Photo courtesy of Edward & Sons Co.
Recently, news groups and social media posts have amplified a 2015 PETA exposé of several coconut farmers in Thailand who capture and train monkeys to assist with their coconut harvest, subjecting the animals to cruel conditions. Understandably horrified by these reports, several customers have asked if coconut milk sold under Edward & Sons’ brands (Native Forest, Let’s Do Organic, More Than Fair) may have been made from coconuts picked by monkeys. The answer is an unequivocal NO.
Although some media and special interest groups would like you to believe monkey harvesting is widespread throughout Thailand, this old-world method is only practiced by a small minority of coconut farmers in the present day, none of whom are suppliers to Edward & Sons.
We got a chance to chat with the Founder and CEO of Edward & Sons, Joel Dee to dive into their commitment to the ethical treatment of people and animals.
“We’ve worked with coconut farmers in over 4 countries and none of them utilize the practices mentioned in the PETA statement”, states Joel. “Unfortunately what tends to happen, people tend to generalize and paint a lot of the countries, particularly in Thailand, to be the culprit of this awful abuse of monkeys. Even though we source coconuts from a number of suppliers, outside of Thailand, our experience in Thailand has been nothing but excellent. None of our coconut farmers use anyone other than well-paid humans to harvest their coconuts. We don’t want people to assume every country have been doing this practice”.
The more that consumers are made aware of the source of their coconut, or any store-bought products, the more they can feel connected to the brand and their overall mission. This is the hope for Joel and the Edward & Sons team: to have an open conversation with their current and prospective consumers.
“Neither we nor our suppliers use monkeys for picking coconuts, or for any other purpose. Coconuts are picked from tall trees by human workers using sharp saws or sickles attached to very long poles. Our customers may rely upon the fact that all coconuts used in our products are sustainably sourced and ethically harvested. All work to plant, care for, harvest and process Edward & Sons food products is performed by human professionals, who are fairly paid for their labor“.
In 1978, Joel Dee created Edward & Sons from a vision of a more conscious industry that could one day reflect the products he set out to create.
After going vegetarian in his early career, Joel realized that there were many like him that needed easier, quicker staples to amplify their meals.
“I hadn’t planned to start a new business, but I felt somewhat obliged to. If I wouldn’t take on the job of creating wholesome, vegetarian convenience foods, it occurred to me that no one else would either.”
Beginning with their Miso-Cup® instant soup mix in 1978, Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc. has since been known for their vegan bouillon cubes, canned jackfruit, and plethora of canned and packaged coconut products.
“We are driven to provide new options to our health-aware consumers, while creating markets for our ethical organic farmers and packers around the globe. We’re proud of our activities that protect native forests and support conversion from conventional to organic farming, which nourishes the environment while enhancing the well-being of everyone along the supply chain from farm to table.”
All products under the Edward & Sons umbrella are defined by the company’s longstanding commitment to excellent vegetarian food and to its enduring motto: Convenience Without Compromise.®
Outside of their Cheddar Brown rice cracker, that is vegetarian, Edward & Sons is vegan. Allison Cox, VP Sales & Marketing adds, “We are in the process of finding a vegan-alternative cheese powder that activates with the ingredients in the cracker to make this product vegan and once we do we will be sure to let you know”! Though all of their other crackers are made up of fully plant-based, nutritious ingredients that stay true to their ethos of providing healthier, quick products to their consumers without the need for vast factory production or unnecessary ingredients.
Joel sums up, “We remain a vegetarian company that’s mission-driven to offer consumers delicious and nourishing convenience foods free of artificial ingredients. That’s how we’ve run the business for the past 40 years and it’s how I envision Edward & Sons to be run for the next 40 years – and beyond.”
Edward & Sons recently released a full collection of new products, including 4 New Varieties of Native Forest® Canned Jackfruit, New Line Of Organic Plant-Based Latte Instant Beverage Mixes, Three New Varieties of Gluten-Free Flours To Their Let’s Do Organic Line, Native Forest® Cashewmilk Powder, and Native Forest® Organic Turmeric Coconut Milk.
There are more new products on the horizon in the “healthy convenience food” arena that we will certainly be staying tuned in to for future fast-culinary adventures!
