Organic Stewardship Awards recipients, including Stonyfield Farm’s Gary Hirshberg

Charles Benbrook has worked on the impacts of agricultural production systems, technology, and policy on public health and the environment since the late 1970s. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers on food nutritional quality; pesticide use, risks, and regulation; sustainability; and metrics to track the impacts and performance of food and farming systems. He has served as an expert witness in pesticide litigation for over 25 years and has been the liability expert for plaintiffs in the Roundup-NHL litigation since 2017. He founded the Heartland Health Research Alliance in 2020 and served as its ED through May, 2023. He has a PhD in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an undergraduate degree from Harvard University. He founded Benbrook Consulting Services in 1990 and has worked with a diversity of clients in the public and private sectors. Learn more about his work at Hygeia Analytics.

Jessica Breaux is the Executive Director of Piney Woods Farm in LaGrange, GA, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Certified Regenerative and Certified USDA Organic Farm and Educational Center. The Farm adheres to the highest standards for soil health, animal welfare and production integrity. The farm is 100% charity-driven, committed to improving the lives and health of their community through partnerships with area programs that serve people in need. They offer educational classes about the products that are developed on the farm such as lavender, wool, alpaca, honey, mushrooms, and all of natures bounty. Jessica studied vocal performance at FSU and Shorter College but found her true calling in the study of regenerative farming, traditional arts and connecting her community through the holistic study of nature, craft and personal discovery. She is a graduate of UGA’s Advancing Georgia’s Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry (AGL), Crescive Method Advanced Training & Microscope Master Class. Jessica has received numerous certifications in spinning, weaving, knitting, soap making, natural dying, pottery, food preservation and mushroom cultivation from John C Campbell Folk School. Piney Woods Farm is committed to understanding soil’s unique biology in order to maximize biodiversity and improve soil health. Driven by natural curiosity and rooted in biological science, Piney Woods Farm is one of the few small farms in the U.S. pushing the boundaries of non-traditional techniques. You can read more about Piney Woods Farm here.

Liz Carlisle  is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Studies Program at UC Santa Barbara, where she teaches courses on food and farming. Born and raised in Montana, she got hooked on agriculture while working as an aide to organic farmer and U.S. Senator Jon Tester, which led to a decade of research and writing collaborations with farmers in her home state. She has written three books about organic and regenerative agriculture: Lentil Underground  (2015),  Grain by Grain  (2019, with co-author Bob Quinn), and most recently,  Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming  (2022). She is also a frequent contributor to both academic journals and popular media outlets, focusing on food and farm policy, incentivizing soil health practices, and supporting new entry farmers. She holds a Ph.D. in Geography, from UC Berkeley, and a B.A. in Folklore and Mythology, from Harvard University. Prior to her career as a writer and academic, she spent several years touring rural America as a country singer. You can learn more about Liz here.

Fred Lee has been a lifelong farmer, is a co-owner, and CEO of Sang Lee Farms, a multi-generational certified organic family farm in Peconic, NY established in the mid-1940s. The farm operated conventionally for many decades and in the early 2000s, Fred made a shift to grow the vegetables naturally without chemical pesticides. Organic certification was achieved in 2007. Fred earned his BA from the University of Vermont in 1976, and his MBA from Boston University in 1981. He is a member and Deacon of the Southold Presbyterian Church, a volunteer Fireman in the Southold Fire Department, a NYS licensed Emergency Medical Technician, and board member for a local privately held company serving agricultural operations on Long Island and parts of New England. He has served on various boards and committees for Cornell Cooperative Extension, Southold town, and other county and state agricultural related boards over the years. Learn more about Fred and Sang Lee Farms here