monkeys affected by this cruel practice. We encourage everyone to support a humane coconut supply chain that respects animals and keeps the wild truly wild."
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About Edward & Sons®
Offering a unique portfolio of plant-based, natural, sustainable and organic grocery brands since 1978, including Native Forest®, Edward & Sons®, Let’s Do Organic® and more, Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc. is known for its convenient and nourishing foods that support local economies and the environment. An independently owned business based in Carpinteria, California, Edward & Sons is committed to providing health-conscious consumers “Convenience Without Compromise®.” For more information, visit www.EdwardandSons.com and follow on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
Media Contact
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042
Edward & Sons® Organic Rice Crackers Leads List of Gluten Free Products with Zero Detectable Levels of Glyphosate
Consumer advocacy group Moms Across America had 46 gluten free food products tested for glyphosate residues; Edward & Sons® Organic Brown Rice Snaps® was one of only two products that had zero detectable levels of the toxic, synthetic herbicide.
CARPINTERIA, Calif. (July 9, 2024) – According to a new report by Moms Across America, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, 46 samples of organic and non-organic gluten free foods were tested for glyphosate – the most widely used herbicide in the world and one linked to a variety of health issues. The results showed that 44 out of 46 samples contained glyphosate residues. Moreover, the tests revealed that not all organic, gluten free products were free of glyphosate.
However, one organic product line, Edward & Sons Organic Brown Rice Snaps®, had no detectable levels of glyphosate, according to Moms Across America’s test results.
For a summary of the results, visit here.
In the U.S., 12% of men and 9% of women report eating gluten free diets. Globally, approximately 660 million people avoid gluten. It also is estimated that 1 in 100 people worldwide are affected by celiac disease.
"Moms Across America was thrilled to find that Edward & Sons' rice crackers, a staple in many of our homes, had no detectable level of glyphosate. Only two gluten free products out of the 46 samples tested achieved this status,” said Zen Honeycutt, Founder and Executive Director of Moms Across America.
“In an increasingly toxic environment, for a product not to be contaminated with glyphosate is no small feat. It takes integrity and commitment to source clean ingredients, and we are thrilled to celebrate companies that are producing safe, nontoxic, quality foods. We hope many brands are inspired by the results and urge their suppliers to discontinue glyphosate and all toxic agrochemical use and transition to regenerative and organic farming for a thriving future. Thank you, Edward & Sons!" Honeycutt added.
“It has become increasingly challenging for all of us to avoid contaminants in our food, water and air,” explained Joel Dee, Founder and Director of leading organic and plant-based foods pioneer Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc. “At Edward & Sons, we take the challenge seriously. We are proud of the recognition received by our organic baked Brown Rice Snaps. It validates the selection and practices of our farmer-partners. Their commitment to organic agriculture nurtures their local ecology, protects farmers and consumers, and makes possible the most delicious and nutritious foods we can offer.”
Glyphosate, a synthetic herbicide originally patented in 1974 by the Monsanto Company, is known as the active ingredient in Roundup®-branded herbicides. According to watchdog group U.S. Right to Know, Monsanto reportedly removed glyphosate-based herbicides from the U.S. consumer market in 2023, but it is still widely used in commercial agriculture. In 2022, researchers at the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detected glyphosate in the urine of 81% of Americans over six years of age.
“We believe that gluten-free manufacturers are challenged to find clean ingredients for their products because the U.S. government allows so many harmful agrochemicals to be used,” Honeycutt said in the report. Testing for the Moms Across America investigation was conducted by an accredited laboratory, Health Research Institute Laboratories. For the full glyphosate laboratory test results visit here.
About Edward & Sons
Offering a unique portfolio of plant-based, natural, sustainable and organic grocery brands since 1978, including Native Forest®, Edward & Sons, Let’s Do Organic® and more, Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc. is known for its convenient and nourishing foods that support local economies and the environment. An independently owned business based in Carpinteria, California, Edward & Sons is committed to providing health-conscious consumers “Convenience Without Compromise®.” For more information,visit www.EdwardandSons.com and follow us on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
Media Contact
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042
No Monkey Business at Edward & Sons' Native Forest® Brand
Leading Plant-Based Brand Native Forest® Assures Customers That No Monkeys Are Ever Used or Abused in Harvesting Coconuts for Its Ethically Sourced Organic Coconut Products
CARPINTERIA, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2023) – Coconuts are so delicious, healthy, nutritious – and popular – that soaring worldwide consumer demand has brought attention to the brutality of some farmers in Thailand who use – and, sadly, often abuse – endangered macaque monkeys to harvest their coconuts. As a result, PETA, the world's largest animal rights organization, is calling for industry and consumers to stop buying all coconut milk produced in Thailand, period.
“While we applaud the attention PETA brings to the issue of animal abuse,” says Joel Dee, founder of leading organic foods pioneer Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc., “a blanket boycott of all coconut products from Thailand adversely affects ethical organic farmers and producers who do not use monkey labor.”
And that includes the coconut farm in Thailand with which Dee has built a long relationship.
"When we launched Native Forest® Organic Coconut Milk in 2002, it was the first certified organic coconut milk sold in North America," Dee explains. "Over the following two decades, we have built a solid relationship with our Thai supplier partner, Sam, who has never used monkey labor on his farm.”
In addition to ethically rejecting that practice, Sam has no incentive to use monkeys. Unlike smaller-scale farmers who harvest coconuts from only a few very tall trees, Sam manages over 800 hundred acres of certified organic coconut palms. “That's a big coconut farm!" exclaims Dee.
Certified Monkey Free
"Sam relies upon hydraulic platforms that lift people to harvest the coconuts of any trees they cannot otherwise reach with cutting knives on long poles,” Dee adds. “To provide concerned consumers with added assurance, Sam's farm was inspected and certified ‘Monkey Free’ by the Thai Department of Labor under a new program launched this past year. We think it's more prudent for consumers to know the ethics and practices of the companies behind the brands they buy, rather than distrust an entire country due to the bad acts of some of its farmers."
Although Edward & Sons and their Native Forest brand use no monkey labor, Dee is concerned that efforts to stop monkey labor throughout Thailand have produced unanticipated consequences. According to a 2021 National Geographic report, PETA’s “revelations” about monkey labor prompted some coconut growers to surrender their monkeys to government-run centers or to the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand (WFFT).
Dee continues: "Edward & Sons reached out to the team at WFFT, who told us they are receiving more and more requests to rehome coconut monkeys. Unfortunately, WFFT is not always able to accept abandoned coconut monkeys, mostly due to funding constraints. Coconut monkeys do not possess social or survival skills that would allow them to be released successfully into the wild. They have often been abused and may require significant medical care. It costs money for WFFT to provide veterinary services and to build enclosures to house abandoned coconut monkeys until they are sufficiently healthy and socialized to be released into protected habitats."
Dee recognizes this can be a complicated problem to solve, saying, "On one hand, we want farmers to stop enslaving monkeys to do harvest work. On the other hand, many Thai coconut farmers bowing to pressure to stop this practice do not take responsibility for the well-being of the monkeys they no longer have a use for. Edward & Sons and our Native Forest brand are committed to stopping the enslavement of monkeys that harvest coconuts in Thailand and support a strategy that includes care for the monkeys who will be abandoned as a result of this change.”
Toward this end, adds Dee, “Edward & Sons supports the work of Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand. We encourage everyone, including our customers, our competitors and even PETA, to do the same. Our goal? A safe, responsible and humane coconut supply chain that benefits everyone and allows the wild to stay wild.”
In related news, Edward & Sons’ Let’s Do Organic brand was also recommended by PETA as a humanely produced alternative that does not employ forced monkey labor to harvest its coconut products.
Learn more about the work of the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand at www.wfft.org.
About Edward & Sons® and Native Forest®
Offering a family of plant-based, natural, sustainable and organic brands since 1978, Edward & Sons®, an independently owned business based in Carpinteria, California, is committed to providing health-conscious consumers “Convenience Without Compromise.” The Native Forest® brand was born in 1999 to introduce canned Organic Hearts of Palm, followed by Organic Coconut Milk and other nourishing foods that help support local economies and the environment. For more information, visit www.EdwardandSons.com and follow Edward & Sons on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest and Instagram.
Media Contact
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042