Clif Sustainability Newsletter 7 - Fall 2012 by Clif Bar & Company

Photo credit: Briana Forgie

Thirty-one years later, on Earth Day 2001, we launched Clif Bar & Company’s sustainability program with a commitment to organic food as its foundation. I knew in my heart that this was the right way to go and in 2003, our signature Clif Bar became certified organic. As a food company, we see the connections between food, health, and the environment every day: The kind of food we put in our bodies affects our health; the way that food is grown, packaged, and shipped affects the environment; and the environment affects the health of all living things. This fall, Gary and I will be hitting the road to introduce our new organic fruit and nut bar—near and dear to my heart—Kit’s Organic, and to meet people across the country who share our interest in food and health. From where we sit—on the seat of a bicycle or a tractor or an RV running on biodiesel—we’re encouraged that the food choices we make three times a day can positively impact our health and our environment. Enjoy this issue of Moving Toward Sustainability—its mission has always been to educate, but we hope it will also inspire.

The food choices we make three times a day can positively impact our health and our environment.

Kit Crawford Co-Owner and Co-CEO of Clif Bar & Company President, Clif Bar Family Foundation

Distributed by Clif Bar & Company, Emeryville, CA 94608 U.S.A. 1-800-CLIFBAR M–F 8–5 PST • clifbar.com • © 2012 Clif Bar & Company Printed on New Leaf paper, 100% recycled, 60% post-consumer content, processed chlorine-free with vegetable-based inks. CBC12.635

WORKING TO REDUCE OUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Long before the scientific studies began to appear about the benefits of organic farming, Gary and I knew that we wanted Clif Bar to be organic. Our commitment to the environment came naturally, as it did for many of us growing up during the ’60s and ’70s. In our hometown of Fremont, California, we experienced the loss of nature on an almost daily basis. We saw apricot orchards plowed into suburbs, walnut groves bulldozed into shopping centers, and the foothills above my home divided by Highway 680. At the same time, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring sounded the alarm about the dangers of DDT to the natural world. I remember feeling deeply moved by television news about the impact of pesticides on the health of farmworkers children and communities in the nearby Central Valley. The environmental movement was coming into its own: In April 1970 we celebrated the first Earth Day, and later the founding of the EPA and the passing of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. We also saw the first organic foods come to market.

Clif Bar Sustainability Newsletter / Fall 2012

LETTER FROM KIT

FOOD. HEALTH. ENVIRONMENT. THEY’RE ALL CONNECTED.

SUSTAINABILITY GROUP KEVIN CLEARY President ELYSA HAMMOND Ecologist, Director of Environmental Stewardship THAO PHAM Executive Director, Clif Bar Family Foundation CASSIE CYPHERS Community/Planet Programs Manager ELLA ROSENBLOOM Sustainable Food Systems Manager CHANDLER KNEER Senior Analyst, Supply Chain and Climate Program EVERY EMPLOYEE AT CLIF BAR MOVING TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY

ONE SOLUTION FOR MULTIPLE CHALLENGES

EXPLORING NEW METRICS FOR ORGANIC

This year marks not only Clif Bar’s 20th anniversary, but also the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit. In 1992, hundreds of global leaders came together in Rio de Janeiro to craft commitments to sustainable development, along with critically needed conventions on climate change and biodiversity. The conference ended with a sense of hope and vision and with clearly set goals.

This year we’ve started a journey to quantify the multiple benefits of Clif Bar’s purchase of organic ingredients. Here you’ll also find the results of our own job creation study and a summary of the agricultural chemicals that we’ve avoided by purchasing organically grown oats and soy, our two primary ingredients.

Twenty years later, in June of 2012, heads of state and NGOs reconvened to consider their progress. Most agreed that there had been little improvement, and many prominent leaders had grown less committed. So where does that leave us?

I think we must respond by accepting greater responsibility––as business leaders, as individuals, and as active citizens. As I write this letter, I feel both sadness––we’ve missed the mark set at the Earth Summit in 1992––as well as excitement and hope that true grassroots change is underway. Two of the most promising areas link directly with our sustainability efforts at Clif Bar: the growth of the good food movement––including organic, sustainable farming practices worldwide––and the growth of climate leadership among green businesses.

Ten years ago, we began to measure and offset Clif Bar’s climate footprint. That choice set in motion dozens of other changes in the way we do business, from internal efforts like our Cool Commute program and the solar array on our new LEED-certified office, to more far-reaching efforts to promote sustainability in our supply chain. At the same time, our commitment to organic agriculture has grown steadily and along with it, the benefits that organic offers to public health, our planet, and our economy. Just recently, the National Academy of Sciences recognized organic and ecological farming as transformational practices that, by their very nature, offer multiple solutions to numerous problems.

MIJA RIEDEL Managing Editor

We’re dedicating the 20th anniversary issue of Moving Toward Sustainability to the multiple benefits of organic. This issue includes articles from three outside experts in economics, environment, and organic agriculture. We also introduce Clif Bar’s new sustainability metrics, designed to better understand our own evolving organic story.

JOHN MARIN Creative Director

Wendell Berry, poet, farmer, and environmental activist, summed it up perfectly: “A good solution solves more than one problem, and it does not make new problems.”

ELYSA HAMMOND & THAO PHAM Editors

JOHN TAYLOR Design Director

With ever warming regards,

VERONICA CIPTO Designer SARAH COLEMAN Illustrator KIM NOGAY Production SANDY BIAGI Print Management Special thanks to all of our Clif Bar & Company contributors: Christine Bunting, Chris Crowther, Cassie Cyphers, Matthew Dillon, Tara DelloIacono-Thies, Sue Hearn, Dean Mayer, Katie Parker, Alisha Sutton, Cassandra Todd

Elysa Hammond Ecologist and Director of Environmental Stewardship

60 55

45 40

}

CLIF BAR USE OF ORGANIC INGREDIENTS

35 30 25 20 15

16 % MORE U.S. JOBS COMPARED TO NONORGANIC INGREDIENTS

10 5 0 2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Year

OUR INCREASING USE OF ORGANIC INGREDIENTS Over the past 10 years, we’ve purchased nearly 250 million pounds of organic ingredients. Currently, 71% of all the ingredients we buy are certified organic. Our goal is to reach 80% USDA organic or certified sustainable by 2015.

ORGANIC GROWS JOBS Research by economist Dr. Allen Rosenfeld shows that Clif Bar’s use of organic ingredients generated 16% more U.S. jobs in 2010 than would have been created if we had not used any organic ingredients. For every person employed by Clif Bar, 35 jobs were created nationwide (through our supply chain, manufacturing, marketing, transportation, and retail sales). 1800

1600

Fertilizers Avoided (thousand pounds)

GARY ERICKSON & KIT CRAWFORD Co-Owners and Co-CEOs

RAISING THE SUSTAINABLE BAR:

Organic Ingredients (million pounds)

Moving Toward Sustainability is a newsletter intended to keep Clif Bar & Company employees, friends, and family connected with the vision, direction, and activities of our sustainability program.

ORGANIC FARMING:

MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF ORGANIC

Pesticides Avoided (thousand pounds)

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200

Fertilizers-Phosphate Fertilizers-Nitrogen

0 2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Year

PESTICIDES AVOIDED BY OUR PURCHASE OF ORGANIC OATS AND SOY

2011

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Year

FERTILIZERS AVOIDED BY OUR PURCHASE OF ORGANIC OATS AND SOY

To quantify the pesticides (insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides) and fertilizers avoided by our use of organic oats and soy, we first converted each processed ingredient to pounds of raw agricultural commodities needed, and the number of acres required for each year’s production from 2003–2011. Multiplying acres by the national average pesticide and fertilizer application rates per acre for the two crops yielded the total amount of pesticides and fertilizers avoided by our use of organic oats and soy.* Although oats and soy make up less than 30% of our total organic purchases, the amount of agricultural chemicals avoided is substantial: Since 2003, through our purchase of organic, we’ve prevented the application of 30,000 pounds of pesticide active ingredients and more than six million pounds of chemical fertilizers for these two crops. *Data on pesticides and fertilizers assessed in collaboration with Dr. Charles Benbrook, Director, Measure to Manage Program: Farm and Food Diagnostics for Sustainability and Health, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, Puyallup.

4 5

ORGANIC FOODS INDUSTRY CREATES MORE THAN A HALF-MILLION JOBS ECONOMY

THOUSANDS MORE JOBS CREATED THAN IN CONVENTIONAL FOOD INDUSTRY by Dr. Allen Rosenfeld, Economist and Senior Vice President, M+R Strategic Services In March 2012, Clif Bar’s Elysa Hammond and I began talking about how to better understand the economic benefits of organic. We knew this information would be vital in building a case for the importance of organic agriculture in the upcoming federal Farm Bill. Organic has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the food industry, with an average annual rate of growth of sales of 16% for the past 10 years, compared to only 3.1% for the food industry as a whole. So, we were surprised to learn that an industry-wide economic analysis had never been done, and this study would be a first for the organic industry. Our conversation paved the way for the Organic Trade Association to commission M+R to conduct a study of the impact of the U.S. organic industry on the U.S. economy in 2010. As an agricultural economist and veteran of five farm bills, I was well positioned and excited to lead the project. We harnessed IMPLAN’s state-of-the-art, input-output software, which uses 2010 federal

government data, to estimate the amount of jobs, worker income, and profits created in the U.S. by the organic and conventional food industries supply chains, manufacturing, wholesaling, transportation, and retail sales. In carrying out the study, we analyzed government and university data on labor use, production costs, and net returns for organic and non-organic farms. We found that in 2010, the U.S. organic foods industry was an economic dynamo. The industry created 572,000 jobs. That’s a striking 100,000, or 21%, more jobs than would have been created if the organic food industry’s retail sales that year ($26.7 billion) had been generated by the conventional food industry using all non-organic ingredients. And in 2010, the organic food industry added $29 billion to U.S. workers income, or more than a dollar in income for each dollar of retail sales––that’s about a 30% boost over the conventional food industry.

We attribute the overall job-creating advantage enjoyed by the organic foods industry largely to the following realities uncovered in our research: •

More hired farm labor per acre due mostly to the absence of chemical pesticides and fertilizers

•

Fewer farm-commodity imports

•

The high capital intensity of agricultural chemical industries

•

Greater reliance on relatively labor-intensive, smaller retail outlets

As a result of the new study, we now have evidence that organic foods are not only good for the environment, but are also good for U.S. workers and the nation’s economy. The message is clear: Investments that encourage expansion of organic agriculture in the U.S. should be a priority.

Learn more at www.ota.com

In 2010, the U.S. organic foods industry created 572,000 jobs. That's a 21% boost over the jobcreating power of conventional food and agriculture.

“What’s good for the environment and what’s good for industry economics are not mutually exclusive. The organic food processing industry is creating jobs, stimulating our economy, and delivering the products that consumers increasingly demand.”

Congressman Sam Farr (CA-17)

Plant breeders and organic farmers study red chard seed production.

IM AG IN E If 20% of U.S. food sales, not just 4%, were organic, it could mean the creation of nearly a half-million additional U.S. jobs. We know it’s possible—Clif Bar went from 0% to 71% organic in less than 10 years.

+ ½ MILLION

U.S. JOBS

6 7

by Dr. Charles Benbrook, Director, Measure to Manage Program, Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University For many years, concerned individuals and families have sought out organic food to reduce their exposures to risky pesticides, and now there’s solid government data showing that they are getting just what they paid for. Pesticide risks are not created equal. For years, toxicologists explained to the general public that “the dose makes the poison,” but now admit this message is far too simplistic. The risks stemming from exposure to pesticides, or any chemical in the environment, are a function of the timing of exposure, the location of exposure (i.e., what tissues are exposed), the chemical’s inherent toxicity, and the dose level.1 The riskiest exposures are those that occur in the prenatal period, as a child develops in the womb, and in the first few years of a child’s life. This is when extraordinarily complex stages of development must proceed in precisely the correct way, at the right time, and also when hormone-triggered developmental processes are most vulnerable to disruption by chemicals that mimic or block the functions of natural hormones. Science has now linked prenatal exposures to pesticides to greater risk of diabetes and obesity,2 as well as a suite of neurological

The health benefits of organic foods are twofold: They contain little-to-no pesticide residue, and hence reduce pesticide risks, and they contain, on average, higher levels of antioxidants, thereby promoting health and disease prevention.

problems including autism, ADHD, and loss of intelligence. A seminal study recently concluded that prenatal exposures to organophosphate (OP) insecticides are the third leading cause of reduced IQs, just behind lead exposure.3 In fact, the average OP insecticide levels in the blood of about 25% of adult women are high enough to place newborns at heightened risk. The surest and safest way to reduce pesticide exposures and risks is to seek out organic foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.4 In 2009, the USDA did a special, intensive study of pesticide residues on organic lettuce (318 samples) and found 80% of the organic samples contained no residues, while every sample of conventional lettuce contained an average of nearly four different residues. The average pesticide risk level in the conventional lettuce samples was 120 times higher than in the organic samples. In summary, switching to an organic diet results in an immediate and dramatic reduction in exposure to dietary pesticide residues. This news is of particular importance for children and pregnant women who are the most vulnerable to the impacts of toxic chemicals.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: ORGANIC DELIVERS MORE NUTRIENTS by Tara DelloIacono-Thies, Manager of Nutrition Strategy, and Elysa Hammond, Director of Environmental Stewardship

We’ve always known that organic foods are better for the environment, and now scientific research has also demonstrated that organic foods often contain higher concentrations of the antioxidant-rich phytonutrients that fight disease. In the last issue of Moving Toward Sustainability, we reported on a comprehensive study, New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods, which showed that organic foods are, on average, 25% more nutritious than the same food produced by conventional farming methods. That 2008 report, which drew on nearly 100 peer-reviewed studies and examined 236 matched pairs of organic and conventionally grown foods for 11 nutrients, remains the most thorough and rigorous summary study to date, and its findings are further supported by many of the 70 new studies that have been released in the following four years. Of particular interest is a recent report by the University of Washington, released in 2010, which found organic strawberries to be more nutritious than conventional—nearly 10% richer in antioxidants and vitamin C—with higher concentrations of all-important, protective phytonutrients, including polyphenols, which is especially good news for people’s health.1 (The organic berries also left the soil healthier––more genetically diverse and with higher levels of carbon––and sensory panels found the strawberries to be sweeter and more flavorful than conventional berries.) MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF PHYTONUTRIENTS Phytonutrients (also known as phytochemicals) are plant-based compounds believed to protect human health. Many phytonutrients, such as polyphenols, are also powerful antioxidants. Increasing one’s intake of specific phytonutrients can enhance cardiovascular health, reduce cholesterol levels, suppress inflammation, and help prevent diseases such as cancer. Some studies have even shown that certain plant compounds can also protect memory and enhance athletic performance.

Graduate students at the Organic Student Seed Symposium, sponsored by Seed Matters, discuss breeding the new Purple Rose variety of tomato for antioxidants.

1. See Vandenberg et al., 2012. “Hormones and Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Low-Dose Effects and Nonmonotonic i Dose Responses,” Re Vol. 33 (3): pages 378–455.

ORGANIC FARMING PRACTICES BOOST PHYTONUTRIENTS How food is grown affects its nutritional quality. Organic farming practices, especially the use of compost, manure, and other natural fertilizers rather than synthetic nitrate fertilizers, are among the factors that can markedly––and in some cases dramatically––increase the concentration of phytonutrients (and antioxidants) in food. The natural defense mechanisms of crops grown with artificial nutrients and pesticides decrease, resulting in reduced disease resistance and diluted content of the minerals, vitamins, and defenserelated phytonutrients that also benefit people’s health. Just a small increase in the concentration of nutrients––as little as 10%––in many nutrient-rich foods like blueberries and dark-green leafy vegetables can make a difference in the adequacy of daily nutrition. And choosing organic foods greatly reduces daily pesticide exposures and risk, too. Read the full report: www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/5367_Nutrient_Content_SSR_FINAL_V2.pdf 1. Reganold JP, Andrews PK, Reeve JR, Carpenter-Boggs L, Schadt CW, et al. (2010) Fruit and Soil Quality of Organic and Conventional Strawberry Agroecosystems. PLoS ONE 5(9): e12346. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012346.

2. A study in PLoS ONE linked long-term atrazine exposure to increased risk of insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes (Lim et al., 2009. “Chronic Exposure to the herbicide, Atrazine, Causes Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Insulin Resistance,” PLoS ONE, Vol. 4 (4):e5186).

The surest and safest way to reduce pesticide exposures and risks is to seek out organic foods.

3. Prenatal exposures to organophosphate (OP) insecticides were the third leading cause of lost IQ in a seminal paper by David Bellinger published in Environmental Health Perspectives (Vol. 20 (4): pages 501–507). 4. Dr. Chensheng (Alex) Lu, Harvard School of Public Health. See Lu et al., 2008, “Dietary intake and its contribution to longitudinal organophosphorus pesticide exposure in urban/suburban children,” Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 116. (4): pages 537–542; or Lu, et al., 2006. “Organic Diets Significantly Lower Children’s Dietary Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticides,” Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 114 (2): pages 260–263.

IM AG IN E What increased organic food production could mean for national public health: cleaner air and drinking water, healthier food and soils, and less exposure to toxic chemicals in rural farming communities.

HEALTH

REDUCE YOUR EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES WITH AN ORGANIC DIET

ORGANIC FOODS CONTAIN, ON AVERAGE,

25%

MORE NUTRIENTS

PESTICIDES, WATER, AND HEALTH HEALTH

In 2010, a White House panel released the groundbreaking report Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now, which affirmed what our partners at the Breast Cancer Fund have been saying for years: The connection between toxic chemicals and cancer has been vastly underestimated. Pesticides (including insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides) are of particular concern. They’re specifically formulated to be toxic to living organisms. The herbicide atrazine, for example, is an endocrine-disrupting compound that’s linked to birth defects and other cancers. It’s found in drinking water more often than any other pesticide.1 In a 2008 study, USDA scientists found atrazine in over 90% of drinking water samples. Atrazine has been leaching into rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and even tap water for decades. The European Union banned it in 2004, but atrazine is still the most widely used herbicide in the U.S. (over 76 million pounds annually).2

ORGANIC AGRICULTURE FIGHTS GLOBAL WARMING (AND BENEFITS WATER AND SOIL TOO) by Renata Brillinger, Executive Director, California Climate and Agriculture Network The current, record-setting floods, forest fires, droughts, and heat waves make it hard to ignore our climate crisis. Our farming systems are especially vulnerable, as the devastating 2012 drought in the U.S. Corn Belt made alarmingly clear. Climate chaos compels us to consider creative solutions. ORGANIC = LESS FOSSIL FUELS Organic farms have lower energy footprints compared to industrial farming systems. The U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization found that organic farms use 30%–50% less energy than conventional farms.1 This is mainly because organic farms don’t use fossil-fuel-based fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, which require huge amounts of energy. Instead, organic systems use compost, manure, crop rotation, cover crops, and increased biodiversity to provide nutrients and manage pests. These practices reduce on-farm emissions of both carbon dioxide (CO2), the most common greenhouse gas, and nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas with almost 300 times the heat-trapping power of carbon. ORGANIC = MORE SOIL CARBON Organic farms and ranches, with their focus on soil health, also store or “sequester” more carbon in the soil, making farmland a sink rather than a source of CO2. Long-term studies in California and Maryland show carbon sequestration was increased in organic systems by 15%–36% compared to conventional fields. Promoting the adoption of organic practices gives us an effective and affordable way to slow down climate change with tools already at hand, buying us time to shift to a clean energy economy.

ORGANIC = MORE RESILIENCY Soils high in organic matter provide another solution: They absorb and retain more water, serving as a reservoir for what will be an increasingly scarce natural resource, especially in the arid West and during droughts. Lowered demand for water also means lower electricity needs for pumping, and this too reduces CO2 emissions. In addition to storing water, soils rich in organic matter have fewer problems with pests, and resist erosion, both critically important benefits as farmers face more extreme weather events. Although economics, data, and growing consumer demand favor organic production, our farming system will not transform itself without our efforts. More research and assistance are needed on best practices. Organic seed breeding must be ramped up. And many growers will need incentives to make the transition. Communities, the business sector, and governments must invest in a transformation to organic agriculture—and reap the many rewards. California Climate and Agriculture Network (CalCAN) is a coalition of organic and sustainable agriculture organizations that advances policies to support agriculture in the face of climate change. See www.calclimateag.org for more information.

Research shows that, compared to industrial agriculture, organic farming practices: PROMOTE

GREATER ECONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL RESILIENCY IN THE FACE OF DROUGHTS AND EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS.

USE

IM AG IN E If all 160 million acres of conventional corn and soybeans in the U.S. were converted to organic production—that could translate to a climate beneﬁt equal to taking 25% of U.S. cars (58.7 million!) off the road.

1. Atrazine: Science under siege, Pesticide Action Network North America, www.panna.org/current-campaigns/atrazine. 2. Atrazine: Poisoning the Well, Natural Resources Defense Council, www.nrdc.org/health/atrazine.

30%-50% LESS FOSSIL

58.7 MILLION CARS

FUEL ENERGY

OFF THE ROAD IN THE U.S. MAY STORE

MORE CARBON

¹/³ IN THE SOIL

1. Ziesemer, J. 2007. Energy Use in Organic Food Systems. United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization. www.fao.org/docs/eims/upload/233069/energy-use-oa.pdf.

ENVIRONMENT

10 11

™

by Matthew Dillon, Director of Seed Matters

SEEDS

Seed is the critical first link in the food chain—and organic seed is the most underfunded and at-risk part of the organic food system. Organic farmers struggle with limited seed choices due, in part, to an increasingly consolidated seed sector: Four of the world’s largest agrochemical companies own 50% of the world’s proprietary seed (and they’re not breeding seed for organic conditions). Yet organic seeds hold untapped potential for increased production, nutrition, drought tolerance, and resistance to pests and disease. Research shows that when farmers plant seeds bred to thrive in organic, regional conditions, productivity can increase by 20%.1

CLIF BAR FAMILY FOUNDATION AND ITS PARTNER COMPANIES HAVE COMMITTED OVER $1.25 MILLION TO SEED MATTERS. In just over two years, this funding has helped establish research and education programs across the nation with Community Seed Toolkits; Plant Breeding Toolkits; Plant Breeding Guides for Organic Tomatoes, Sweet Corn, and Carrots; and GMO Contamination and Avoidance Testing Protocols for Seed Farmers, as well as the individual research and education programs described below.

In order to face future food challenges, it’s essential that we support farmers’ roles as innovators and seed stewards, and conserve and develop crop genetic diversity. With this goal in mind, Clif Bar Family Foundation founded the Seed Matters initiative and has committed over $1 million to four new programs developed over the past two years:

PORT TOWNSEND, WA

1. Organic Seed Research and Education Grants diversify seed options for organic farmers, improving their success while lowering the ecological impact of food and fiber production. 2. Seed Matters Fellowships for graduate students in organic plant breeding support the next generation of leaders in organic research, policy, and entrepreneurship. 3. Farmer Seed Stewardship provides educational outreach and advocacy to support farmers’ abilities to save seed, and to plant seed free of contamination from genetic engineering.

Seed Matters fellow Brook Brouwer discusses his barley research with Matthew Dillon, Director, Seed Matters.

4. Community Seed Toolkits provide communities with the resources to develop local seed gardens, libraries, exchanges, and other educational activities.

QUINOA AND COVER CROPS

ORGANIC VARIETY TRIAL WORKSHOPS

GRADUATE FELLOWSHIP, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY— PULLMAN, WA

GRAINS Ph.D. FELLOWSHIP,

ST TRAWB RA AWB WBER ERRI ER RIES RI ES VEGETABLES Ph.D. FELLOWSHIP, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY —CORVALLIS, OR

WASHIN WAS HINGTO HI HIN GTO ON STAT TATE E UN VE UNI VER VERSIT RSIT TY/P Y UYA UYALLU UY LLU L P RESEAR RES ESEAR EARCH C & EXTE CH EXTE XTENSI NS ON NSI O CE TER CEN E —PU PUYAL YAL YA LLUP, LUP U , WA

WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH— MOUNT VERNON, WA

CO C OR RN N FRANK FRA NK KUT KUTKA KA A— DICKIN DIC KINSON KIN SON,, N SON ND D

S AP BEA SN AN NS S UN UNI U N VER V SIT VE SITY Y OF WISC WISC SCONS ON IN ONS IN— N— MADISO MAD ISON, ISO SON, N, W WII

SW WEE EET TC CO ORN

—W WOL O COT OL CO T,, VT VT

LUP UPINE NE E KN KNOLL OLL LL L FA FARM RM M— WILLIA WIL LIA AMS, S OR

CORN Ph.D. FELLOWSHIP,

NATIONAL HEIRLOOM EXPO

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN— MADISON, WI

SANTA ROSA, CA

Seed Matters key goals: Conserve crop genetic diversity Protect farmers’ roles and rights as seed stewards Reinvigorate public seed research and education Think of the goals as CPR for seed.

S UD ST U EN NT ORGA OR GANI GA NIC NI C SE S ED SY YMP MPOS OSIU OS IU IUM UM

BROC BR OCCO OC COLI CO OLI LI N TH CAR NOR AROLI OLINA OLI OL LINA A STA STATE TE UN TE UNI N VER VERSIT VE SITY SIT Y MOUN MOUN NTAI TA AIN N RES SEAR EARCH ARCH H STA STATIO ST T N—MIL TIO MILLS L RIV LS R ER, NC C

CO COVE OVE ER CR C OP OPS S

FARMER SEED STEWARDSHIP EDUCATION —SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

SCREVE SCR EVE EVEN VEN COUN COUN NTY Y COCO O-OP OOP O P EXT E ENS EX ENSION ION ON O N SER SE RVIC VICES ES—SYL ES SY VAN NIA, IA A, GA GA

Tessa Peters, a Seed Matters fellow at the University of Wisconsin, is breeding sweet corn for organic systems, with particular focus on developing varieties for weed competition.

20%

SEEDS BRED TO THRIVE IN ORGANIC

AND REGIONAL CONDITIONS CAN

“Seed is a legacy we’ve inherited from generations of farmers and gardeners, and with that inheritance comes a responsibility to care for the diversity and beauty of seeds. Seed matters to all of us, so let’s work on it together.”

Kit Crawford

Co-Owner and Co-CEO, Clif Bar & Company President of Clif Bar Family Foundation

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY BY 20%.

Seeds bred for chemical agriculture have actually decreased nutrient levels in 39 crops.2 Public spending on organic seed research has averaged less than $1 million per year over the last 15 years, while tens of millions are spent annually on seed research for conventionalbiotech agriculture.3

KEY:

O GA OR ANI N CS SE E EED ED RES ED ESEA EARC EA RC RCH CH AN ND ED EDUC UCAT UC A IO AT ON GR RAN ANTS T TS FARMER SEED STEWARDSHIP

1. Murphy, Kevin M.; Campbell, Kimberly G.; Lyon, Steven R.; and Jones, Stephen S., “Evidence of varietal adaptation to organic farming systems” (2007). Publications from USDA-ARS / UNL Faculty. Paper 422. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usdaarsfacpub/422 2. Davis DR, Epp MD, Riordan HD. 2004. Changes in USDA food composition data for 43 garden crops, 1950 to 1999. J Am Coll Nutr23:669–82. 3. Dillon, M. and K. Hubbard. 2011. State of Organic Seed. Organic Seed Alliance/USDA-OREI. www.seedalliance.org/Publications/. Accessed 28 November 2011.

COMMUNITY SEED TOOLKITS SEED MATTERS FELLOWSHIPS

LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION? Seed Matters: seedmatters.org State of Organic Seed Report: seedalliance.org/Publications/ Out of Hand (report on seed concentration): www.farmertofarmercampaign.com

Photo credit: Briana Forgie

The food choices we make three times a day can positively impact our health and our environment.

Kit Crawford Co-Owner and Co-CEO of Clif Bar & Company President, Clif Bar Family Foundation

WORKING TO REDUCE OUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Clif Bar Sustainability Newsletter / Fall 2012

LETTER FROM KIT

FOOD. HEALTH. ENVIRONMENT. THEY’RE ALL CONNECTED.