Annie’s celebrates parents who are saying no to synthetic ingredients. Watch the video above, then click here to learn more.

School: Cornell University

PhD candidate in Development Sociology

“Farmers of the 21st century will not only be tasked with growing food, but also with restoring and maintaining ecological functioning in a time of climate change. That is, the next generation of farmers must manage farms for their multi-functionality.

…Many of these young farmers don’t come from farming families and they face a number of difficult barriers to entry. These include access to land, credit, and markets, knowledge and training, and health care, among others. However, these barriers are not insurmountable. Local initiatives to re-vitalize the farming sector have developed innovative, placed-based solutions to these problems. My research aims to explore the short- and long-term efforts of California farmers and farmer organizations to overcome these barriers. Such efforts include innovative models of land access, new forms of finance, and the creation of new markets.“ 

$10,000 winner

School: University of California, Davis

PhD candidate in International Agriculture Development

“My commitment to sustainable agriculture is due the connection that I see between the basic human right to food and the basic human responsibility ot live in right relation to the land. These two concepts need to be better brought together in the field of international agriculture development in order to improve project sustainability on both social and environmental levels. From my perspective, poverty and hunger cannot be truly alleviated by ecologically unsustainable means. International development initiatives need to have long-term vision regarding the techniques that they are promoting for agricultural development not just to meet food security needs for today but also for future generations.

…We need to be aware of ethical issues in working within other cultures and avoid the paternalistic mistakes of the past. To that effect, I am learning more about community-driven and participatory development methods that put the farmer first and involve small-scale farmers in research and education on creative and ecologically sustainable ideas for meeting food security.”

School: Daemen College

Year: Junior

Major: Global & Local Sustainability

“I believe that no matter the location of the agriculture–rural or urban–sustainable practices are holistic, regenerative, and beneficial to the Earth. Once people better understand the connection between plants, the earth, food, and themselves, there are better chances of a healthy earth. Just as unsustainable practices becomes cyclical, so also do sustainable practices. I believe that improved human health and treatment will directly correlate to improved earth health and treatment. Agriculture is needed everywhere, especially agriculture that will last and provide for endless generations without compromising the existence of the present generation.”

School: University of California, Berkeley

PhD student in Environmental Science and Policy Management 

“Colony Collapse Disorder provides us with a unique opportunity to look critically at the end results of our agricultural systems if we proceed without change. Honeybees, it seems, are a canary in the coal mine that point to a possible collapse of our food system if we don’t shift our agricultural landscapes to sustainable models. And while beekeepers are an important source of knowledge about agricultural sustainability, they are also both co-producers and captives of an industrialized food system that pushes them to manage their bees in ways that are unsustainable.

This, then, is what I want to research: How can we create farming systems that are pollinator friendly and diverse? What changes must beekeepers make to promote bee health? How can we measure the costs and benefits of creating a more pollinator-diverse agricultural system to make sure it is economically viable? And then how can we identify points of leverage to effect policy changes that will support these systems as well?”

School: University of New Hampshire

PhD candidate in Agroecology, Natural Resources & Ear

“While the history of modern agriculture is not yet written, I hope that future analyses will point to a paradigm shift where the focus of agriculture expands to include not just crop yields, but a sustainable, coupled human-agro-ecosystem where food production, quality, and equability are all in the forefront. I see three related challenges facing agriculture today: 1) the emphasis on quantity rather than quality 2) the decoupling of the social and biophysical aspects of the farm (3) the linear framework within which agricultural decisions are often made.
…Adoption of new management practices is often constrained because farmers cannot afford the specialized equipment recommended or they perceive the risk of adoption greater than the reward. I plan to continue working in agricultural systems to reduce these constraints, improve farmer welfare, and advance the sustainability of agriculture.”

School: Pomona College

Year: Junior

Major: Environmental Analysis, focus in Sustainable Agriculture

“There are so many unanswered questions in sustainable agriculture, particularly in soil science: Are organic methods that replennish and sustain the soil viable on a large scale? How do land management practices affect soil nutrient composition and microbial communities? What potential do soil processes offer for mitigating the disruptive effects of climate change? Organic agriculture has historically been framed as a counterculture movement, but in order ot make the greatest impact, I think its proponents need to convince the world to transition on a large scale. By using scientific evidence that shows sustainable techniques to be superior to their conventional counterparts, we can convince policymakers and the general public that sustainable agriculture is the way of the future.”

School: University of San Francisco

Year: Junior

Major: Environmental Science
Minor: Urban Agriculture 

“It was not until I moved to an urban environment, the city of San Francisco, that I realized that my passion for food could be an avenue for positive change within myself and my community. In a city, we are directly confronted with the problems of the food system: unequal access to fresh and affordable food, the privatization of food, lack of land, unfair labor conditions, and irresponsible treatment of the city, the land, and food through the use of pesticides and herbicides. All of these issues come to a crux in an urban environment. The city is defined by contrasting juxtapositions: between humans and the environment, rich and poor, tradition and progress. The city is a dynamic place. Despite all of the environmental, social, and economic issues we face, there is a lot to be hopeful for. I feel empowered to grow positive change through urban agriculture, especially through education and striving to close the food gap.”

School: University of California, Davis

Year: Junior

Major: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

“There is a feeling of competence worthiness, and ability to determine the course of your own life that occurs when you can sustain yourself physically through food production. I want to spread that opportunity to those that aren’t usually afforded it. A healthier and happier world will be one where people feel stable and secure that they will have food, that their children will have food, and that that food will be nourishing. In this world, the production of that food won’t make the air unbreathable or the water undrinkable. In this world, our food source doesn’t have to preclude the thriving living of other species. Our farms can grow and farms in other countries can grow and both can provide food where it’s needed instead of threatening each other. I want to see a world where agriculture is seen as an integral part of life, success, and environmental stewardship.”

School: Morrisville State College

Year: Rising Freshman

Major: Agricultural Business

“Growing up on a small, organic dairy farm has significantly impacted my life…But even though our farm won an award for sustainable farming practices as far as runoff management goes, I came to focus on a larger definition of sustainability…My vision of the successful future farmer is one who will educate the consumer, as well as supply them directly with their products, but also the byproducts of their cash crop (such as bull calves, heat from milk, fallow grass in buffer strips, and manure) into a value added product…I want to continue to push the limits of sustainable agriculture and set the standard for farmers to come.”