As most of you have heard, we have been sadly hit with another defeat by the USDA’s recent deregulation of genetically modified Alfalfa. All of us at Mountain Rose Herbs don’t like the idea of folks in funny lab suits manipulating nature’s blueprint and for these people who have always promoted that it COULD be done, we have always retorted with SHOULD it be done.
In 1999 Mountain Rose Herbs began campaigning for mandatory labeling of genetically modified food items and at that time we had partnered with a ground breaking organization called Mothers For Natural Law. Sadly they are no longer with us but we have not stopped the fight! Currently our regulatory compliance manager Bryan Burnette has begun developing a partnership with Organic Consumers Association as the Oregon representative for the national campaign for mandatory labeling of genetically modified food crops and you can be rest assured that we have forcefully voiced our opposition to the USDA’s recent deregulation of genetically modified Alfalfa. We will continue to petition all of the agencies involved in labeling law that items which contain GMO’s be labeled as such because we firmly believe that if the American public knew what they were buying, they would not buy it all.
If nobody buys the product, we win, and they lose.
We urge you all to participate in a little action yourself and our friends at the Organic Consumers Association have created an online form which can be sent directly to the USDA. We implore you all to give up 1-2 minutes of your time to address this pressing issue and we guarantee it will make you feel good all over.
Organic cheers and good luck!
Shawn Donnille

Marke the faire blooming of the Hawthorne tree

Who finely cloathed in a robe of white,

Fills full the wanton eye with May's delight.  

~ Geoffrey Chaucer

Lip balm is truly one of the easiest and most inexpensive beauty products to create at home. Not only is crafting your own surprisingly simple, you’ll have full control over all of the ingredients and the satisfaction of knowing that you’re putting pure, natural, and organic elements on your lips! 

Back in 2001 I began the process of re-structuring Mountain Rose Herbs with an exclusive focus on certified organic materials- simply because I could not blithely ignore the harsh realities that conventional agriculture was causing to our communities, landscape, rivers and wildlife. This was a daunting task because it meant that no conventionally grown materials could enter our warehouse, which is much more difficult to enforce than you can imagine! However it fills all of us at Mountain Rose Herbs with an immense sense of pride knowing that we remain the only herbal products company that does not offer its customers conventionally grown items, nor do we allow them into our facilities.

The frosty, bloomless months of winter offer their own charms as mosses, lichens, and mushrooms pop from every moist nook under the forest canopy, but who doesn’t long for the sun filled beauty of handpicked wildflowers? The colorful blossoms of spring and summer can be enjoyed year round with one simple tool that is easily crafted during a lazy afternoon at home. 

Thanks to everyone for making our Holiday Giveaway Series so much fun! We've really enjoyed reading your stories, tips, and recipes, and hope  you're excited to be a part of our new blogging community. We have more herbal projects, recipes, videos, and contests to come!