Turtle Island Foods facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Turtle Island Foods

Industry	Food products
Founded	1980 in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Founder	Seth Tibbott
Headquarters	Hood River, Oregon , United States
Areas served	United States, Canada
Key people	Jaime Aithos (CEO)
Products	Meat analogue roasts (Tofurky) tempeh
Revenue	$14 million (2011)

Turtle Island Foods is an American company that makes delicious plant-based foods. They are famous for their "Tofurky" products. These are popular choices for people who want to eat less meat, or who are vegetarian or vegan. All of their products are vegan, meaning they don't use any animal products at all. Many of their foods are also certified kosher. Turtle Island Foods was the first company in the United States to have its products approved by The Vegan Society in the United Kingdom!

How Turtle Island Foods Started

The company's name, Turtle Island Foods, comes from an old legend. This story is shared by Native American and First Nations people. The legend says that when the Earth was covered in water, a turtle offered its shell as a home for land animals. This shell then became North America. Because of this, many Native American and First Nations groups call the continent "Turtle Island."

Turtle Island Foods began in 1980 in Forest Grove, Oregon. The company wanted to "create delicious, nutritious, convenient, and affordable vegetarian food." It was started by a person named Seth Tibbott. He began by making a food called tempeh for his friends and family. Seth Tibbott was inspired to create meat substitutes after he became a vegetarian in college.

Growing the Company

Seth Tibbott said that the first twenty years of his company were not easy. He even built tree houses on a neighbor's land to rent out for extra money. This helped him earn more income. With help from his family, Seth Tibbott slowly grew his company. Today, it is the second largest tempeh producer in the United States.

The company created its most famous product, Tofurky, in 1995. They first sold it in local markets in Portland, Oregon. During the Thanksgiving holiday in 1995, the company sold 500 Tofurky roasts. In the early 2000s, the company started to grow a lot. In 2006, they shipped a record-breaking 201,108 Tofurky roasts! This was a big increase from the year before.

In 2008, Turtle Island Foods became a sponsor of the Humane Society of the United States. They were the first food company to do this in the society's history. In 2011, the company announced plans to build a new factory in Hood River, Oregon. This new factory cost $10 million. It was designed to be very environmentally friendly. The new 33,000 square foot factory opened in October 2012.

Caring for Our Planet

Turtle Island Foods cares a lot about the environment. Since 1995, they have worked hard to avoid GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). These are plants or animals that have had their genes changed in a lab. Much of what the company makes is organic. This means it is grown without harmful chemicals. Turtle Island Foods is certified by Oregon Tilth, which checks if food is organic.

The company uses tofu that comes from 100% organically grown soybeans. All their products are made in their own factory. A group called the Green Stars Project gave Tofurky 5 out of 5 green stars. This was for their good social and environmental impact.

Turtle Island Foods also avoids food ingredients made with a chemical process called hexane solvent extraction. Instead, they choose ingredients made with a safer method called expeller pressing.

Since 2005, Turtle Island Foods has bought all its electricity from the Blue Sky renewable energy project. This project uses clean energy sources like wind and solar power. All their paper packaging is recycled. Also, a part of the money from Tofurky sales each year is given to an environmental charity.

Products You Can Find

Turtle Island Foods makes many different plant-based products. Here are some of them:

See also

• List of meat substitutes
• List of vegetarian and vegan companies
• List of companies based in Oregon