The history of Biobites
Simone van der Heide is the founder of Biobites. For years, she suffered from various health ailments. Soon, she linked her ailments to malnutrition. She had worked for years in the hotel/catering industry and led a stressful, iregular life with lots of junkfood. No wonder she felt like this. The way back was not easy, but she came in touch with various trends like macrobiotic and ayurveda. Simone tried everything and got so inspired that she made her profession out of it, followed by various courses in nature, nutrition therapies and giving workshops in Raw and Superfoods, until she founded the Biobites brand in 2012. The slogan ‘Love Life, Go Organic’ is her glove as one of the pillars within its company is pure and organic.
With Biobites, she wants to contribute to a greater awareness of a healthy diet. For many, health food still is a bridge to far. Mostly because they believe that health food isn’t tasty. She also thinks that health food should be affordable. One of the purest forms of nutrition that Simone came across on her quest is Raw Food, food that contains a lot of nutrients and is recognized by the body and absorbed directly. Because she herself couldn’t and didn’t want to eat bread anymore, she experimented with the production of Raw Food crackers. This didn’t just please her, but also her surroundings, and she decided to shape this professionally.
The team
Producing Raw Food crackers is a lengthy and labor-intensive process. The crackers are made by hand and after 24 hours dried at a low temperature and hand-packed after. The entire production process takes place in Heerlen, southern Netherlands. Simone now works together with a team of 13 in order to be able to supply the ever increasing flow of new customers.
Why you should go organic
No chemical pesticides and artificial fertilizer, but natural resources and growth rate. As a result, vegetables and fruit absorb less water and the dry matter content is large, which leads to more vitamins and minerals, and a better taste. Animals that live on an organic farms graze outside and only get fed organic feed. This makes the meat more tender. The use of synthetic flavors or preservatives is also prohibited for other organic foods. Alternative sweeteners such as stevia, coconut blossom sugar and agave are used, and a lot of attention is paid to the use of separate grains such as quinoa, spelled and amaranth.
Organic food is a blessing for your body, because no artificial fertilizers or chemical pesticides are used, meaning that we as humans also do not get them in our body. Processing these substances, which our body does not recognize, costs a lot of energy. The nutritional value of organic products is many times higher than that of regular products. The energetic power is much higher, and if you comsume it in raw form, this power is even higher. There is not much scientific evidence, but it is very clear that milk from mothers who have been biologically fed contains more good fatty acids than mothers who haven’t done so.
Organic farmers take great care of their land. Aside from the fact that they do not use chemicals, they make sure that the soil is not exhausted. They start from the connection between plant, animal, people and environment and work with natural cycles. They use crop rotation, which means that every year a different crop grows on a piece of land. The farmers’ efforts creates a soil full of humus and microbial life. No genetically manipulated organisms are used within organic farming.
The animals on an organic farm have a fair and healthy life. They get to eat organic food, go outside regularly and have enough sunlight in their stables. No preventative use is made of antibiotics. Because a natural balance is taken into account as much as possible in their lives, they are less likely to be ill and therefore need antibiotics less quickly. Many farmers use homeopathic medicine if an animal becomes ill. In addition, farmers often take into account the races they choose. There are breeds that have a good resistance to diseases, and are more comfortable at giving birth than others.
Organic agriculture has a major impact on the environment and climate worldwide. Aside from that, it has repercussions on the life of farmers throughout the world. According to a report made by 400 international scientists, agriculture that is small-scale, multifunctional and sustainable is the best guarantee to ensure food and income for people worldwide.
Organic farming is not based on large-scale production. It takes the carrying capacity of the earth into account. A study shows that organic agriculture stores 23% more carbon than conventional agriculture. It can then also slow down climate change, and deal with the consequences better.