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Myra Goodman, co-founder with her husband Drew of Carmel Valley’s Earthbound Farm, one of the world’s leading organic growers, will be the featured speaker at the Monterey Institute’s spring 2012 commencement ceremony. The ceremony—scheduled for Saturday, May 19 on the front lawn of historic Colton Hall in downtown Monterey—will begin at 1:00 p.m. with the traditional processional, featuring flag-bearers marching down Pacific Street carrying the flags of each of the 33 countries represented in the graduating class of 309 students.

Earthbound Farm was the first company to successfully package pre-washed salads for retail sale in 1986, and has expanded to become the largest grower of organic produce in North America, with 200 farmers cultivating 40,000 organic acres. Earthbound Farm’s organic farming practices avoid the use of more than 14 million pounds of agricultural chemicals every year.

Myra and Drew Goodman have been honored with awards including Global Green USA’s Corporate Environmental Leadership Award, and Myra Goodman has authored the popular cookbooks Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook, and The Earthbound Cook: 250 Recipes for Delicious Food and a Healthy Planet. A passionate advocate for organic food and farming, she has appeared on dozens of television shows, including Oprah and Good Morning America, and has been featured in publications including Bon Appetit and The New York Times.

The Goodmans‘ role as one of the foremost practitioners—and proponents—of organic farming in the United States resonated deeply within the MIIS community. The Institute’s programs in International Environmental Policy, International Business, International Policy, and Public Administration all stress the importance of fostering sustainable development that benefits both the economic well-being and the health of the population it serves. Organic farming on the scale practiced by the Goodmans is an excellent example of this kind of sustainable business model.

Myra and Drew Goodman will both receive honorary degrees from the Institute at the commencement ceremony. The Goodmans still live on their original farm in Carmel Valley.

For More Information

Jason Warburg
jwarburg@middlebury.edu
831.647.3156

Eva Gudbergsdottir
eva@middlebury.edu
831.647.6606