The obligatory "tear sheet"...

In the face of upload challenges, I've copied and pasted the text here. I'll let this slide down the weight-list, so as not to occupy the page space inefficiently until such time as I can resolve the upload issues, which also extend to not yet being able to upload tif files, as those may be more universally platform-friendly...

Mana Mushrooms (pronounced “mahna”, a term that means "vital life force" among many other things) embodies cutting edge systems design. The dominant market players in the US domestic mushroom business produce mostly white button mushrooms (90%+ of the market) and other agaric varieties such as crimini and portabello. We do not intend to compete with these giant “big five” firms, but to attack the niche market of exotic edible mushrooms including king oyster, shiitake, enoki, and others, perhaps including reishi in the medicinal space.

Further insulating Mana Mushrooms from direct competition from better capitalized market players is the enormous sunk infrastructure cost for cultivating agaric varieties of mushrooms: huge concrete bunkers, windrow turners, and manure cultivation, which we’re not too fond of, either.
Using a ZERI (Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives) - inspired model of systems design, Mana Mushrooms will use byproducts of production from eco-industrial partners as inputs. One such example is Westport Rivers Winery and Buzzard’s Bay Brewery, near New Bedford, MA. In addition to using the spent grain from the brewing process, we will re-use the CIP or Cleaning-In-Process, food grade chemicals used in the brewing process to sterilize our mushroom substrate. By doing so, we will reduce costs of production; in traditional models, sterilization of substrate is achieved through the use of fossil fuel inputs to heat-sterilize material inputs. Another input is grass clippings from the Marion Institute, who will also serve as a strategic partner. These clippings have been grown without chemicals or pesticides.

Mana Mushrooms intends to generate no deleterious byproducts. When this is not possible, we will innovate to develop new best practices. We are pursuing opportunities to increase our competitive advantages by considering such issues as extended producer responsibility. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is part of our business mantra.

We do not seek to be proprietary in all of our processes and innovations, in particular those that provide for the spread of sustainable agriculture. We believe that widespread adoption of such processes is not something to be protected from would-be infringers; it is important that these methods be adopted, uncompromised. The founders of Mana Mushrooms draw inspiration from thought leaders in this space, as well as well-established scientists with a firm understanding of the canonical literature Limits to Growth and Natural Capitalism, as well as Let My People Go Surfing and Cradle to Cradle are good examples of inspirational literature.

Mana Mushrooms is also pursuing opportunities to provide services to industry, large and small. For more details, including sources of information and inspiration, please visit our website at manamushrooms.com

This summary provides a relatively complete description of what I am trying to do with this site and the business.

Soil FoodWeb

OLCV

Oregon Environmental Council