RICHMOND, British Columbia, March 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Making good on his father’s legacy to leave the earth better than he found it, Nature’s Path Founder Arran Stephens is proud to announce that his family’s Legend Organic Farm is the largest organic farm in the world to obtain Regenerative Organic Certification® from the Regenerative Organic Alliance (ROA).
In 2017, the Stephens’ purchased the 5,000 acre farm near Duck Mountain, Saskatchewan, Canada. They enlisted 25-year organic agriculture industry expert Stuart McMillan to help design and implement pilot programs for regenerative organic practices.
“At the heart of Nature’s Path is a vision to build a food movement that moves us towards healing the soil, land, water, air and all of us who rely on the health of the planet.” says Arran. “In earning this certification, we celebrate our partnership with ROA as we continue to move towards this goal.”
Regenerative organic agriculture is a holistic system that goes above and beyond traditional organic certification requirements. The practice aims to sequester carbon through a combination of techniques including cover crops, soil maintenance, reduced tillage frequency, adoption of new weed control tools, increased plant diversity, and soil testing. Sequestering carbon into the soil could dramatically impact the course of climate change.
“Nature’s Path has long been an industry leader with the same mindset as the ROA in farming and producing food like the world depends on it, and we’re thrilled to be working with the company and their farmers on the journey to a regenerative organic future. As the largest farm in our Pilot Program, it’s even more exciting to see them earn ROC Silver for their oats—as a company, they’re proving that we can scale this movement. “says Elizabeth Whitlow, Executive Director of ROA.
Arran and his life-partner Ratana have long believed in the power of organic food and farming, and they have made it their life’s mission to help build this movement. They are the recipients of numerous national and international awards and their company, Nature’s Path, is now the world’s largest organic breakfast food cereal company.
With the Stephens’ children stepping in as second-generation leaders of the family-owned company, Nature’s Path continues to champion better environmental practices and greater production transparency.
“It can no longer be denied that our survival depends on shifting our current conventional agriculture model towards the types of organic practices that nurture and support nature’s holistic system health”, says Jyoti Stephens, Nature’s Path Vice President of Mission and Strategy. “We want our products to be healthy for our customers, but also for our farmers, our world, and ultimately to our shared future.”
With the harvest from their own certified Regenerative Organic Farm, Nature’s Path will be launching a limited-edition oat product, the first of its kind in the world.
ABOUT NATURE’S PATH FOODS
Nature’s Path Organic Foods, is a family-owned company, producing USDA, Canadian and UK Soils Association Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified breakfast and snack foods sold in grocery and natural food stores in over 50 countries around the world. Committed to the triple bottom line— socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and financially viable, Nature’s Path works diligently to support communities and champion the cause of people and planet. Brands include Nature’s Path®, Love Crunch®, Qi’a®, Que Pasa®, Flax Plus®, and EnviroKidz®. Founded in 1985, Nature’s Path is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia and employs hundreds of valued team members at its four facilities in Canada and the United States. Visit http://www.naturespath.com or follow on Twitter @NaturesPath and Instagram @NaturesPathOrganic.
Press Contact
Jemma Somervail, (604) 356-4136, JSomervail@naturespath.com
Sarah Kassel, (213) 716-3163, np@praytellagency.com
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