Real food rock stars

08/21/2009

Real food rock stars

People we need to thank...

Most of us who have become passionate about where our food comes from and issues of sustainability are more than familiar with the rock stars of the movement like Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle. (In fact, you can hear my candid interview with Michael here).

But today is about saluting those who are working hard and taking risks to bring organic and sustainable food to the market. They are busting their buns so that you and I can purchase, serve and eat food that is in line with our values.

Whether they are farmers, developers or distributers I am grateful that they are out there, often making personal sacrifices. We need to honor them with our words, our wallets and our willingness to spread the message.

Following are five examples of these fantastic people. Some of them I've worked with, interviewed, heard about from others or even met on Twitter:

	Maureen Knapp Thank goodness there are farmers like Maureen who are willing to give up their evenings and weekends for us. Farmers who believe to their core in the importance of organic food and sustainable farming. We need them and we need to support them because we all know that if you try to figure out the hourly wage of a farmer, it wouldn’t be pretty. You can buy Maureen’s milk under the Organic Valley name or go straight to her lovely farm to sample her organic strawberries.
	Dr. Ayala Dr. Ayala is a pediatrician and developer of Herbal Water. As a doctor who was determined to make a dent in the growing obesity epidemic, she decided to bring Herbal Water to market as an alternative to sugary beverages. So she went to her garden, came up with six certified organic flavors (cinnamon orange peel and lemongrass mint vanilla just to name two) and made it happen. The result is a zero calorie, delicious beverage that is muscling its way onto store shelves and giving Coke and Pepsi a run for its money.
	Joel Salatin Ok, so if you read The Omnivore’s Dilemma you know that Joel is already a bit of a rock star. Or at the very least, a folk legend vis-à-vis Michael Pollan. But Joel had to make this list because he continues to work his tail off on his farm and is an advocate/shining example of doing the earth and animals right. Because of Joel, grass-fed beef has become more of a household name and something we are demanding at our stores. Because of Joel, more of us are thinking and buying local. Because of Joel, more farmers are reconsidering their options and saying hell no to industrialized agriculture. Take a bow, Mr. Salatin.
	Katrina Frey Katrina and her family were making organic wine before organic was cool. They are passionate about wine and the soil—taking the painstaking steps to incorporate biodynamic practices into their farm. The Frey family doesn’t do this business because it’s easy—they do it because they love it and feel a responsibility to their customers and the earth. Because of this, we get an organic wine option that we can feel great about drinking and serving.
	Vaughan Lazar Most of us who are walking the path in this food movement agree that in a best case scenario, we’d all be doing more cooking and eating at home. But the reality is that there are times when we need or even want to eat out. Meet Vaughan Lazar, one of the founders of Pizza Fusion. Yes, Pizza Fusion is a chain, but it’s like no chain you’ve seen before. Seventy-five percent of their ingredients are organic, the buildings are LEED certified, and they offset 100 percent of their power consumption with the purchase of renewable wind energy certificates. This is a company who cares about sustainability and is willing to put their money where their mouth is—even their delivery cars are hybrid. For these entrepreneurs, being socially conscious is as important as being profitable. This is one chain I can fully get behind. For all of us, I wish them the best success.

And in case you're wondering who's in the photo at the top of this post, it's Josh and Noah Engel. Two young, organic farmers from Wisconsin who are making their move in this market...stay tuned.

This entry has been posted as part of Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade. (Another real food rock star!)

Do you have someone you’d like to nominate for future recognition? Leave a comment below.

Posted by Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau at 01:07 AM in Fight Back Fridays, Food, Sustainability | Permalink

Comments

People we need to thank...

Following are five examples of these fantastic people. Some of them I've worked with, interviewed, heard about from others or even met on Twitter:

	Maureen Knapp Thank goodness there are farmers like Maureen who are willing to give up their evenings and weekends for us. Farmers who believe to their core in the importance of organic food and sustainable farming. We need them and we need to support them because we all know that if you try to figure out the hourly wage of a farmer, it wouldn’t be pretty. You can buy Maureen’s milk under the Organic Valley name or go straight to her lovely farm to sample her organic strawberries.
	Dr. Ayala Dr. Ayala is a pediatrician and developer of Herbal Water. As a doctor who was determined to make a dent in the growing obesity epidemic, she decided to bring Herbal Water to market as an alternative to sugary beverages. So she went to her garden, came up with six certified organic flavors (cinnamon orange peel and lemongrass mint vanilla just to name two) and made it happen. The result is a zero calorie, delicious beverage that is muscling its way onto store shelves and giving Coke and Pepsi a run for its money.
	Joel Salatin Ok, so if you read The Omnivore’s Dilemma you know that Joel is already a bit of a rock star. Or at the very least, a folk legend vis-à-vis Michael Pollan. But Joel had to make this list because he continues to work his tail off on his farm and is an advocate/shining example of doing the earth and animals right. Because of Joel, grass-fed beef has become more of a household name and something we are demanding at our stores. Because of Joel, more of us are thinking and buying local. Because of Joel, more farmers are reconsidering their options and saying hell no to industrialized agriculture. Take a bow, Mr. Salatin.
	Katrina Frey Katrina and her family were making organic wine before organic was cool. They are passionate about wine and the soil—taking the painstaking steps to incorporate biodynamic practices into their farm. The Frey family doesn’t do this business because it’s easy—they do it because they love it and feel a responsibility to their customers and the earth. Because of this, we get an organic wine option that we can feel great about drinking and serving.
	Vaughan Lazar Most of us who are walking the path in this food movement agree that in a best case scenario, we’d all be doing more cooking and eating at home. But the reality is that there are times when we need or even want to eat out. Meet Vaughan Lazar, one of the founders of Pizza Fusion. Yes, Pizza Fusion is a chain, but it’s like no chain you’ve seen before. Seventy-five percent of their ingredients are organic, the buildings are LEED certified, and they offset 100 percent of their power consumption with the purchase of renewable wind energy certificates. This is a company who cares about sustainability and is willing to put their money where their mouth is—even their delivery cars are hybrid. For these entrepreneurs, being socially conscious is as important as being profitable. This is one chain I can fully get behind. For all of us, I wish them the best success.