White Leaf Provisions, based in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, has become the first shelf-stable Glyphosate Residue Free certified baby food line in the United States.
Glyphosate is the world’s most-used weed killer (herbicide). In 2015, the World Health Organization’s cancer body IARC determined that glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans. A very well-publicized testing report by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found glyphosate in a number of popular breakfast foods and cereals marketed to children.
The Detox Project is a research and certification organization that encourages transparency in the food and supplement industries. To be certified Glyphosate Residue Free by The Detox Project, a product must have no glyphosate residues down to government-recognized limits of detection (LODs) for food samples (usually 0.01 ppm), and lower levels than default government Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in the European Union and Japan, which are the strictest MRLs in the world.
“We are happy that groups like The Detox Project exist to shed light on the dangers of glyphosate and have the ability to offer consumers peace of mind via their certification process,” said White Leaf Provisions CEO Meghan Rowe. “We, as parents and also food business owners, play a big role in terms of developing healthy and safe eating habits for kids. We see growing concerns surrounding the effects of glyphosate exposure, and we wanted to offer parents some peace of mind by partnering with the Detox Project.”
White Leaf Provisions is a family run business that has launched the first line of 100 percent regeneratively farmed, biodynamic organic baby food throughout the U.S.
“We are seeing more and more parents research and demand more purity and transparency in the food choices for their little ones. We build upon organic and GMO-free requirements by sourcing ingredients that are regeneratively farmed. The goal of biodynamic farmers is to not only avoid harming the environment, as is the case with organic agriculture, but go beyond organic requirements to regenerate the land and farm, create a diversified and balanced ecosystem in a holistic manner,” said Keith Rowe, co-founder of White Leaf Provisions.
All White Leaf Provisions baby food blends are certified by Demeter, an international certifying group for biodynamic farming and processing. The Demeter certification is the gold standard for regenerative farming and is the oldest ecological certification in the world.
White Leaf Provisions encourages parents to look beyond the standard organic and GMO-free certifications, ask more questions and demand more transparency from every aspect of foods for their kids. Its philosophy is to continue to improve upon the quality and social acceptability by bringing foods to market that have the safety and well-being of kids and the planet at the foremost of everything they do.
White Leaf Provisions was founded by the Rowes after they noticed a real lack of regeneratively farmed organic products in the U.S. Keith Rowe is an executive chef from Ireland and Meghan Rowe, being the daughter of a serial entrepreneur, were both well aware of Europe’s approach to farming.
After the birth of their son, they wanted to bring that level of purity, transparency and social accountability to baby and toddler food aisles in the U.S. Their first four baby food blends are Apple, Sweet Potato & Beet; Pear, Banana & Kiwi; Carrot Sweet Potato & Pea; and Mango, Carrot, Banana & Pear. They have additional blends being released in 2020. All baby food blends along with their biodynamic applesauce line are available at Natural Grocers and in organic and natural retail locations nationally.
