Thanks to all for the response. Forwarding the link is good. I don't think most people are even aware of where cashews are sourced. In answer to M Ted, we have attempted to make contact with all the big cashew buyers and roasters but have received no response. It's hard to believe that their cashew buyers are not aware of us though. We have spoken about this at nut industry conventions and actually have become notorious rather than appreciated - the attitude has generally been that it's better not to open a can of worms and just keep quiet about where cashews come from.

E barnacle - Our project only involves the processing factories because at this point there would be no practical way for us to trace the cashews from the farmers. That would simply be beyond our scope right now.   Actually, a lot of cashews aren't really farmed, they grow wild and are gathered and brought to a processing plant (especially in India). Neither India, Vietnam nor Brazil is self sufficient in cashews, and all import large quantities of raw seed from Africa. Africa has sporadically attempted to set up a processing industry on its own, but always seems to fall back on just exporting the raw nuts. What Tyke says is true - it happened in Mozambique (but Mozambique is not by any means the only African country to grow cashews). It was a real disaster brought on by the World Bank. We have been in contact with some people in Africa through the African Cashew Alliance mostly located in Benin, who want to set up processing plants. We are encouraging them to do it right from the beginning. It doesn't take rocket science to construct a plant that can operate under good manufacturing practices (provide places for workers to wash, keep cashews off the floor and away from the garbage dump, put in window screens, don't allow animals in the plant, etc.etc. Once some of these plants are up and running, we will probably be able to work with them and get them certified so that they can use this as a marketing tool to help get their cashews into the American market.

Forwarding the info about Feridies to family and friends is greatly appreciated. As I said we have run into a lot of resistance from the industry, but I am hoping that with the new administration food safety and ethical sourcing will become more of an issue. Right now all the big companies seem to be interested in is buying cashews at the lowest possible price.