With the increasing consumption of one-use plastics, the level of pollution on Earth is increasingly at a worrying rate. Food production can affect the natural humane ecological environment. Moreover, food is associated with harmful preservatives and additives that can adversely affect our bodies. All these things jointly contribute to unsustainable food production and a vulnerable world. That’s why Mekhala is committed to producing sustainable food and contribute as much as we can to the well-being of Mother Earth. Our vegan products are more sustainable and we try our best to minimize the waste materials. Here’s how.
What is sustainable food?
Sustainable food must be healthy for its consumers and also beneficial for its manufacturers. The production or cultivation process shouldn’t harm the economy, society, and the wellbeing of any of the stakeholders.
In addition, sustainable food is meant to be eco-friendly and doesn’t support the destructive use of natural resources and unethical action toward animals.The human need for food and adequate nutrition should also be met through the systematic production of plants and animals. If the foods we consume conform to this set of criteria, they can be labeled as sustainable foods.
Having said this, we want to add that this is not a universal model to define sustainable food. The definition and the needs may change as per the given community.
How we grow sustainable vegan products
Now that you know what sustainable food means, the next question is “How do you grow sustainable products?”
We develop the recipes of our sauces and pastes in our own facility under the close supervision of our expert team. We source each ingredient from the local farmers who have been trained to cultivate the land in organic ways. We consider the health of the soil and use as few pesticides and synthetic fertilizers as possible. Our prime concern is to conserve natural resources and make the best and efficient use of water, soil, air, minerals, and plants.
Thus, we take pride in our all-natural, organic, gluten-free, and completely vegan foods that ensure our customers get the best product. At Mekhala, we continuously work to help our community, local farmers and, to a great extent, this planet. That’s how we give something back to the planet and grow sustainable vegan products without the mistreatment of animals.
How we reduce waste materials
The secret to reducing waste is to simply not create waste in the first place. In other words, producing exactly the amount we need and no more.
We implement this idea when producing the ingredients of our products with the help of local farmers. We estimate our needs minutely and provide the data to our partner farmers so that they can produce only the required amount of ingredients. Therefore, we don’t have to waste the ingredients on a large scale.
Another important thing we do is to make full use of the ingredients we purchase. For example, for our Organic Red Curry Paste and Organic Green Curry Paste, we use coriander root to add an earthy depth to the flavor. However, we realised we were wasting the leaves and stalks. That is why we developed our Organic Coriander Ginger Sauce and Organic Issan Thai Coriander Chilli Sauce to both utilise the plant effectively and to provide more tasty Asian sauces and flavors!
How we eliminate plastics and recycle our boxes
In this era of excessive plastic uses, it’s quite difficult to use disposable bags and packets. Besides, these disposable items are also thrown out to the garbage after its one-time use. So, the wisest way to reduce plastic waste is to buy reusable items.
For this reason, we pack all our products in glass jars instead of plastic bottles. These beautifully designed glass bottles take a permanent place in the kitchen of the buyers. They use them for years as a handy container to store spices, salt, sugars, and more. Furthermore, we deliver the products to the sellers and buyers in boxes. If we have any extra boxes, we sell them to rag and bone companies. In this manner, we recycle the boxes and avoid using plastics at every phase of the production of our sauces.
Mekhala: breaking stereotypes about Asian foods
Asian foods are famous worldwide for the taste but they’re often regarded as cheap and unhealthy. Mekhala came into the scene to break this stereotype and establish a food production facility that ensures both the deliciousness and nutrition of the foods it produces. Here at Mekhala, we use premium, healthy, naturally sourced ingredients like Himalayan pink salt, coconut sugar and other organic ingredients cultivated in our locality. All of Mekhala’s products are made from fresh raw materials maintaining meticulous hygiene. These products can improve your health and promote mindfulness when it comes to what we put into our bodies.
Why we focus on plant-based ingredients
Plant-based meals are good for both the health of an individual and the planet. The less we consume animal meats the less we’ll leave our carbon footprints. In addition to that, foods that are made with plant-based ingredients come with a lot of health benefits reducing the risk of heart disease, obesity, stroke, diabetes and more. Eating too much meat is sometimes associated with different kinds of cancer.
Some people have a misconception that it’s not possible to get the required amount of protein from plant-based diet, which is not entirely correct. Tofu, quinoa, asparagus, broccoli, spinach, corn, sweet potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, mushrooms, and beans are packed with healthy proteins that can substitute meat protein easily and efficiently. They will provide you with great taste along with plenty of protein. All you need to do is combine the right ingredients as per the right recipe to get a delicious meal full of proteins.
Our products can help you greatly in this regard. You can use our healthy and mindfully produced vegan products with your recipe to make the best of a meatless meal full of nutrition and proteins.
Why we avoid refined sugar, nuts, and gluten
Sugar is a regular ingredient in our kitchen and we consume it in many ways starting from the morning to the late night. The most dangerous thing about sugar is that we think it’s harmless and never limits its uses. The reality is sugar comes with many medical conditions and health issues and it is extremely addictive. The side effects of sugar deserve much attention than they get now. Refined sugar is harmful for many reasons. Here are the major takeaways:
Sugars only add value to the calories you intake without contributing much to the daily nutrient needs.
– Sugar intrigues the brain to release dopamine that causes addiction in the long run
– High-fructose sugar is converted to fatty acids that may cause liver disease
– Eating sugar increases insulin level and may cause insulin resistance
Nuts and glutens aren’t bad, but they’re highly allergic. In addition, you’ll never know if you are susceptible to such allergies until you get affected by one. That’s why we prefer to stay on the safe side and don’t include nuts or glutens on our list of ingredients. Tree nuts rank on the top ten list of worst allergens and gluten is really dangerous for people with celiac diseases and gluten sensitivity. There is a little confusion as to whether coconut is considered as tree nut or not. FDA has labeled it as an allergen in 2006 and further studies have proved that people with tree nut allergies can safely consume coconut-based products. That’s why we use coconut sugar and exclude other types of refined sugar.
Mekhala not only produces good food but also ensures good working conditions for its employees. It creates great sustainable products in organically, minimizing potential health and environmental hazards. Making a profit isn’t the sole aim here, rather we feel the responsibility towards the society we belong to and the planet we live in. You can become a part of this progressive journey by buying any product that’s #MadewithMekhala and contribute to the welfare of your health, other stakeholders of Mekhala, as well as every other living creature out there.