Nominations are due by February 6, 2009. A $10,000 cash prize will be awarded in the Food Producer category Michael Pollan and other distinguished sustainable food leaders to select winners The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) announces its first annual Growing Green Awards to recognize individuals that have demonstrated original leadership in the field of sustainable food. Through this national award, NRDC will recognize extraordinary contributions that advance ecologically integrated farming practices, climate stewardship, water stewardship, farmland preservation, and social responsibility from farm to fork. A Growing Green Award will be given to an outstanding individual in each of three categories, including Food Producer, Business Leader, and Thought Leader. A $10,000[i] cash prize will be awarded in the Food Producer category and all winners will be widely celebrated through media outreach and to NRDC’s networks. Award selections will be made by an independent panel of sustainable food experts. Information about award eligibility, selection criteria and process, and the award selection panel are provided below. Eligibility Recipients may represent a variety of fields including food production, food service, retail or restaurants, academia, journalists, policy advocacy, and government. The panel will consider candidates from across the country. Individuals in the following three categories are eligible: Food Producer: Farmers or other food producers, including aquaculture, who employ innovative techniques to sustain agriculture, the natural environment, workers and community; Business Leader: Entrepreneurs who effectively use the marketplace to promote sustainable food systems, develop infrastructure that enables producers to be more sustainable, or advance sustainable innovations anywhere along the supply chain from farm to fork; Thought Leader: Visionaries who advance sustainability as it relates to food through creative research, public education, and outreach. Growing Green Awards Criteria In selecting from nominees, the awards selection panel will consider the following criteria: Innovation in promoting ecologically-integrated food systems. This may include minimizing inputs of energy, water, and chemicals; reducing pollution and global warming gas emissions; use of on-farm polyculture; increasing natural resilience; and stewardship of biodiversity, pollinators, open space and land resources. · Potential to achieve wide scale adoption, implementation or behavioral change. · Advancement of health, safety, and economic viability for farmers, farmworkers and rural communities. Selection Panel and Process The awards will be selected by an independent panel with staffing assistance from NRDC. Winners will be celebrated on May 9, 2009 at an event to benefit NRDC in San Francisco. NRDC is grateful to the following sustainable food leaders who have volunteered to join the Growing Green Awards selection panel: Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of Science and Environmental Journalism at UC Berkeley (Chair) Larry Bain, Founder of Nextcourse and Food from the Parks; Co-Founder of Let’s Be Frank Fred Kirschenmann, Distinguished Fellow, Leopold Center, and President of Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture Karen Ross, President, California Association of Winegrape Growers How to apply Applications will be accepted until close of business on February 1, 2009. The application must be submitted electronically using the provided PDF form. In addition, the application may include up to 10 pages of text (12 point font please), photographs, articles or other supporting materials. Please combine multiple files into a single file attachment and e-mail submissions to Suzanne Vyborney at svyborney@nrdc.org.