Chatting with
Ann Barnes
is a real eye opener into the world of food, health, and business. With
a background in law, she’s always had the tendency to ask questions.
Already an ethical and healthy vegetarian since age 18, when her
interest in food grew further she started digging, and became shocked
with the misinformation spread by the food industry.
After investing in a health food company a few years prior, the
opportunity to run the company full-time with her husband Mark arose,
and Ann was able to realize her passion for sharing and eating wholesome
food. Their business,
Mum’s Original, sells natural and organic products like hemp hearts, chia, goji berries, and cacao.
Ann’s personal research sheds some light on why foods today can be
unhealthy and even cause intolerances. Milk, for example, starts out
nutritionally dense, but loses these qualities in processing. The same
is true with other foods which are mass produced and where corners are
cut, or modifications have taken the place of the natural ingredient.
“Even with gluten, the reality is that what our grandparents used to
eat was grown with heirloom seeds passed down for generations,” said
Ann, “Since then wheat has been modified scientifically to increase
levels of gluten for a stickier consistency, which we’re raised to think
is a good thing.”
So, we now eat different foods, and ones made cheaply, so you pay
for food but aren’t getting the same amount of nutrients. The sticker
price is a fake deal. Ann dedicates her life to selling
nutritionally-dense foods, and educating people on how to make simple
changes that can help people take charge of their health.
The super foods Mum’s sells are not only super healthy, what makes
her company even more interesting is where they get them from.
Outside of big food chains, Mum’s works with independent growers who
have significant expertise in what they do. They work with farms and
co-operatives in Canada and abroad, and support them to grow and produce
the best food naturally.
In a region of The Philippines lies one of their partner co-ops in
which Ann says the best variety of cacao (where chocolate comes from)
was brought to 400 years ago. The standards in this area are higher than
in other countries they could source from, and they work with the
growers and local authorities to ensure fair wages and good working
conditions. They use stone milling and natural fermentation to bring out
the nutrients and avoid heavy metal contamination before it arrives on
store shelves.
“Respecting how we see growers, it changes the food,” Ann said.
“With our support they can make the right investments, and make the
products better while sustaining their livelihoods.”
Ann’s focus is on educating other women, because she sees that they
are often still the main caregivers for children, partners, and elders.
“Women prepare information and make choices for their homes. They
want real information and not to be lied to so they can make good
choices for their families,” she said.
Darcy Higgins is the director of Food Forward and writes a monthly column on the food movement. If you have questions you'd like to see Darcy address, drop him a line.
