Frequently Asked Questions: CORE Foods

Why is your business so different?
We believe that healthy food is a human right and we strive to separate food from profit in the way we do business. We developed the Golden Rule standards because we believe that using them to run a business creates a community where we work for the benefit of everyone, not for profit.

Yeah, but what does that look like in practice?
Our business runs on Zero Percent Financial Return. That means that any profit we make beyond our costs of doing business has to be reinvested in food quality, community, and the planet. That gives us a strong incentive to internalize all of our costs. We spend the money to make sure we are on the cutting edge of sustainability, have happy, healthy employees, and produce the highest quality product. (For more information about why internalized costs are so important, please watch Anne Leonard's Story of Stuff video below.) We're not the only ones who think doing better things with profit is the coolest. We'd like to recognize these companies and these individuals for their commitments as well.

Why do you cap salaries at the industry average?
We feel that the success of our company is built just as much by the commitment of our consumers, and all the great people that got us here, as it is about our hard work. We deserve to be compensated for our talents and efforts, but we believe success should be shared. Excessive wealth goes hand in hand with poverty, and the suffering of both conditions is great. We find true happiness in taking only what we need and giving all that we can.

Why do you insist on paying living wages?
Every person deserves the right to healthy food, clean water, a safe home, and the opportunity to follow their bliss. Sometimes minimum wages are not enough for workers to be able to have all these things in the same area they work. We know that our employees are our most important investment and we want to make sure they have a strong foundation on which to succeed.

Are you carbon neutral?
Yes. First we reduce our emissions as much as possible through actions like keeping our ingredients sourced locally, working towards closed loop production, and avoiding excess waste and energy use. We offset the remaining emissions through CarbonFund.org.
We take it one step father by using ingredients whose farming practices have the lowest emissions:

Are you Made in the USA? 
Yes. Every aspect of CORE products from ingredients to packaging to labor is sourced from great partners within the United States. We believe in the visionary model of this country and choose to vote with our dollar for continued leadership in human rights, environmental protection, and peace.

You didn't answer my question! How can I add to this list?
We are serious about our transparency. Please e-mail info@corefoods.com and we'll post an answer as soon as we can.

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