WASHINGTON, D.C. – OCTOBER 16, 2019 – Dozens of farmers and food companies, including Anheuser-Busch, MegaFood, Rick Clark (partnered with Danone North America) and Leah Penniman, are being recognized by national nonprofit Green America in honor of World Food Day. Soil SuperHeroes are working to provide major solutions to the climate crisis by employing regenerative soil stewardship practices that build soil health and resiliency. These farmers and forward-thinking food companies are assessing the impacts of agriculture and implementing best practices to protect soil and human health.

“We need to immediately address the climate crisis we are facing, and these farmers and food companies are doing just that by regenerating our soils for the betterment of our bodies and planet and they should be celebrated,” Jillian Semaan, Food Campaigns Director at Green America.

Soil SuperHeroes are farmers and food companies that are committed to saving our soils and mitigating the climate crisis, through a variety of regenerative practices including:

• Anheuser-Busch: Its Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold is the first national beer brand in the U.S. to be certified organic. Anheuser-Busch is helping farmers through the three-year transition period to organic by providing long-term contracts and paying premium prices for transitional and organic crops.
• Rick Clark and Danone North America: In 2016, Danone North America announced they would transition their products to non-GMO verified knowing that had to rely on farmers to provide the non-GMO feed for the dairy cows that produce milk for its yogurt. One of those farmers, a Soil SuperHero, is Indiana farmer Rick Clark who offers practical examples for how soil health can transform agriculture.
• MegaFood: One of the only farm-to-table natural vitamin companies that has a direct relationship with their farmers, MegaFood supports its organic and regenerative farmers and provides a guaranteed market for their regeneratively-grown produce.
• Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm: Leah has cultivated five acres of land using organic and ancestral practices that increase topsoil depth, sequester carbon, and improve soil biodiversity all while fighting the injustices of our food system.

Soil SuperHeroes are following the best practices to shift agriculture from a major cause of climate change to a solution to the climate crisis by building soils to be resilient. Healthy soil is a building block for everything that happens on Earth, from shaping our ecosystems, to mitigating the effects of climate change, to producing 99% of the food that we all eat.  Healthy soil is necessary to fuel ourselves with food rich in vitamins and minerals. And healthy soil can actually reverse climate change.

“As our soil, food, and climate changes for the worse overall, it’s vital that we celebrate those leading the charge towards a more sustainable and delicious future,” Jessica Hulse Dillon, Director of the Regenerative Supply Working Group at Green America’s Center for Sustainability Solutions. “Please join us in celebrating and supporting the farmers and forward-thinking companies that are working to save our soils and our planet.”

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power, and practical tools for consumers, businesses and investors to solve today’s social and environmental problems. Green America’s Center for Sustainability Solutions brings together diverse groups of stakeholders to solve the complex sustainability problems that no individual business, organization, or leader can solve alone. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin, (703) 276-3255 or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com.