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If there is a more special organic event in this country, I am unfamiliar with it.
This past Saturday night, Rodale Institute — the birthplace of organic in the U.S., ever since 1947 — held its annual Organic Stewardship Awards Dinner at its majestic 330-acre organic farm in Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
Along with acknowledging three extremely impactful figures who have contributed mightily to our industry — Gene Kahn, founder of Cascadian Farm; Mark Lipson, a long-time organic policy advocate; and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) — and a keynote address from Dr. Michelle Perro, co-author of the highly acclaimed book What’s Making our Children Sick and co-founder of GMOScience, it was also an occasion to discuss the new path that Rodale is forging in the world.
“We are trying to build the university of regenerative organic agriculture for the future,” said Jeff Tkach, the newly appointed CEO of the institute. “Many farmers who want to transition to regenerative organic production are having real trouble getting this knowledge and expertise from their local land grant universities, and that is exactly how Rodale is functioning right now — by providing education, conducting research and offering consulting to farmers. Most importantly, we are getting a first-hand view from farmers that this regenerative organic approach is working.”
At the moment, Rodale has ten campuses across the U.S. and Europe, fifteen PhDs engaged in research, and seventeen consultants throughout the U.S. assisting farmers who want to transition to organic. It is also working with some of the biggest brands in the world, and executives from General Mills and Whole Foods Market visited the institute last week.
While Rodale is investing heavily in educational initiatives and developing academic accreditation programs with other institutions, it does not have the infrastructure that many large state universities can offer its professors. As a result, Rodale is embarking on a $70M capital campaign in order to finance world-class facilities, including a state-of-the-art science laboratory and education building, along with an endowment to fuel the institute in perpetuity.
In the meantime, the institute continues to push regenerative organic forward and sign significant partnerships, such its collaboration with the Community Resilience Hub at Kansas Wesleyan University. Not only will Rodale will provide regional farmer training and support, it will also contribute to programming for students, which includes research, educational opportunities and farm practices unique to the Central Plains.
Most notably, however, organic policy will be taught at Kansas Wesleyan University as part of the school’s Environmental Justice minor, and the importance of this initiative cannot be overstated.
As we have written about several times over the years, there is a complete lack of involvement of young people when it comes to organic policy, something that is incredibly problematic for our industry.
Yet, through Rodale’s partnership with Kansas Wesleyan University, students will be educated about what is happening with organic on a political level, and hopefully, this will encourage them to get engaged in the process and demand a seat at the table.
Initiatives such as this one demonstrate the importance of Rodale becoming a world-class regenerative organic agriculture university and why the industry needs to take a proactive role to help make this happen — because our future literally depends on it.
Whether you are an individual or a brand, please make sure to put a visit to Rodale Institute on your calendar, as it not only is the birthplace of organic in the U.S. but it is a guiding force of our movement going forward.
Or, as Mark Lipson accurately referred to it on Saturday night, it is also our “Mothership.”
(Jeff Tkach, CEO of Rodale Institute)
(From l. to r., Dr. Allen Smith of Kansas Wesleyan University, and Matthew Raiford, CheFarmer and co-founder of Strong Roots 9)
(Mark Lipson, Organic Stewardship Award winner)
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With gratitude, 
Max Goldberg, Founder |
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