“This year’sOrganic Pioneer Awardwinners can be summed up in one word: legacy,” said Jeff Moyer, Rodale Institute CEO, in a press release. “Whether it is their significant impact on food labels, the National Organic Program standards, or paradigm-shifting pesticide research, the legacy of Lundberg Family Farms, Dr. Tyrone Hayes, and Katherine DiMatteo within the organic movement is incredible. We are honored to present them with our highest honor this year.”
This year’s awards celebration and annual fundraiser will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the month of September, designated as “Organic Pioneer Month,” Rodale Institute will feature unique content from the award winners, including videos and letters from the honorees, according to the release.
“My family and I are honored to receive the Rodale Institute’s Organic Pioneer Award,” said Grant Lundberg, current CEO of Lundberg Family Farms, in the release. “Our parents and grandparents were pioneers in every sense of the word. My cousins and I feel a profound responsibility to uphold their legacy of treating the land like a member of the family. We are grateful to the Rodale Institute for advancing the organic movement so we can keep growing together for generations to come.”
Tyrone B. Hayes, Ph.D., a Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley whose career has focused on the impact of endocrine-disrupting contaminants on global amphibian declines and public health, said, "I am proud to be a scientist on the side of something positive. Reducing the use of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers in food and agriculture will be key in maintaining healthy environments and food for future generations. I am honored to be recognized in this movement."
Katherine DiMatteo, Executive Director of the OTA from 1990 to 2006, was instrumental in shaping the outcome of the U.S. National Organic Program standards and the U.N. Codex Guidelines for organically produced foods. “It is such a privilege for me to receive the Rodale Institute Organic Pioneer Award,” said DiMatteo. “I am most grateful to work with the community that has formed around organic agriculture, its principles and products. Through collaborations and creative tensions, together we have advanced organic locally and globally.”
Information on the winners, live panel registration, and more information on Organic Pioneer Month can be found atRodaleInstitute.org/
