The agriculture industry is broken. The farmers in Latin America that grow the foods we consume to nourish our bodies are as poor as ever. Marketing and “greenwashing” by companies–big and small–will let consumers believe that things are changing. While there are some success stories, farmers in Latin America are amongst the poorest 1% in the world.
Their communities are being poisoned with chemicals for the purpose of growing more volume, rather than better quality.
Rather than put a bandaid on it on these issues, we work every day to redefine and shift the industry. We communicate with producers almost daily, we visit them constantly, we seek better ways to grow organic products, better ways to finance the supply chain, more efficient ways to ship their products, and the most efficient way to run our business. We don’t do these things for PR or marketing. We do them because we believe that it’s our obligation for future generations of farmers–and consumers.

The solution isn’t as simple as paying farmers a few cents more. It’s about treating our farmers as EQUAL PARTNERS and empowering them through communication and cooperation. It’s about “trimming the fat” in the agribusiness supply chain to create more value for farmers and for consumers–all while obsessively focusing on quality.