“We are proud to offer one of the nation’s largest lines of kosher herbs, spices, teas, and oils and we are honored to be affiliated with EarthKosher who share our philosophies concerning organic quality and the planet we all share”.
EarthKosher proudly shares the honor, in that the entire line of herbs, spices, teas, food grade oils offered by Mountain Rose Herbs have kosher certification with EarthKosher (with only a couple exclusions)- “If you have any questions… or to request a copy of our certificate, please contact regulatory@mountainroseherbs.com”.
Mountain Rose Herbs is a company that grew from the heart and ground into the amazing company they are today. Together, we can put the Earth back into Kosher!
DEDICATED TO ORGANICS
Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, “organic” isn’t just a buzzword. It’s a way of life for us and guides how we do business. We are proud of our organic commitment, which declares that no conventionally grown herb, spice, or tea will enter our facilities. As the first company in the herbal industry to take this bold stand, we remain the only one with a strict organic emphasis to this very day. We believe that when it comes to the health and wellbeing of our communities, organics should be the first and only choice.
When we review plant materials, contract with our family of farmers, or review harvesting sites, we always take the health of our customers and the environment into serious consideration. The benefits of supporting the organic movement and moving toward an organic lifestyle are immeasurable.
Here are the issues we believe are the most crucial for our society and the business community to tackle today. For food, family, and future, we encourage you to be passionately organic!
HEALTHY SOIL
Soil requires a symbiotic relationship with everything around, above, and below it, and when this relationship is harmed through chemical means, everything is altered.
Organic farming methods often involve more labor, but take far less of a toll on the environment through soil building, crop rotation, careful harvesting, assimilation of the local environment, and composting. Conventional non-organic agricultural methods require large amounts of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers, which are directly sprayed on the crops or injected into the ground. This practice destroys billions of life forms found in a simple handful of soil, stripping the land of the essential building blocks of life.
HEALTHY WATERSHEDS
No matter where you live in this world, you are part of a watershed, and that watershed has a name.
Everything you spray, grow, flush, or discard enters your watershed, contributing to the large percentage of rivers, streams, and lakes that are polluted. All of us at Mountain Rose Herbs believe that direct action is the most effective way to further protect and enhance our watersheds.
In 2009, we created the Mountain Rose River Project, a grassroots action group that is entirely coordinated and funded by Mountain Rose Herbs. Each year we manage 6-8 restoration projects that are fully staffed by paid employees who are compensated for their work through our Paid Time for Community Involvement Program. Our projects primarily focus on riparian ecosystems, stream health, and fish habitat and we work with several organizations and agencies to achieve our goal of watershed restoration, protection, and education.
HEALTHY PEOPLE
When our friends, families, and neighbors choose conventionally grown products over organic goods, our communities and the farmers who produce the food we rely on for survival are put at risk.
Through a process known as bio-accumulation, all plants absorb nutrients and matter through root uptake. Conventional non-organic farms use thousands of pounds of synthetic agricultural fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, which are absorbed by the crops they produce.
Washing your fruits and vegetables because of pesticide residue concerns is sadly pointless, as there is no way to wash away the chemicals that have been absorbed through bio-accumulation. Organic farming methods do not rely on intensive chemical applications, but rather on composting, natural fertilizers, and green amendments that contribute to healthy plant uptake, which is good for you and good for the planet!
GMOS – GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS
In addition to offering an extensive selection of certified organic herbal goods, we are also Non-GMO Project verified! The products that have been chosen for this verification are produced from plant crops that are known to be at risk of GMO contamination.
Thankfully, most herbs and spices are not in danger of industrial genetic modification, so organic certification is our go-to for insuring that our herbal goodies are grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, GMO seed stock, or irradiation. Taking this commitment one step further, we also have products verified through the Non-GMO Project!
FAIR FOR LIFE
Building friendships with organic farmers has made social equity a guiding principle at Mountain Rose Herbs since 1987. Within today’s global fair trade movement, we are honored to be certified by IMO’s Fair For Life program.
Unlike traditional Fair Trade programs that merely certify products, the Fair For Life program is much more thorough because it reviews Mountain Rose Herbs from top to bottom to evaluate and audit our working conditions, labor practices, environmental programs, social benefits, and our company’s transparency. Not only does the Fair For Life program certify our entire company, but it also reviews and monitors the origins of our products to ensure complete compliance with the program.
This allows us to re-direct a portion of every sale to agricultural communities around the world, guaranteeing that workers have rights and receive livable wages. Our direct partnership with these farms and Fair For Life also provides an opportunity for us to help improve conditions through the facilitation of important community projects.
We give thanks to the many skilled hands that work to provide our food and medicine.
We cannot imagine doing anything less.
GOOD TRADE
We have taken one additional step that goes beyond traditional Fair Trade practices through the adoption of our Good Trade Program. This program enhances the protective measures put into place for growers and harvesters. While Fair Trade programs are beneficial and important, many of them only allocate a certain percentage of the transaction to those involved with the production of goods, and this is done without direct negotiating rights being exercised by the growers. Plus, the premiums added to the products they offer are strictly determined by external market forces.
What we have developed in our Good Trade Program is a business model where the growers get full negotiation rights for the products they grow, and they in turn dictate what prices Mountain Rose Herbs shall pay for goods, and not the other way around.
When the growers set the price, we can all be assured that farming families and workers receive the financial security necessary to continue their agricultural heritage.
Good for you, good for the earth, EarthKosher.
