Eden Foods is the oldest natural and organic food company in North America, and the largest remaining independent manufacturer of dry grocery, organic food. We are the major purveyor of Japanese traditional, macrobiotic foods.
Eden Foods began in southern Michigan in the late 1960s amongst friends sourcing natural food. They were youths, motivated by study of the worldwide phenomenon known as macrobiotics: the centering of one’s eating around whole grain and seasonal local plant foods that are not adulterated by toxic chemicals or nutrient depleted.
Natural foods were simply not available at the time, so an Eden Foods Co-op was started to acquire them. Initial $200 orders to Erewhon in Boston and Chico-san in California were well received and caused a local stir. This led to co-op members traveling rural roads, knocking on doors, looking for farmers to grow food using organic methods. In 1972 Eden opened its first warehouse and established relations with artisan Japanese traditional food makers. Imports of sea vegetables, teas, miso, shoyu, umeboshi plums, kuzu root starch, rice vinegar, rice bran pickles, mirin, etc. followed. This solidified Eden as an important natural food source for the United States and Canada.
