OTA.COM 7 ORGANIC PIONEER MAYRA VELAZQUEZ DE LEON Organics Unlimited Mayra Velazquez de Leon co-founded Organics Unlimited in 2000, but her connection to organic has been with her from the very beginning. Over 50 years ago, Mayra’s father Carlos Cortez became the first commercial organic grower to bring organic bananas to the U.S. Carlos’ bananas were so delicious that customers began asking how on earth he was able to produce such fruits. The secret? Organic production methods, which Carlos had learned from his father, that leveraged local resources and abstained from harmful pesticides or other supplements. That client helped Carlos to expand his organic business, and in 1972, he brought it and his family to the United States. Led by her love for organic tropical fruit and her pioneering spirit, Mayra worked hard to build on her father’s legacy. With the founding of Organics Unlimited in 2000, Mayra would successfully grow the family business into what is today—the largest family-run organic banana company in the country. Organics Unlimited offers Cavendish bananas, plantains, and coconuts sourced from sustainably operated organic farms across Mexico and Ecuador. In addition to investing in environmental sustainability by growing only organic tropical fruits, Mayra and Organics Unlimited also believe in investing in their workers. Organics Unlimited launched GROW in 2005 as a social responsibility initiative to help poverty-stricken banana-growing regions in Mexico and Ecuador. Over the past 15 years, GROW has provided nearly $3 million in support for education and health initiatives, micro-businesses and environmental programs, as well as disaster relief efforts. In 2021, Organics Unlimited added a Fair-Trade Certified label to its lineup as an additional way the company could support sustainable prices for farmers and healthy farming communities. Under Mayra’s direction, Organics Unlimited has grown into a company able to care for its customers and its workers even through the most challenging times. “These are among the hardest years we’ve encountered due to the international supply chain obstacles and the issue of fair pricing for bananas,” says Mayra. “That being said, the biggest asset that has gotten us through is our community. We are evidence of what is possible when a community comes together and aligns to contribute to a food system that is good for our environment and fair to the people who grow our food.” OTA is proud to have members like Mayra and Organics Unlimited who see organic not only as a climate-smart agricultural system, but also as a community. A communitycentric approach is critical to the growth of not only our association, but of the organic industry at-large. “We can be crazy enough to change the world,” says Mayra. “Organic is the work of many people leaving their sweat in the ground, investing in natural inputs to protect our environment and our future generations. Being part of OTA is important to the work we do because it gives us a collective voice. We have a community that we can rely on to protect the integrity of the industry and the values of the organic movement.” “ As a legend in organic banana farming, [Carlos Cortes Sr.] also paved the way for all who followed in his footsteps. His legacy now lives on through his contributions to a better, more sustainable food system and through four generations of family banana growers that continue his visionary work,” said Mayra Velazquez de Leon, Organics Unlimited. She announced Carlos’ passing in January of 2022.
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