Looking for a new healthy, flavor-packed, hemp and chia seed smoothie? Look no further.

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Despite 500% sales increase, leading organic chia seed brand shifts product mix to alleviate agricultural stress in South America

(Oxnard, Calif. – May 9, 2012)  Nutiva®, the world’s leading brand of organic hemp foods, coconut oil, and chia seeds, announced today its response to the worldwide shortage of organic chia due to unexpected weather conditions in South America and increased mainstream market demand.  Effective immediately, Nutiva will suspend all sales of its organic bulk 3lb and 10lb chia sizes until further notice, and will focus efforts on its 14 oz size—allowing for continued direct to consumer availability.

Organic chia, an ancient healing ingredient that is the plant world’s number-one source of omega-3, has more antioxidants than blueberries and is a good source of fiber, has seen a dramatic increase in popularity in recent months, spurred by the media’s megaphone touting its health benefits.  In the past year alone, demand for Nutiva’s organic chia seed has increased five-fold, making the company America’s fastest-growing chia seed brand and the world’s leading certified-organic chia seed brand.

Said John W. Roulac, Nutiva founder and CEO, “When we added organic chia to our superfood family 18 months ago, I did a lot of educating on its benefits and how it’s consumed, and at the time only a very small market was interested.  I don’t think anyone could have predicted the position we are in today.  The bottom line is the nascent organic chia industry in South America is quite small, and struggling to meet demand. We have to react in real time to a global problem that’s effecting farmers while continuing to sell a product without sacrificing the integrity of its ingredients.”

About 400 hectares of Peruvian chia crops were wiped out in the past few months, due to a once-in-120-years deluge that lasted well over 30 days. CEO Roulac visited this region only last December and found it dry and desolate, relying heavily upon irrigation from the mountains. And in Paraguay, last year’s crop was devastated by a killing frost, and this year’s crop yield hangs in the balance based on a possible freeze within the next 45 days.

Nutiva, who’s sales have been growing at a 42 percent annual rate since 2005, and have doubled in the past 90 days are one of few brands whose chia is certified organic.  A strong proponent of putting people before profit, Nutiva supports smaller organic farms, where the weeding is done by hand, rather than sprayed with harmful herbicides and chemical fertilizers. The company estimates it could be a year or longer before bulk shipment resumes, but is doing everything it can to shorten the timeframe.  100% of Nutiva sales are certified organic.

To learn more about Nutiva’s family of superfood, please visit: www.nutiva.com, fan them on Facebook  or follow them on Twitter

About Nutiva®
Nutiva® is dedicated to a healthy and sustainable world, demonstrating its mission to nourish people and planet by using delicious organic ingredients, enriching the soil, and donating 1 percent of sales to sustainable-agriculture groups. Founded in 1999, Nutiva is the world’s best-selling brand of nutritious organic hemp foods, extra-virgin coconut oil, and chia seeds. Its products are offered by 15,000 retailers in the United States, Canada, and the European Union, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Vitamin Shoppe, GNC, Publix, Safeway, Loblaws, and Amazon.com.

Media Contact:
Marci Mollins
marci@saegermediagroup.com
310.935.3882

*This recipe is the winner of our April 2012 Recipe Club Prize Drawing.  Jyoti N. won a $50 Nutiva Gift Certificate in our Recipe Club drawing.  Join the Nutiva Recipe Club today for a chance to win!

This month’s Recipe Club winner is a wonderful dairy and gluten-free meal that you and your family will surly enjoy!

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Directions:

While pasta is cooking (follow directions on package), put 1 Tablespoon of Nutiva Hemp Seed in Vitamix or powerful blender along with 1 cup of water and blend (approx. 45 seconds) until you get hemp milk.

Chop up 1 shallot, 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 inch of ginger. Leave for 5 minutes to enhance nutritional value.

Soak 1 cup of frozen corn in warm water to thaw.

In pressure cooker, place the garlic, 1/2 of the chopped shallot, frozen spinach and ginger to cook with 1/2 cup water and add salt to taste. Cook until spinach is tender.

In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of Nutiva Coconut Oil and saute the remaining chopped shallot. (If you like more garlic, you can saute another clove of garlic at this time.) Drain the water from the corn and add to the chopped shallot, then blend in the cooked spinach along with the hemp milk, Daiya cheese*, salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Cook for a few minutes until cheese is melted and pasta is coated with spinach and cheese sauce.

This dish has the crunchiness of the shallot and corn, accompanied by the creamy taste of cheese followed by the tartness of the lemon juice. Vegan and gluten-free.

This recipe can be modified to use real cheese and regular pasta. Bon Appetit!

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*Add cheese according to your taste (anywhere from 1 -2 cups)
Serves: 3-4

Looking for a healthy, flavor-packed, raw snack? Look no further. These Red Hot Fire cRAWkers are a great on-the-go alternative! Give them a try and tell us what you think!

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Nutiva CEO John W. Roulac just back from 10-day trip to Chia Fields in Peru and Paraguay.  John gained numerous insights into the young and growing chia industry. He will blogging on his trip and making a major Chia announcement in the next week or two.

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]]> http://nutiva.com/articles/nutiva-ceo-john-w-roulac-in-peruvian-chia-fields/feed/ 0 http://nutiva.com/articles/organic-trade-association-defends-kashi/ http://nutiva.com/articles/organic-trade-association-defends-kashi/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 14:46:01 +0000 Christopher Foley http://nutiva.com/?p=8495

7 of Kashi's products are currently non-GMO certified. Does this create an unrealistic expectation regarding many other Kashi products that are not non-GMO?

By now, you’re all likely aware of the stir caused recently when it came to light that Kashi’s “all natural” brand of cereals are (admittedly) sourced with known-GMO ingredients, a move which is not “all natural.”

From USA Today:

The controversy went viral a week ago after a Rhode Island grocer tacked a note to one of his store shelves, telling customers he wouldn’t sell the cereal because he found out the brand used genetically engineered, non-organic ingredients. Photos of the note began popping up on Facebook pages and food blogs as some consumers claimed Kellogg was misrepresenting its cereal.

(Read the rest of this article HERE.)

This situation was also covered in this excellent article from Cornucopia.org, who have also posted a Cereal Scorecard  which you can use to better inform your purchase decisions.

From Cornucopia: 

A photo of a sign explaining why Kashi cereal products were pulled from the shelves of a natural foods retailer has sparked an angry consumer backlash aimed at Kashi for its use of suspect cereal ingredients.

The sign appeared in the aisles of the Green Grocer, based in Portsmouth, R.I. Owner John Wood read a report from The Cornucopia Institute, Cereal Crimes, that detailed the use of GMO grains and the presence of pesticide residues found on conventional grains that were then packaged as “natural” cereals for sale, by Kashi, to health-conscious consumers. Kashi, one of the nation’s leading “natural” brands, owned by Kellogg, was one of the brands featured in the report. Cereal Crimes contrasts the natural cereals with certified organic cereals which prohibit genetically modified grains and synthetic pesticides in organic food production.

Now, what we want to know, is why on Earth would the Organic Trade Association rush to defend Kellogg, instead of rushing to defend Organics!

From the USA Today article:

Kellogg is not misleading people, says Barbara Haumann of the Organic Trade Association in Brattleboro, Vt. Consumers “are totally confused” and don’t understand that the only way to get organic food is to buy organic, she says.

Not misleading people?  Are you serious?

What do you think of this turn of events?  Do you believe that the FDA should be required to review the definition of the word “Natural” to prevent false advertising, and deceptive practices within the food and health industries?

Let us know in the Comments Section below!

Also, here’s Kashi’s  video response to the social media outcry.  I especially enjoy the implication that Kashi’s GMO ingredients could be the result of wind-blown contaminants.  Very classy.

These gluten free vegan Fig Newtons will put a smile on your face. Just look at how happy these little bars look to the right. Makes you want to break out the oven mitts, huh?

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This smoothie recipe is jam packed with a whole lot of healthy goodness. We recommend you rev those blenders and give this one a whirl!
Some of the ingredients might prove a little bit difficult to find, but with a little bit of effort, your search will pay off!

Ingredients:

Juice of 2 organic oranges,
1 tablespoon Nutiva Hemp Protein Powder
3/4 cup of Organic Frozen Blueberries or Superfruits
heaping teaspoon of local pollen
2 tablespoons organic flax seed oil
1 tablespoon Vintamineral Green
Handful of organic Goji Berries
1 tsp Truly Natural Vitamin C
1/4 cup raw/organic almonds or walnuts (I add these a couple times a week)

Directions:

Add all of these into a Vitamix or high-powered Blender and drink immediately.

Serves: 1

These Curried Coconut Almonds make an amazing midnight snack or an exotic salad topper. Either way these crunchy delights are a wonderful addition to the Nutiva Recipe Club.

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Impress your friends with Energizing Truffles filled with wholesome ingredients.

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