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Our Operational Sustainability Commitment

Sustainability matters to our planet and your customers.

Growing With Sustainability in Mind

Monterey Mushrooms has an unwavering purpose — We Enhance People’s Life. That belief extends beyond what we do; it’s also the foundation of how we grow with sustainability in mind.

With decades of hands-on experience on our farms and a mature business approach, Monterey Nutra is committed to protecting natural resources, employing sustainable farming practices, and developing our workforce with integrity.

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Consumer attitudes towards sustainability have evolved. Today, consumers back their concerns about using, protecting, and sustaining natural resources with their wallets. Here are a few significant statistics to consider from a recent McKinsey & Company survey:

  • 66% of all respondents and 75% of millennial respondents consider sustainability when making a purchase.
  • 85% of consumers have become “greener” in their purchasing in recent years.

Most importantly, 57% of consumers are willing to change their purchasing habits to help reduce negative environmental impact.

As a manufacturer or formulation company, you’ve had your journey to a better tomorrow for our planet and your customers. Interested in learning how our commitment to sustainability can be good for you?

More Than Just Sustainable Farming Practices

We believe that operational sustainability should play a starring role in our nutraceutical story. From substrate to shipment, Monterey Nutra is the leading source of sustainable, functional mushrooms. Here’s why:

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Mushroom Substrate Management


At Monterey Nutra, we cultivate mushrooms on substrates composed of renewable compost, hardwood, or sorghum. Our White and Brown mushrooms grow on compost sourced from regionally available post-consumption products such as racehorse bedding, straw, and nitrogen sources. For specialty mushrooms, we rely on sorghum harvested from small, organic family-owned farms or lumber industry hardwood sawdust waste, saving it from being dumped in landfills.

Resource Efficiency

Mushrooms require very little water compared to other crops — and we grow them on solar-powered farms for energy efficiency — but we take proactive steps to use resources wisely. Because we only source materials locally or nationally, the “food miles” associated with our mushroom powders and extracts are lower than other “Made in the USA” products that start life overseas. We also collect rainwater for compost production and divert runoff to be reused repeatedly during that process.

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Waste Management


Let’s get back to compost. Each year, Monterey produces well over 200M pounds of compost as mushroom substrate, which we actively manage. After harvest, we have what we call “spent” mushroom substrate. Although we can’t reuse it on our farms, it still retains a lot of life in it as soil amendment. We pair it with nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, and slow-release nitrogen, to serve as soil amendment for row crop farming or landscaping purposes.

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Packaging

Monterey Mushrooms is a proud member of the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Sustainability Committee, where we promote a shared vision: sourcing sustainable, domestically-produced, and recyclable packaging. Recently, we invested in innovative technologies by incorporating near-infrared (NIR) sortable material into our recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (rPET) thermoformed tills to ensure packaging can be properly sorted and recycled into new products.

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Growing People


Sustainable businesses protect all resources; in our business, this translates into protecting the human rights of every single member of our team across all our operations. Read our Forced Labour in Canadian Supply Chains Report for more information on how we protect our workers.

Our Nutraceutical Story

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Growing Nutraceutical Mushrooms

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SEE HOW WE GROW

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