Cholesterol Free
|Vegan
|Non GMO
|Kid Friendly
Our Story
Words from our CEO
Our son Maddox is the world’s biggest animal lover! He thinks he’s an actual lion & is nothing shy of obsessed with the entire animal kingdom! One day while sitting at the dinner table eating some sweet chili pork ribs, he looked at us with a rib in hand & asked me with the most inquisitive & somber look in his eyes, “Dad, why do we eat other animals but we don’t eat Bentley?” - pointing over at our then 12 year old Vizsla. Now during this time I had been heavily immersed in Yoga, so with “Ahimsa’ (respect for all living things and avoidance of violence toward others) being one of the main focuses of the practice, I had become very sensitive to my daily actions & how they positively or negatively effect others. My wife & I had already known of some aspects of the damage being done by the factory farming industry pertaining to greenhouse gases, our carbon footprints etc, and understood a little bit about the personal impact each of us have on the future that we are creating for our children, but we had much to learn about the details of our everyday lifestyle, & how the simple choices that we make everyday affect everyone around us for generations to come. And believe it or not, I had never really personally thought about the behind the scenes process of what it took to actually get these animals on our plates.
These are the thoughts that come natural to kids everyday as they navigate life, but unfortunately tend to get steamrolled over by societies traditions as we grow into adults.
Someone once said, “You put a child in a room with a chicken & an apple, & at no point would that child want to kill the chicken & play with the apple. His/her inherent nature would be to eat the apple & play with the chicken.” It’s kind of obvious common sense but we don’t like to think about change so it can be tough to hear. In my adult life, I had never personally cared about the animals that we as a society consider to be food, vs. the pets we chose to call a part of our families.The coupling of educating ourselves along with some genuine heartfelt questions being posed by our son that we really started to think differently about our choices. It forced us to answer his deep questions with intention & honesty & ultimately caused us to happily make the switch as a family to a fully plant based diet around June of 2018.
...Today, just like many lifelong vegans around the world, we are all healthier, happier & more energetic & fit than ever! Many of the issues I personally had dealt with on an animal/animal byproduct diet my whole life have completely disappeared including but not limited to; acne, fatigue, mental fog, upset stomach after meals, (especially red meats & dairy) etc. And with data that continues to pour in from the UN, EPA & countless other credible sources, we realize the scope of the impact this choice is making, & we view the entire world in light of our daily consumer choices very differently than we did prior to embracing a fully plant based diet..
Ok, veganism is amazing blah blah blah, get to the Jerky already!
Prior to this major lifestyle change, my son & I would eat Jerky like there was no tomorrow! I knew this was going to be something that we’d miss tremendously. So I began to hunt for a great plant based Jerky option that could compare to the satisfaction we used to get from Jerky. After trying every brand I could find between health stores & online, we were left sorely disappointed. Being that I love cooking, & being new to the plant based world, I started experimenting. It didn’t take long for me to figure out a great substitute that was not only delicious & healthy, but that would leave us saying “No Harm Done” after polishing off the entire package! With my background in design & marketing I went to the drawing boards and developed the “No Harm Done - Jerkless Jerky” brand. Rolling out our first signature flavor in 2020, “Teriyaki, Agave & Chili”, along with the non spicy version “Teriyaki & Agave”, we are ready for you to try it & tell us what you think!
Our overall goal as a family & a brand is to put a dent in the destruction we continue to cause while on this human journey together, as well as to encourage others to think past themselves, & to take gradual or drastic steps toward being the change that we all want to see in the world.
No Harm Done is Mother Nature Approved™ & here For People, For planet, & For Peace™
Jacob Washington | CEO, Maddox, Valinda & Nova