2014 Growing Green Awards Honor Innovators in Sustainable Food and Farming

Yesterday, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) celebrated four remarkable leaders who are advancing sustainable food and agriculture at the sixth annual Growing Green Awards. Chosen from hundreds of nominations submitted across the country by a renowned panel of judges, the 2014 winners are changing the way America eats and farms. They have helped transform the nation’s agricultural landscape by protecting insect pollinators from the over-use of chemical pesticides, encouraging pasture-based meat production, educating the next generation of agricultural scientists and building sustainable regional food systems.

“Conventional food production is putting an incredible strain on our health and natural resources,” said Jonathan Kaplan, food and agriculture program director at NRDC. “These award winners are living proof that there’s a better way.”

“We are delighted to recognize these inspiring leaders. They have undertaken remarkable work to advance sustainable food and agriculture systems through innovative approaches,” said Ann Thrupp, executive director of the Berkeley Food Institute.”  

The 2014 Growing Green Award winners are:

Sustainable Livestock Producer: Will Harris, White Oak Pastures farm (Bluffton, GA)

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After decades of raising cattle on pastures purged by pesticides and finishing them on a diet of grain, hormones and antibiotics, Will Harris drastically changed his practices and converted to organic and grass-fed. His Southwest Georgia farm, White Oak Pastures, has been in Harris’ family since 1866. Yet, by the mid-1990s, Harris started to rethink the conventional shortcuts he used to push his cows to the feedlot. Instead of applying toxic chemicals and synthetic fertilizers, Harris learned to prevent overgrazing, protect water resources and generally promote soil health through intensive land management and rotational grazing. He went further, sending multiple species (five kinds of poultry, hogs, sheep and goats) through his fields in sequence to control weeds and insects. Green pastures now nourish his animals, which in turn aerate and enrich the land with natural fertilizer. In order to respect his livestock from birth to death, Harris constructed a humane-kill abattoir on site (designed with help from Temple Grandin). He proved his business model is scalable, growing White Oak Pastures from a half million dollar enterprise to the largest organic certified farm in Georgia, taking in over $25 million annually.

“The market demand has developed for antibiotic-free, pasture-raised meats. My own family’s experience is proof that sustainable agriculture is economically sustainable too,” said Harris. “What makes your soil and animals strong, will make your customers healthy, your employees happy, and your investments profitable.”

Regional Food Leader: Sibella Kraus, Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE) (Berkeley, CA)

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Sibella Kraus has long called upon cities to embrace the farms at their borders. It was Kraus’ vision as founder of the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA) that gave rise to San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market in 1992. Her articles and advocacy have been a driving force in the Bay Area food movement for decades. Today, as president of the nonprofit organization SAGE (Sustainable Agriculture Education), Kraus continues to foster  urban-rural linkages through the development of urban-edge Ag Parks and the production of agricultural resource assessments for regional planning efforts. A vibrant nexus of organic farm, education center and nature preserve, SAGE’s Sunol Ag Park in Alameda County provides beginning and immigrant farmers with land access and urban dwellers with a connection to their food. Kraus is now spearheading another game-changing project to create an agriculture and conservation resource area within the 7,400-acre Coyote Valley, just south of San Jose—the region’s largest and fastest growing city. She’s determined to preserve the invaluable connections between farmer and consumer, urban hub and working landscape.

“Bay Area farms and rangelands cover 1.87 million acres and produce almost enough food to feed all Bay Area residents,” Kraus said. “For a fraction of the money running through the virtual-tech world these working landscapes could be protected. The time has come to make investments in agricultural resources and local food systems synonymous with regional sustainability planning.”