Eden Foods bills itself as the oldest natural foods company in America. Founder Michael Potter started the business as a co-op in 1960s Michigan, long before terms like "macrobiotics" and "clean eating" were commonplace.
Potter and his team used to walk rural roads, knocking on doors of farms to seek out farmers willing to grow organic produce for the brand.
Today, Eden Foods is an all-American success story, resisting regular buyout bids and doing over $50 million in annual sales. Its rectangular, aquamarine cartons of soy milk will be familiar to anyone who's ever set foot in a Whole Foods. Its chickpeas and kidney beans are pantry staples.
Now, with U.S. organic food sales growing yearly, Potter has taken on a new mission: blocking his 150-strong workforce from accessing birth control as part of their Eden Foods insurance plan.
In April 2013, devout Catholic (and sole Eden Foods shareholder) Potter sued the Department of Health and Human Services, calling the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate "unconstitutional government overreach."
In a letter he wrote in response to a shopper complaint that month, Potter described contraceptives as "lifestyle drugs" akin to "Viagra, smoking cessation, weight-loss" tools and other medications. (He also compared birth control to "Jack Daniels" in a contemporaneous interview with Salon.)
In October, the U.S. Court of Appeals decided against Potter, ruling that Eden Foods, as a for-profit corporation, couldn't exercise religion.
Now, in the wake of this week's controversial Supreme Court ruling recognizing craft chain Hobby Lobby's religious rights, the court has changed its tune.
The day after the Justices decided evangelical Hobby Lobby billionaire David Green doesn't have to cover certain contraceptives for his employees, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment against Eden Foods and sent the case back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for further consideration.
“The court of appeals is ordered by the Supreme Court to follow its decision in Hobby Lobby," said Erin Mersino, the attorney handling Potter's case at the Christian, conservative Thomas More Law Center.
"For years, Michael Potter, a Roman Catholic, President and sole shareholder of Eden Foods Corporation, for religious reasons, had arranged for the Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance coverage he designed for his employees to specifically exclude coverage for contraception and abortifacients," said a statement released by the center this week.
"In accordance with his Catholic faith, Potter believes that any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation, whether as an end or means — including abortifacients and contraception — is wrong."
"The [Health and Human Services] Mandate forced Potter to make a choice between violating a foremost tenet of his faith or face fines up to $4.5 million per year. Potter brought the lawsuit because he cannot compartmentalize his faith and his business practices."
Added Potter said in a statement released on Wednesday: "We are grateful for the Hobby Lobby decision and look forward to further developments."
