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Purchasing Policy
The guiding force behind all of our product purchasing decisions is taken directly from the Oryana Mission which is: "To provide high quality food produced in ecologically sound ways at fair value to member owners and the community." From our beginnings, Oryana has made conscious choices about the products we carry establishing a level of trust and customer satisfaction along the way. Our goal is to maintain that trust while at the same time balancing the many factors involved in making purchasing decisions.
These purchasing guidelines help us to:
- fulfill the philosophical intent of our mission statement
- meet the needs and desires of our customers (quality, variety, pricing etc.)
- return value to our membership
- evaluate the environmental, agricultural, health, and social justice issues that surround food and food production methods.
Oryana is committed to providing the best selection of high quality foods and non-food products produced in ways that have a positive influence on our health and our environment. We believe our buying decisions can strengthen our community, enhance our commitment to social justice issues and of course, delight our palates!
We choose to promote these products and production methods:
- Certified Local* Organic or Certified Local Biodynamic
- Local products and production methods that are ecologically sound
- Domestic Fair Trade Products
- Certified Fair Trade Products
- Certified Organic or Certified Biodynamic (non local)
- Certified Humane
- Other (must meet our product guidelines)
We will ensure that the non-certified organic products we carry do not knowingly:
- contain genetically modifi ed organisms (GMO's), growth hormones or antibiotics, and have not been irradiated
- contain artifi cial preservatives, additives, colorings or fl avorings
- contain synthetic pesticides, fungicides, or herbicides
- contain known harmful ingredients such as hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, nitrates or nitrites, or synthetic chemicals prohibited by the National Organic Standards Materials List
- use animals for testing purposes
We choose to emphasize products that:
- are whole or minimally processed
- come from animals that have been humanely raised in accordance with recognized standards such as the National Organic standards or the Certifi ed Humane standards
- are minimally packaged or in recyclable or returnable containers
- don't exploit people, animals or the environment
Definitions
- 'Local' is defined as the surrounding 9 county area that includes Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, and Wexford.
- 'Whole' is defined as having only one ingredient - itself.
- 'Minimally Processed' is defined as those traditional processes used to make food edible, to preserve it, or to make it safe for human consumption e.g. smoking, roasting, freezing, drying, fermenting, or those physical processes that do not fundamentally alter the raw product such as separating a whole raw product into component parts such as pressing fruit to produce juice (USDA Food Standards and Labeling Policy definition).