Having several relatives who will only eat 'organic' or 'home grown' foods, I always ask them why. They invariably answer that the USDA allows all sorts of things into our food, and that you cannot trust the big food corporations and that you can most certainly not trust the USDA as it is a tool of the big money and big food.

However, when I turn around their organic milk carton and show them the 'USDA Approved Organic' and ask them why they can trust the USDA to certify the safety of their 'organic' foods as opposed to 'non-organic' foods, they have no answer.

As long as this culture stands for having what you want when you want it, prioritizing convenience over actual nutrition, it doesn't matter what is on the box, the box is what is wrong. Its all old food from far away.

Amen.

I am John Foraker, CEO of Annie's. Since no one even bothered to contact us to get the facts straight before this story was published, we decided to send the following letter to the Editor at Salon earlier this afternoon to do that. Thanks for listening to our POV on this subject, we appreciate the opportunity to get the facts straight...

In Anastacia Marx de Salcedo’s Jan. 30 article, “The bunny vs. the blue box,” the “aspiring bad girl of American food writing” mocks everything about Annie’s Homegrown. For Annie’s lovers who may have read this story, the folks here want to clarify a few points and inaccuracies.

It’s true that Annie’s Homegrown founder, Annie Withey, successfully launched and later sold SmartFood. It’s also true that instead of retiring, she set out to create a new product that would offer a convenient alternative to artificially flavored mac & cheese. The result? Annie’s totally natural mac & cheese. Annie also saw this as a chance to create a different kind of company, one that was (and still is!) committed to operating in an environmentally sustainable manner and raising awareness among its customers and others about keeping our planet healthy. From partnering with NativeEnergy to offset our carbon dioxide emissions to offering scholarships to students studying environmental sciences, we remain dedicated to mindful stewardship of our earth.

It is also accurate to say that Annie’s is a convenience food. We’ve never claimed to be anything different, nor have we ever implied that our mac & cheese is better than making something homemade. But when grating cheese and making a béchamel isn’t an option, Annie’s offers a high-quality, delicious dinner that doesn’t contain any weird preservatives, colors or flavors. Our real, straight-from-nature ingredients are what differentiate Annie’s mac & cheese from other conventional brands.

In fact, while well-known conventional brands contain yellow dyes No. 5 and No. 6, sodium tripolyphosphate and more than 20 ingredients, Annie’s mac & cheese contains nine all-natural ingredients, no artificial colors and no synthetic chemicals ¬–– no weird stuff. Because we use real cheese in our products, our mac & cheese is delicious without requiring the addition of butter. On our product boxes we recommend using lowfat milk for the healthiest product that, when prepared, contains fewer calories (280), less total fat (4 g) and less sodium (550 mg) than Kraft, which can contain up to 380 calories, 15 grams of fat and 740 milligrams of sodium per serving.

And speaking of healthy, Annie’s has offered a certified organic line since 1998, not because we “felt the gentle wind of organics.” Rather, we honestly believe organic agriculture practices and products are better for us and better for the earth. We’re pretty proud of the fact that we’ve recently transitioned all of the pasta in our natural line to certified organic. We see this as a responsible step toward offering an even better product for consumers and for the environment.

While we would have liked to offer all organic ingredients from the start, the supply simply wasn’t available from the sources we value. We care a great deal about how we source our ingredients and so we choose family farmers as those who grow our wheat and produce our cheese.

And finally, Bernie, the Rabbit of Approval, was Annie’s real pet rabbit – not a fabricated creation developed by a marketing company. In fact, Annie’s brother, Bruce Withey drew the quirky, smiling sketch for the first box of Annie’s mac & cheese.

We’re proud Annie’s Homegrown has found a special place in the hearts and kitchens of our loyal consumers. Adults and kids love Annie’s products and Bernie because they are authentic and natural. Despite her cynicism, we’re happy to know that we’re still a staple in Ms. Marx de Salcedo’s cupboard.

Sincerely,

John Foraker, CEO, Annie’s Homegrown

John Foraker,

Appreciate your response. Your letter should be red-starred and your response posted as a Salon article, with the same prominence as the original article on your product. It's truly unfortunate the writer, Anastacia Marx de Salcedo, didn't even contact you for comment. Shameful really.

If Salon doesn't prominently display your response, it'll show real cowardice and lack of ethics on Salon's part.

I also thought the article was a mean spirited hit-piece and reflected poorly on Salon, not your products.

Obviously Annie's mac and cheese is a convenience product from a conscientious maker with the merits you cited. Especially considering Kraft is owned by Phillip Morris, and you could hardly find a more socially irresponsible conglomerate for comparison.

PS, I've mostly cut out pastas from my diet. But I used to eat your herbal white sauce M&C maybe once a month for a quick meal, with tunafish, veggies, and added cheese. With a salad it made a pretty decent quick meal. I certainly appreciated a conscientious choice.

PPS, it's also a camping favorite.

In Anastacia Marx de Salcedo’s Jan. 30 article, “The bunny vs. the blue box,” the “aspiring bad girl of American food writing” mocks everything about Annie’s Homegrown. For Annie’s lovers who may have read this story, the folks here want to clarify a few points and inaccuracies.

It’s true that Annie’s Homegrown founder, Annie Withey, successfully launched and later sold SmartFood. It’s also true that instead of retiring, she set out to create a new product that would offer a convenient alternative to artificially flavored mac & cheese. The result? Annie’s totally natural mac & cheese. Annie also saw this as a chance to create a different kind of company, one that was (and still is!) committed to operating in an environmentally sustainable manner and raising awareness among its customers and others about keeping our planet healthy. From partnering with NativeEnergy to offset our carbon dioxide emissions to offering scholarships to students studying environmental sciences, we remain dedicated to mindful stewardship of our earth.

It is also accurate to say that Annie’s is a convenience food. We’ve never claimed to be anything different, nor have we ever implied that our mac & cheese is better than making something homemade. But when grating cheese and making a béchamel isn’t an option, Annie’s offers a high-quality, delicious dinner that doesn’t contain any weird preservatives, colors or flavors. Our real, straight-from-nature ingredients are what differentiate Annie’s mac & cheese from other conventional brands.

In fact, while well-known conventional brands contain yellow dyes No. 5 and No. 6, sodium tripolyphosphate and more than 20 ingredients, Annie’s mac & cheese contains nine all-natural ingredients, no artificial colors and no synthetic chemicals -- no weird stuff. Because we use real cheese in our products, our mac & cheese is delicious without requiring the addition of butter. On our product boxes we recommend using lowfat milk for the healthiest product that, when prepared, contains fewer calories (280), less total fat (4 g) and less sodium (550 mg) than Kraft, which can contain up to 380 calories, 15 grams of fat and 740 milligrams of sodium per serving.

And speaking of healthy, Annie’s has offered a certified organic line since 1998, not because we “felt the gentle wind of organics.” Rather, we honestly believe organic agriculture practices and products are better for us and better for the earth. We’re pretty proud of the fact that we’ve recently transitioned all of the pasta in our natural line to certified organic. We see this as a responsible step toward offering an even better product for consumers and for the environment.

While we would have liked to offer all organic ingredients from the start, the supply simply wasn’t available from the sources we value. We care a great deal about how we source our ingredients and so we choose family farmers as those who grow our wheat and produce our cheese.

And finally, Bernie, the Rabbit of Approval, was Annie’s real pet rabbit – not a fabricated creation developed by a marketing company. In fact, Annie’s brother, Bruce Withey drew the quirky, smiling sketch for the first box of Annie’s mac & cheese.

We’re proud Annie’s Homegrown has found a special place in the hearts and kitchens of our loyal consumers. Adults and kids love Annie’s products and Bernie because they are authentic and natural. Despite her cynicism, we’re happy to know that we’re still a staple in Ms. Marx de Salcedo’s cupboard.

Sincerely,

John Foraker, CEO, Annie’s Homegrown, Napa, Calif.