- Integrity is the root of the organic community and is essential to the work we provide to our constituency. The Cornucopia Institute aims for full transparency in its efforts.
- The Cornucopia Institute continues to be a watchdog within the organic industry, working to protect the character of the organic standards while auditing the integrity of products bearing the organic seal.
- The Cornucopia Institute researches, issues, and promotes findings, based in science, that are fundamental to maintaining the integrity of organic labeling, production, processing, and marketing.
- The Cornucopia Institute will be a vocal, visible catalyst for interaction between consumers and producers within the good food movement.
- The Cornucopia Institute works to identify and capitalize on opportunities to partner with likeminded organizations and individuals. We are a collaborative and unifying force within the authentic organic industry.
- The Cornucopia Institute is committed to treating others, including its dedicated champions, volunteers, and staff, with the utmost respect.
Our Core Values
The Cornucopia Team
Marie Burcham lives in Portland, Oregon, and enjoys visiting her parents’ organic urban farm in southern California. Marie has a background in Animal Science and English from the University of California,…
Marie Burcham JD
Marie Burcham lives in Portland, Oregon, and enjoys visiting her parents’ organic urban farm in southern California. Marie has a background in Animal Science and English from the University of California, Davis. She also has work experience as an animal technician in both research and industry settings, and has worked with different types of livestock.
Marie Burcham holds a J.D. with a certificate in Environmental and Natural Resource Law from Lewis and Clark Law School. After completing law school and passing the Oregon Bar exam she practiced in the area of animal and agricultural law for a few years before seeking out a policy position where she could pursue her passion for agricultural policy change. She’s always interested in learning more about our food systems, and likes connecting with farmers.
Marie enjoys exploring the outdoors through hiking, photography, and horseback riding. She owns a dynamic chestnut Arabian cross mare named Deli.
Jason is a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Ecuador where he helped small-scale farmers to employ sustainable agricultural practices in order to minimize their impact on highly valuable cloud forest habitat.…
Jason Cole
Jason is a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Ecuador where he helped small-scale farmers to employ sustainable agricultural practices in order to minimize their impact on highly valuable cloud forest habitat. In partnership with a local NGO, he developed agro-forestry projects that improved pasture productivity and reduced the need to clear virgin forest for new pasture. Prior to his Peace Corps service he worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in the fields of forestry, botany, and hydrology.
Jason holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Arizona, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. He lives in western Wisconsin with his wife and three children.
Therese has been with The Cornucopia Institute since 2013. She has over 25 years of experience in the Office Support, Administration and Customer Service fields. She spent almost a decade in…
Therese Laurdan
Therese has been with The Cornucopia Institute since 2013. She has over 25 years of experience in the Office Support, Administration and Customer Service fields. She spent almost a decade in Executive Teleconferencing with AT&T in Minneapolis, MN and earned her degree from the University of Minnesota.
Therese is also the proud mother of two wonderful children whom she first homeschooled and now they attend a Waldorf school. She and her family moved to Southwestern Wisconsin in order to live a simpler and more sustainable lifestyle. There she owned and helped operate a Green Building Supplies business before joining Cornucopia.
Therese has been an active supporter of local, organic farmers and producers for more than 20 years. She served as a Chapter Leader for the Weston A. Price Foundation in Viroqua, WI and is an avid foodie who loves to cook from scratch with much love and attention for her friends and family.
Michele Marchetti is a mother, storyteller, and lover of central Pennsylvania food. A seasoned communications professional with roots in the local food and farming world, she specializes in empowering people to…
Michele Marchetti
Michele Marchetti is a mother, storyteller, and lover of central Pennsylvania food. A seasoned communications professional with roots in the local food and farming world, she specializes in empowering people to engage with their food systems through storytelling and philanthropy.
Her work has appeared in a variety of national and regional publications, including Parents, Fortune, and Provisions. She served as chair of the board of directors of a local food cooperative, which operated an online farmers market, funded in part by a $92K USDA Local Food Promotion grant.
Marchetti lives in State College, Pa., with her husband and two kids, plans her schedule around the farmers markets, and teaches a weekly yoga class attended by members of her local food community—where she makes it a point to remind folks to sit down while eating their local food.
In addition to more than 20 years of magazine writing, Marchetti previously directed communications for TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania and Penn State’s Stuckeman School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. As the new director of development and communications with The Cornucopia Institute, she is thrilled to steward existing relationships, while cultivating new connections with farmers, eaters, and foundations that support the movement for ethical, organic food.
Through managing events, publications, marketing, and social media, Marchetti looks forward to sharing more stories about the organic farmers and producers who work hard to feed us food that’s good for our families and the planet.
Melody Morrell has been with The Cornucopia Institute since 2012. With 23 years of nonprofit experience spanning issues of food, agriculture, media, gender, developmental disability, and simple living, she brings enormous…
Melody Morrell
Melody Morrell has been with The Cornucopia Institute since 2012. With 23 years of nonprofit experience spanning issues of food, agriculture, media, gender, developmental disability, and simple living, she brings enormous passion, persistence, and practicality to her endeavors.
Melody enjoys researching, analyzing data, and writing alongside the talented staff of Cornucopia, sharing their fire in the belly. She is co-leading the strategic planning.
She and her husband Andy live in a very small house in rural Minnesota with their silly English Lab Beau. The land flourishes with hundreds of species of medicinal herbs; woodpeckers and songbirds; loons, snapping turtles, and frogs and toads of all sizes; coyotes, black bears, and wild turkeys; untold garlic, zucchini, and cucumbers; and three deadly tomato diseases (every single year, teaching them to honor the tomatoes they do get).
Melody earned her BA in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
Gayle has a BA in Visual Communications, with a digital design emphasis, from American Intercontinental University as well as an Associate of Science in Electro-Mechanical Technology. With a black belt in…
Gayle Nielsen
Gayle has a BA in Visual Communications, with a digital design emphasis, from American Intercontinental University as well as an Associate of Science in Electro-Mechanical Technology. With a black belt in several martial arts, she teaches those as well other types of mind/body/spirit movement and exploration through her hypnotherapy practice.
After a sixteen year career with a large corporation in the Information Technology field, she now focuses on her true passion of educating people in healthy, sustainable lifestyles through her practice and through her work with The Cornucopia Institute.
She and her husband live on a small farm near Westby, Wisconsin.
Jonathan Rosenthal has spent over 30 years working to convert the destructive aspects of business into a positive force for people and the environment. In 1985, Jonathan Rosenthal, Rink Dickinson, and…
Jonathan Rosenthal
Jonathan Rosenthal has spent over 30 years working to convert the destructive aspects of business into a positive force for people and the environment. In 1985, Jonathan Rosenthal, Rink Dickinson, and Michael Rozyne crafted a vision for a business that would reconnect people to their food in an ethical and just manner. That vision evolved into Equal Exchange, the pioneering worker-owned fair trade company that he co-founded and led. He collaborated again with Rink and Michael and AgroFair in 2005 to cofound and lead the first US fair trade fruit company, Oké USA. He has consulted with fair trade and cooperative organizations in many countries. From 2015-2018, he served as Executive Director of the New Economy Coalition. Jonathan is currently the interim executive director of The Cornucopia Institute.
Anne has an advanced law degree in Agriculture & Food Law from the University of Arkansas, where her studies focused on the federal regulation of pesticides and food labeling. Before joining…
Anne Ross
Anne has an advanced law degree in Agriculture & Food Law from the University of Arkansas, where her studies focused on the federal regulation of pesticides and food labeling.
Before joining Cornucopia in 2017, Anne’s research focused on the health effects of endocrine disrupting pesticides and the inadequacies in the laws governing the use and regulation of these pesticides in both the U.S. and Europe.
Anne is an experienced litigator who has handled a variety of cases, including environmental torts and product liability.
A native of rural South Carolina, Anne now lives in San Diego. She is an avid runner and outdoors enthusiast.
Rachel joins Cornucopia following six years on staff as the program director at Circle Pines Center. There, among other things, she created a local food ordering system, produced an annual music…
Rachel Zegerius
Rachel joins Cornucopia following six years on staff as the program director at Circle Pines Center. There, among other things, she created a local food ordering system, produced an annual music festival, and created programs to educate youth and adults about social justice issues, environmental stewardship, and cooperative alternatives. Fund development and grant-writing are two ways in which Rachel contributes her skills to support the environmental movement.
Rachel is passionate about good food and sustainable farming. She is eager to collectively pursue the mission of economic justice for family farms, and to protect consumer confidence in organics. Somewhat obsessed with goats, Rachel has been practicing animal husbandry by managing a small dairy goat herd for the past seven years.
Rachel was born and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and spent her summers submerged in one of the state’s many lakes. An environmentalist since childhood, Rachel is driven by a deep commitment to and spiritual connection with the natural world.
Rachel’s educational experience includes an undergraduate degree in biology from Hope College, as well as a Master of Science degree in environmental resource management and administration from Antioch University New England. Her professional background is diverse and includes a focus on environmental activism, nonprofit management, and program development.
Goldie Caughlan, recently retired after a long and noteworthy career as a nutrition educator with the nation’s largest member-owned food cooperative, PCC Natural Markets in Seattle, is a former member of…
Goldie Caughlan
Goldie Caughlan, recently retired after a long and noteworthy career as a nutrition educator with the nation’s largest member-owned food cooperative, PCC Natural Markets in Seattle, is a former member of the national organic standards board.
Jim Crawford, and his wife Moie Kimball, own and operate New Morning Farm, a 95-acre certified-organic vegetable farm in south-central Pennsylvania. They have farmed organically for over 40 years, and from…
Jim Crawford
Jim Crawford, and his wife Moie Kimball, own and operate New Morning Farm, a 95-acre certified-organic vegetable farm in south-central Pennsylvania. They have farmed organically for over 40 years, and from the start, all produce was direct-marketed in Washington, D.C. New Morning Farm produces approximately 60 different crops, all certified organic
From vending veggies out of the back of a pick-up truck to organizing and supervising three thriving weekly markets (and launching a fourth in late 2012), they have built a multifaceted, successful direct-marketing system. Through the marketing (wholesale and retail) of various locally-produced foods like orchard fruits, cider, and baked goods, New Morning Farm is at the center of the PA-DC foodshed.
Jim and neighboring organic farmers also founded, in the late 1980s, a wholesale marketing cooperative called Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative. TOG, which has recently achieved $3 million in sales, coordinates organic farms and growers in central PA to serve restaurants, groceries and markets in the PA-DC region.
Kevin Engelbert is the owner/operator of Engelbert Farms, the first certified organic dairy farm in the US, certified since 1984. He farms about 1,800 acres with his wife Lisa and three…
Kevin Engelbert
Kevin Engelbert is the owner/operator of Engelbert Farms, the first certified organic dairy farm in the US, certified since 1984. He farms about 1,800 acres with his wife Lisa and three sons, and produces organic milk, veal, beef, pork, pasture, hay, corn, soybeans, and vegetables. Kevin is a fifth generation dairy farmer in New York State, and recently completed a five-year term on the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board.
Kevin was involved with NOFA NY (Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York) from the early 1980s until the late 1990s, and helped with the development of NOFA NY’s organic standards. He has hosted many on-farm tours and seminars dealing with organic crop and livestock practices and management intensive grazing, and has spoken at numerous organic farming conferences and meetings around the northeast over the last thirty years. Kevin graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with a minor in Mathematics. He and his family reside in Nichols, NY.
Ms. Kees owns and operates Wheatfield Hill Organics near Durand, Wisconsin, along with her husband Robert, daughter Christine and her family. She was born, reared and resides on the “home” farm…
Helen Kees
Ms. Kees owns and operates Wheatfield Hill Organics near Durand, Wisconsin, along with her husband Robert, daughter Christine and her family. She was born, reared and resides on the “home” farm of 320 acres which was settled by her grandparents in 1919.
Helen has led a life of farming and environmental activism. Her activism debut ended in a three-day suspension from high school. A picture of her picketing a Dolly Madison dairy plant during a National Farmers Organization (NFO) milk “holding action” in her cheerleading uniform was printed in her regional newspaper. The picture trumped her mother’s hand-written note, “Please excuse Helen’s absence. She was needed at home.” The suspension did not deter her from resisting nuclear power, aerial spraying of pesticides, frac sand mining, and currently, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
It was a neighborhood tussle over a corporate potato grower’s use of pesticides in the early 1990s that really opened her eyes to the health and environmental concerns associated with the use of agrichemicals.
Cameron Molberg is on a mission to increase access to high-quality pasture-raised organic products while further developing the infrastructure needed to improve and grow rural economies. With an educational background in…
Cameron Molberg
Cameron Molberg is on a mission to increase access to high-quality pasture-raised organic products while further developing the infrastructure needed to improve and grow rural economies. With an educational background in institutional management, animal science, and food technology, he began working with local farmers in 2007 as manager at a startup organic restaurant chain in Austin, Texas.
After experiencing shortages of local organic products, he moved on from there to run the first commercial organic feed mill in Texas and one of the largest organic pasture-based egg farms in the state. He served as CEO and General Manager from 2010-2017, before stepping away from the day-to-day to focus on projects in regenerative organic production systems. Today, he serves as Co-CEO of Greener Pastures Chicken, a regenerative organic pasture-raised chicken farm in Texas.
Known to some as an “encyclopedia in blue jeans,” Cameron serves as a resource for farmers, consumers, and organizations across the country. He is dedicated to supporting others in the local organic agriculture and food movement. Cameron currently serves as President and Treasurer of The Cornucopia Institute Board of Directors. He also serves on the Real Organic Project Standards Board and previously served as Treasurer of the Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (TOFGA) from 2010-2015.
Anaïs Beddard is the second generation at the helm of Lady Moon Farms. The farm was founded in 1988 by her parents with a dream to grow healthy, delicious produce for…
Anaïs Beddard
Anaïs Beddard is the second generation at the helm of Lady Moon Farms. The farm was founded in 1988 by her parents with a dream to grow healthy, delicious produce for their children and community while respecting mother nature. What started out as a dream and 10 rented acres has grown to encompass nearly 3000 acres across Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida. Lady Moon Farms has always been 100% organic and focused on building the soil which leads to healthy plants, healthy people and a healthy planet.
Anaïs grew up on the farm. She spent her childhood in the greenhouse and their original “packhouse”, which happened to be a forest clearing in the woods. Her summers were passed working in the fields, packinghouse, and eventually the office where she began to learn about the business side of the operation. She found her own success outside of farming utilizing her finance degree but listened to a call to return in 2015 to continue her parent’s legacy. She is committed to real organic farming and responsible stewardship of their land. She proudly fulfills an obligation her parents instilled in her to leave the land in a better condition for future generations.
She is immersed in all aspects of the business, but to this point has focused on increased efficiency in labor and expense tracking and practices continual process improvement for their multi-state year-round farms. Anaïs also serves on the executive board of the Real Organic Project.
Mr. Cox is a volunteer who has been handling Cornucopia’s legal representation before USDA and in federal district courts. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Gary Cox has been a public servant,…
Gary Cox
Mr. Cox is a volunteer who has been handling Cornucopia’s legal representation before USDA and in federal district courts. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Gary Cox has been a public servant, an organic vegetable farmer, a dad, a civil war enthusiast and very “green” all his life. As an environmental lawyer, Mr. Cox prosecuted polluters for 14 years while with the Ohio Attorney General’s office, representing Ohio EPA and prosecuting several of the largest Fortune 500 firms in the country, including lawsuits against Sun Oil Company, General Motors, BP Chemical and Phillips Electronics.
His current law practice includes clients such as small, family dairy farmers producing raw milk that are battling the Ohio Department of Agriculture, a non-profit organization taking on Horizon Dairy, and several individuals battling the Ohio Department of Transportation. Mr. Cox resigned from the AG’s office to become an organic vegetable farmer and sold produce at restaurants, farmers’ markets and operated a small CSA as well. He enjoys being a soccer dad (yes, he owned a minivan at one time), gardening, the outdoors and has studied the Civil War nearly his whole life. Mr. Cox hopes to return to sustainable farming someday, hopefully near Gettysburg, PA, and living in peace and quiet where he can nurture rather than litigate.
Jim Gerritsen, along with his wife Megan, is an organic farmer who has owned and operated Wood Prairie Farm in northern Maine for 38 years. Wood Prairie Farm has been a…
Jim Gerritsen
Jim Gerritsen, along with his wife Megan, is an organic farmer who has owned and operated Wood Prairie Farm in northern Maine for 38 years. Wood Prairie Farm has been a MOFGA-certified organic farm since 1982. The Gerritsens are focused on the production of organic early generation Maine Certified Seed Potatoes, seed crops, vegetables and grain.
In addition to farming, Jim has been active in the organic community with NGOs for four decades. He co-founded and now serves as President of the national farmer-run membership trade organization, Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA). OSGATA is headquartered in Washington, Maine and acted as lead plaintiff in the landmark organic community Federal lawsuit, OSGATA et al v. Monsanto. OSGATA’s mission is to develop, promote and protect the organic seed trade and its farmers.
In the past, Jim served as President of the educational and research NGO, Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) in Washington State. Additionally, he served for over twenty years on the Certification Committee of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA). Last year, Jim helped MOFGA pass the State of Maine’s GMO Labeling law, the second such law passed in the United States. Jim also serves on the MOFGA Ag Services Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the 80-year-old Direct Gardening Association. Jim has served for many years on the Steering Committee of the local St John-Aroostook Resource Conservation & Development Council, formerly an arm of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Jim is co-founder of Slow Food Aroostook and co-founded a local chapter of Organic Crop Improvement Association. He has been a frequent speaker at farmer conferences in the United States and beyond. Jim has cooperated in numerous on-farm research trials with scientists, including those from the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the University of Maine. He serves as an advisor to the UMO Northern New England Organic Bread Wheat Project. In October 2011, Jim was named as one of ’25 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World’ by Utne Reader magazine. In January 2014, Jim was a participant in the week long Agrarian Elders Gathering held in Big Sur, California.
The Gerritsens reside on their farm in the Aroostook County town of Bridgewater with their four children.
Dr. Joan Dye Gussow has been a powerful influence in food and farm policy, and as a vocal critic of the industrialized U.S. food system is known by many as the…
Dr. Joan, Dye Gussow
John Ikerd was raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri and received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri. He worked in…
Dr. John Ikerd
John Ikerd was raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri and received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural economics from the University of Missouri. He worked in private industry for a time and spent thirty years in various professorial positions at North Carolina State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Georgia, and the University of Missouri before retiring in early 2000. Since retiring, he spends most of his time writing and speaking on issues related to sustainability with an emphasis on economics and agriculture. He is author of six books which are available through Amazon.com via http://johnikerd.com/books. In 2014, Ikerd was commission by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to write the regional report, “Family Farms of North America,” in recognition for the International Year of the Family Farming. He currently resides with his wife, Ellen, in Fairfield, IA. More complete background information and a wide selection of writings are available at http://faculty.missouri.edu/ikerdj/ or http://johnikerd.com.
Michael James was born in New York City in 1942. He was raised in Connecticut on an old onion farm, and while growing up he helped old man Burtche around the…
Michael James
Michael James was born in New York City in 1942. He was raised in Connecticut on an old onion farm, and while growing up he helped old man Burtche around the farm down the road, feeding livestock and helping with harvesting. He was a member of the 4H club and raised rabbits, muscovy ducks, King pigeons, African Tumbler pigeons, and Bantam chickens.
James was active in sports, playing football at Lake Forest College where he took an interest in politics and social justice issues. In the summer of 1962 he drove a Triumph motorcycle to Mexico City, where he studied at Mexico City College and took photos. An exhibit of these photos, Mexico 1962 has been shown in a number of galleries, and will appear in book form in 2012. James graduated in 1964 and received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, going to the University of California, Berkeley where he studied sociology. There James was involved in the Free Speech Movement, and joined Students for a Democratic Society, of which he became a national officer.
James left school in 1966, heading to Chicago’s Uptown to organize poor Southern whites in an attempt to build an interracial movement of the poor with an organization known as JOIN Community Union (Jobs or Income Now).
After the Democractic Convention in 1968, James founded Rising Up Angry, a newspaper and organization of poor and working white people, that allied with the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords Organization, the Young Patriots, and the American Indian Movement, collectively known as the Rainbow Coalition.
In 1976 James founded the now legendary Heartland Cafe, a wholesome foods eatery and community center. The Heartland Cafe (www.heartlandcafe.com) is about serving up Wholesome Food for Mind and Body. In addition to the Heartland Cafe, the enterprise now includes the Buffalo Bar, Heartland General Store, the Redline Tap, the No Exit Cafe, and Heartland Cafe on the Lake—altogether adding to the ambience the unique urban enclave of the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. Through his work at the cafe, he recently won an Illinois Stewardship Alliance “Golden Beet” award for bringing local food to Illinois communities.
James is a host of Live from the Heartland Radio (Saturday’s at 9 am on WLUW 88.7 (www.wluw.org), is the publisher of The Heartland Journal (www.heartlandjournal.org), a member of the board of Athletes United for Peace (athletesunitedforpeace.org), President of Chicago’s 49th Ward Democratic Party Organization, and an actor, appearing in a number of films, including The Package, The Fugitive, Stony Island, Above the Law, Code of Silence, Under Siege, Chain Reaction, and The Guardian.
He is married to Paige James, a “hellova cook,” and is the father of seven wonderful kids!
Kendra Kimbirasukas grew up on a Michigan dairy farm and she and her husband currently live and farm in Scio, Oregon where they raise beef cattle, hogs, goats, chickens and turkeys…
Kendra Kimbirasukas
Kendra Kimbirasukas grew up on a Michigan dairy farm and she and her husband currently live and farm in Scio, Oregon where they raise beef cattle, hogs, goats, chickens and turkeys on pasture using managed grazing practices.
She has nearly two decades of experience in agricultural policy and rural organizing, working alongside citizen groups environmental advocates, and sustainable agriculture organizations to shape ecologically responsible farm and food policies at the state level.
Kendra co-founded what is now Oregon’s most influential small farm advocacy organization, Friends of Family Farmers, and has spent time working as a rural organizer in Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Oregon. In her day job, Kendra directs the Agriculture Program at the State Innovation Exchange (SiX). When not working or farming, Kendra can usually be found in the garden, riding her horse or playing with her dogs.
Dr. Frederick Kirschenmann has been a champion of sustainable agriculture, soil health, and resilient farming systems for over four decades. He is a Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable…
Dr. Frederick Kirschenmann
Dr. Frederick Kirschenmann has been a champion of sustainable agriculture, soil health, and resilient farming systems for over four decades. He is a Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, where he previously served as director, and is a professor in the Department of Religion and Philosophy.
A pioneer in organic farming systems, Kirschenmann manages a diverse crop rotation on his 3,500-acre family farm in North Dakota which has been certified organic since 1976. His farm has been featured in numerous publications including National Geographic, Business Week, Audubon, the LA Times and Gourmet magazine. In 1995 it was profiled in an award-winning video, My Father’s Garden, by Miranda Smith Productions, and is still widely used as a teaching tool.
A prolific writer on ethics and agriculture, his collection of essays Cultivating an Ecological Conscience: Essays from a Farmer Philosopher traces the evolution of his ecological and farming philosophy.
Kirschenmann served on the National Organic Standards Board from 1995-2000, including a year as the Chair. In 2014, he received a One World Award for Lifetime Achievement from the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and was one of the first ten recipients of the James F. Beard Leadership Awards. He is the current Board President of the Stone Barns Center for Sustainable Agriculture and a member of the Advisory Board for the Real Organic Project.
“We are now in a time when it is more important than ever to anticipate the changes that will likely take place, and prepare for them in advance, and that will be especially important with respect to our food and agriculture future.”
Amanda Love, also known as “The Barefoot Cook” is a Certified Healing Food Specialist, Natural Foods Chef, Nutrition Educator, Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) Conference Chef and recent recipient of the…
Amanda Love
Amanda Love, also known as “The Barefoot Cook” is a Certified Healing Food Specialist, Natural Foods Chef, Nutrition Educator, Weston A. Price Foundation (WAPF) Conference Chef and recent recipient of the Weston A. Price Food Activist Award. She emphasizes eating fresh, local, seasonal, organic and nutrient rich food. Ms. Love knows food from the seed to the table intimately. All over the United States, farmers, growers, educators, food vendors and chefs know the committed and passionate Barefoot Cook, and appreciate her as someone who also advocates politically for organic growers and consumer rights. She teaches cooking classes and workshops where she empowers others to take healing food into their own hands. She also has a line of organic, herbal iced teas called “Soothin’ Infusion”.
Mr. Munsch raises organic beef on his farm in western Wisconsin. He is a volunteer for The Cornucopia Institute and is leading the organization’s challenge to the USDA’s approval of Monsanto’s…
Jim Munsch
Mr. Munsch raises organic beef on his farm in western Wisconsin. He is a volunteer for The Cornucopia Institute and is leading the organization’s challenge to the USDA’s approval of Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa. Cornucopia is a party along with several other organizations in a lawsuit contesting the USDA action. Mr. Munsch farms with his family near Coon Valley, WI.
Steve Sprinkel has been an adherent of organic farming since the 1960s. Using his 12-acre (CCOF certified) farm in Ojai, CA, Steve trains farmers and educates consumers. Steve is the former…
Steve Sprinkel
Steve Sprinkel has been an adherent of organic farming since the 1960s. Using his 12-acre (CCOF certified) farm in Ojai, CA, Steve trains farmers and educates consumers. Steve is the former president of the Cornucopia Board of Directors and is currently the president of the Ojai Center for Regenerative Agriculture. After attending Harvard for one year, he earned a degree in literature from The University of California at Santa Barbara.
Steve has been active in organic certification and public interest policy in Carpinteria at CCOF, as a Santa Barbara farmers market officer, board member at the Texas Department of Agriculture, founder of the Organic Farmers Marketing Association, Associate Editor at ACRES, USA (1998-2007), organic administrator and inspector for many private organizations in the Midwest, and even an FDA delegate to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization! Favorites: Vegetable – Cucumber; Book – All Quiet on the Western Front; Film – “Dr. Strangelove”
Dr. Jennifer Taylor currently serves as an associate professor in the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Agriculture and Food Sciences (CAFS), where she coordinates the FAMU Statewide Small Farm Program…
Dr. Jennifer Taylor
Dr. Jennifer Taylor currently serves as an associate professor in the Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Agriculture and Food Sciences (CAFS), where she coordinates the FAMU Statewide Small Farm Program through the Cooperative Extension program. Under her guidance, this intiative has assisted and equipped underserved growers and their families by providing access to knowledge about sustainale agricultural production and conservation management practices, building a network of small prodcuers, and sharing information on marketing their products in urban markets, schools, and rural communities.
Taylor also owns and operates a 32-acre certified organic farm, Lola’s Organic Farm, in Southern Georgia. Lola’s, named after Taylor’s grandmother who purchased the land with money earned as a sharecropper, sells organic fruits and vegetables and hosts workshops throughout the year.
From 2011-2016, Taylor served on the National Organic Standards Board and held positions as a member of the NOSB Policy Development Committee and Chair of the Materials Committee. She is a current Board member of the Organic Farmers Association as well as the Real Organic Project.
Tom Willey, with his wife Denesse, operated T&D Willey Farms from 1981 through 2016, a seventy-five-acre Certified Organic farm in Madera, California, growing a wide array of Mediterranean vegetables the year…
Tom Willey
Tom Willey, with his wife Denesse, operated T&D Willey Farms from 1981 through 2016, a seventy-five-acre Certified Organic farm in Madera, California, growing a wide array of Mediterranean vegetables the year round. T&D Willey Farms produce was appreciated in specialty markets and fine restaurants up and down the U.S. West Coast as well as on the tables of over 800 weekly Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription members in their own community. Tom was, for nearly a decade, Slow Food USA’s governor for California’s Central Valley and he passionately advocates for local food prominence through his writing, speaking, radio, and event organizing activities. His monthly “Down on the Farm” radio interview program features the work of progressive farmers and others prominent in San Joaquin Valley’s agriculture and food communities. Tom has served over the years on the boards of directors of the Ecological Farming Association (EFA) and California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and presently is a member of CCOF Certification Services’ LLC five-person Management Committee. He currently serves as a Policy Advisor to The Cornucopia Institute which monitors integrity of the U.S. organic industry.
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The Cornucopia Institute is a tax-exempt, charitable organization incorporated in 2004 under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All individual contributions, grants and bequests are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Our tax identification number is 20-1075143.
Our work is supported primarily through individual donor contributions from farmers and consumers. We do not solicit or receive any government funds. We are proud of the stewardship of our resources and are happy to share the following information with you.
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The Cornucopia Institute, through research and investigations on agriculture and food issues, provides needed information to family farmers, consumers and other stakeholders in the good food movement and to the media.