New this year: the Environmental Impact Award. “This award recognizes an individual, organization, or company that has implemented innovative sustainable or regenerative business practices that will continue to have a meaningful positive impact on the environment,” explained Holly E. Johnson, Ph.D., AHPA’s Chief Science Officer and staff liaison for the AHPA Sustainability Committee, in the press release. “AHPA is honored to present the inaugural Environmental Impact Award to the Rodale Institute, an incredible organization that has embodied the spirit of this award for decades through their commitment to advancing organic and regenerative farming through research and education.”
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The winners are:Herbal Insight Award: Cassandra L. Quave, Ph.D.,a medical ethnobotanist who focuses on the documentation and analysis of botanical remedies used in the treatment of infectious disease. She is the Herbarium Curator and Associate Professor of Dermatology and Human Health at Emory University, where she leads anti-infective drug discovery research initiatives and teaches courses on medicinal plants, food, and health. She is also the Co-Founder and CEO/CSO of PhytoTEK LLC, a drug discovery company dedicated to developing botanical solutions for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant infections. Dr. Quave has authored more than 100 scientific publications, and has published the novelThe Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines, wherein she discusses her field research.
Herbal Diversity & Inclusion Award: Planting Justice,a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to address structural inequalities embedded in the industrialized food system, such as the systemic exploitation of food system workers; lack of access to fresh, nutritious food in low-income communities of color; and over-reliance on packaged, processed food. Since 2009, Planting Justice has built over 550 edible permaculture gardens in the San Francisco Bay area; worked with five high schools to develop food justice curricula; and created over 40 green jobs in the food justice movement for people transitioning from prison.
Herbal Hero Award: Marc Allen, who has served two terms as Chairman of the Board for the AHPA Board of Trustees, and has served the board as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Finance & Governance Committee. He started and led the Financial Audit Committee, participated in formal development of the President’s review process, initiated appropriately timed reviews of dues levels and structure, and helped to launch AHPA’s Strategic Planning Process. He has also shepherdedHerb Pharm’sparticipation in and continued support of the AHPA ERB Foundation.
Herbal Industry Leadership Award: Celestial Seasonings,a founding member of AHPA with the goal of providing delicious, high-quality teas, good for both tea drinkers and the world. Celestial Seasonings sources 100+ botanicals from 35 countries around the world, with 70% of ingredients purchased directly from farmers and local communities. The natural-fiber, pillow-style teabags don’t use string, tags, staples, or individual wrappers, saving more than 3.5m pounds of waste.
Environmental Impact Award: Rodale Institute,founded in 1947 by J.I. Rodale, who purchased a farm in 1940 where he grew food without chemicals, coining the term “organic” for the practice. Since then, Rodale—a 501(c)(3) nonprofit—has championed not only organic, but regenerative agriculture. The Institute is dedicated to growing organic through rigorous research, farmer training, and consumer education. The research includes a 40-year-old Farming Systems Trial, the longest-running side-by-side comparison of grain cropping systems in America. Rodale has invested in new research on industrial hemp, nutrient management, improved techniques for composting, soil carbon accrual, pest and disease prevention, and more.
