No Monkey Business at Edward & Sons' Native Forest® Brand

Leading Plant-Based Brand Native Forest® Assures Customers That No Monkeys Are Ever Used or Abused in Harvesting Coconuts for Its Ethically Sourced Organic Coconut Products

CARPINTERIA, Calif. (Oct. 23, 2023) – Coconuts are so delicious, healthy, nutritious – and popular – that soaring worldwide consumer demand has brought attention to the brutality of some farmers in Thailand who use – and, sadly, often abuse – endangered macaque monkeys to harvest their coconuts. As a result, PETA, the world's largest animal rights organization, is calling for industry and consumers to stop buying all coconut milk produced in Thailand, period.

“While we applaud the attention PETA brings to the issue of animal abuse,” says Joel Dee, founder of leading organic foods pioneer Edward & Sons Trading Company, Inc., “a blanket boycott of all coconut products from Thailand adversely affects ethical organic farmers and producers who do not use monkey labor.” 

And that includes the coconut farm in Thailand with which Dee has built a long relationship.

"When we launched Native Forest® Organic Coconut Milk in 2002, it was the first certified organic coconut milk sold in North America," Dee explains. "Over the following two decades, we have built a solid relationship with our Thai supplier partner, Sam, who has never used monkey labor on his farm.”

In addition to ethically rejecting that practice, Sam has no incentive to use monkeys. Unlike smaller-scale farmers who harvest coconuts from only a few very tall trees, Sam manages over 800 hundred acres of certified organic coconut palms. “That's a big coconut farm!" exclaims Dee. 

Certified Monkey Free
"Sam relies upon hydraulic platforms that lift people to harvest the coconuts of any trees they cannot otherwise reach with cutting knives on long poles,” Dee adds. “To provide concerned consumers with added assurance, Sam's farm was inspected and certified ‘Monkey Free’ by the Thai Department of Labor under a new program launched this past year. We think it's more prudent for consumers to know the ethics and practices of the companies behind the brands they buy, rather than distrust an entire country due to the bad acts of some of its farmers."

Although Edward & Sons and their Native Forest brand use no monkey labor, Dee is concerned that efforts to stop monkey labor throughout Thailand have produced unanticipated consequences. According to a 2021 National Geographic report, PETA’s “revelations” about monkey labor prompted some coconut growers to surrender their monkeys to government-run centers or to the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand (WFFT). 

Dee continues: "Edward & Sons reached out to the team at WFFT, who told us they are receiving more and more requests to rehome coconut monkeys. Unfortunately, WFFT is not always able to accept abandoned coconut monkeys, mostly due to funding constraints. Coconut monkeys do not possess social or survival skills that would allow them to be released successfully into the wild. They have often been abused and may require significant medical care. It costs money for WFFT to provide veterinary services and to build enclosures to house abandoned coconut monkeys until they are sufficiently healthy and socialized to be released into protected habitats."

Dee recognizes this can be a complicated problem to solve, saying, "On one hand, we want farmers to stop enslaving monkeys to do harvest work. On the other hand, many Thai coconut farmers bowing to pressure to stop this practice do not take responsibility for the well-being of the monkeys they no longer have a use for. Edward & Sons and our Native Forest brand are committed to stopping the enslavement of monkeys that harvest coconuts in Thailand and support a strategy that includes care for the monkeys who will be abandoned as a result of this change.”

Toward this end, adds Dee, “Edward & Sons supports the work of Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand. We encourage everyone, including our customers, our competitors and even PETA, to do the same. Our goal? A safe, responsible and humane coconut supply chain that benefits everyone and allows the wild to stay wild.”

In related news, Edward & Sons’ Let’s Do Organic brand was also recommended by PETA as a humanely produced alternative that does not employ forced monkey labor to harvest its coconut products.

Learn more about the work of the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand at www.wfft.org.

About Edward & Sons® and Native Forest®
Offering a family of plant-based, natural, sustainable and organic brands since 1978, Edward & Sons®, an independently owned business based in Carpinteria, California, is committed to providing health-conscious consumers “Convenience Without Compromise.” The Native Forest® brand was born in 1999 to introduce canned Organic Hearts of Palm, followed by Organic Coconut Milk and other nourishing foods that help support local economies and the environment. For more information, visit www.EdwardandSons.com and follow Edward & Sons on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest and Instagram.

Media Contact
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042