Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

Kirschenmann selected for national award

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2011

Leopold Center Distinguished Fellow Fred Kirschenmann is being honored as a visionary and for his lifetime of leadership in sustainable food and farming systems. He is among 10 food pioneers, including First Lady Michelle Obama, to receive the inaugural Leadership Award from the James Beard Foundation to mark the culinary arts organization’s 25th anniversary.

“Our Foundation is widely known for recognizing the best chefs and restaurateurs in America through our annual James Beard Awards,” said Susan Ungaro, foundation president. “Our new Leadership Awards shine the spotlight on game-changing pioneers who have inspired positive action to improve our country’s food system.”

Honorees were chosen by an advisory board comprised of a dozen experts from diverse areas of expertise. The Leadership Awards recognize specific outstanding initiatives as well as bodies of work and lifetime achievement. Among the criteria used to select final honorees are excellence of work, innovation in approach and scale of impact within a community or the nation.

Scott Cullen, executive director of the environmental nonprofit GRACE, said Kirschenmann has a deep knowledge of history and hands-on experience as an organic farmer. “The incredibly holistic lens through which he views life allows him to interconnect and interweave complex ideas into a clear and powerful synthesis that everyone can understand,” he said. “He’s a real gift to all of us.”

The group is recognizing the First Lady for launching her Let’s Move! campaign to address childhood obesity. Other honorees include California chef Alice Waters, FoodCorps founder Debra Eschmeyer, CEO of Bon Appétit Management Company and Will Allen, former basketball pro now working in community-based food systems. Iowa native Craig Watson, who is vice president of agricultural sustainability for Sysco Corporation, also is receiving the award.

The awardees will be honored guests at a dinner hosted by the foundation October 12 in New York City.

Back to Leopold Letter Fall 2011