The True Value of Organic - CCOF

Member NewsNew Bottles forFetzer VineyardsCertified member Fetzer Vineyards issaving 2,200 tons of glass a year andcutting costs by switching to lightweightbottles for the 23 million bottles theyship each year. Based in Hopland, theNorthern California winery stays true toits organic roots through reducing thewinery’s impact on the environment.The switch to a lighter weight glass hashelped the winery continue to achievea greater level of sustainability.Indus OrganicsGoes OnlineCertified member IndusOrganics recently launcheda new retail product linefor sale on Amazon.com.Amazon now features IndusOrganics as a part of their natural andorganic grocery department. Their organicculinary herbs, spices and seedsare available in 2 oz retail bags as analternative to buying them in bulk.Lundberg Family FarmsReceives Leadership AwardAt the end of October, the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)awarded certified member LundbergFamily Farms with a2008 Green PowerLeadership Award forits voluntary effortsto address climatechange through thepurchase and use ofgreen power. Lundberg was one ofonly two organizations in the nation toreceive the Leadership award for theirgeneration of on-site green power. Theyrecently installed a solar array that coversa full acre in addition to two solarphotovoltaic arrays on the companywarehouses, generating up to 15% oftheir total power. As a participant inGreen Power Partnership, Lundbergoffsets its total electricity use throughthe purchase of Renewable EnergyCredits.CCOF Members DonateProduce to Military FamiliesFive CCOF certified memberswere among the Western GrowersAssociation members that donated produceto military families at the MiramarMarine Corps Air station in San Diegothrough Hidden Harvest. Driscoll’sstrawberries, Duda Farm Fresh Foods’celery, Grimmway Farms’ carrots, PrimeTime International’s bell peppers andSun World International’s plums weregladly received by nearly 300 militaryfamilies of marines and sailors.Traditional Medicinals Raisesthe Sustainability BarCertified member TraditionalMedicinals has taken their commitmentto environmental stewardship onelarge step further. On the last day ofSeptember the Sebastopol, Californiabased company completed thelargest, solar-powered tea factory onthe planet. The installation of 1,450solar panels will generate 430,000 kWhper year of renewable energy, enoughto cover 75% of the tea factory’s energyrequirements. The remaining energywill be offset through the purchase ofwind energy credits, which prior to thesolar panel installation were purchasedto offset all of their electricity usage.The 70,000 square foot solar-poweredtea factory complements the company’srecycled and recyclable packaging,extensive on site recycling, hybridvehicle fleet, self-sustained watersource, wastewater disposal system, fishpond for fire suppression and droughtresistantlandscaping.Dixon Ridge Farms HostsSustainability ForumRuss Lester, owner of CCOF certifiedDixon Ridge Farms, recently hostedCalifornia’s Secretary of AgricultureAG Kawamura and others on aneducational tour of his farm to learnabout his efforts to achieve full energyself-sufficiency by 2012. Throughimplementation of innovative practicesand technology, including the additionof a 50kW generator used to convertwalnut shells into renewable energy,Dixon Ridge aims to move “off thegrid” and to create a “whole systemsapproach towards their farming andbusiness practices”. CCOF PolicyDirector, Claudia Reid attended andheard Russ describe the pitfalls as wellas the victories in this ongoing project.Fresno State student awardedorganic dairy scholarshipMichael Fagundes, 19, son of Ralphand Vicki Fagundes of certified memberFagundes Bros. Dairy, was awarded a2008 HOPE scholarship towards his degreein organic dairy farming at FresnoState University. Horizon Organicstarted the Horizon Organic ProducerEducation (HOPE) program in 2001,but has only awarded national scholarshipsin the last two years. Fagundesearned the $2500 scholarship as aContinued on page 6CCOF Certified Organic Magazine—Winter 20095