This is the creek on our farm carrying pristine water flowing down from the neighboring National Park that we use to grow our medicinal mushrooms.
The source of water used in mushroom farming (or any farming enterprise) is directly linked to human health i.e. via what you are ingesting.
Because we're passionate about what we do and being transparent in the process, we think this is important information to share.
Did you know 85% of medicinal (adaptogenic) mushroom companies in the US import their mushrooms from China. The statistics are similar for Australia too.
FUN FACT: Mushrooms are around 80-90% water!
Which is why their water source matters.
A study by the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection found that 60% of the groundwater in China is either "bad" or "very bad".
[I've been to many agricultural and horticultural enterprises in China and the water did not look like our creek water.] When I was there, I used bottle water to drink and brush my teeth.
Which leads me to ask... Do you know the Country of Origin of the medicinal mushrooms product/s you're using?
Not to confuse "Made in Australia" (which is a product that can simply be assembled here using imported ingredients) for "Country of Origin".
Go for a dig (which on many medicinal mushroom product websites, you need to dig REALLY deep) and identify where the mushrooms contained within your product are from/grown.
If there is no country of origin, which is becoming more common the more popular these types of products become, chances are... they are mushroom components (e.g. powders or liquids) imported from China.
Some Australian-owned medicinal mushroom powders from China were lab tested, with results showing toxic levels of lead, arsenic and other heavy metals.
Nowadays it's easy for anyone to start-up a company, design a fancy brand (on Canva), craft a witty brand story (usually fictional or extremely embellished) and import cheap ingredients that get labelled "Made in Australia", or the US etc.
And just because the label states 'certified organic' doesn't mean it is either. Nearly 100% of imported medicinal mushrooms ingredients from China are certified organic (by their own say so).
According to a report by The New York Times, China has a rampant problem with fake organic certificates.
But organic certifications and labels are another post for another day.
Fortunately, as consumers, we get to prioritise the provenance of what we consume, for our own health and the future of our environment.
Thanks for reading!
Vanessa Lahey Copyright 2024