Organic Dairy Innovator Selected as Sustainability Pioneer at Ecovia Intelligence’s 2018 Sustainable Food Awards
PETALUMA, Calif., (June 11, 2018) – Straus Family Creamery, a trailblazer in the organic foods movement, has been honored with Ecovia Intelligence’s inaugural Sustainable Food Award in the Sustainability Pioneer category. The news was announced at the Sustainable Foods Summit in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Summit focuses on issues the global food industry faces concerning sustainability and eco-labels, and is held quarterly in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and North America.
“I am grateful to see my company recognized through this first-ever award in sustainable food production practices. My family started dairy farming in Northern California in 1941 when my father, a refugee from Germany, purchased 23 Jersey cows. I converted our farm to organic and founded the Creamery in 1994, driven by my strong belief that organic practices are key to ensuring that future generations will continue to be able to farm,” said Albert Straus, founder and CEO of Straus Family Creamery.
He added that organic practices support a thriving relationship among farms, food, people, and the earth. Today we continue to innovate, implementing solutions such as carbon farming practices, which integrate soil building, compost application and grazing livestock, and which are recognized globally as a way to reverse climate change.
As a first-mover in the organic industry’s fight against climate change, Straus sees innovative business practices as fundamental to its operations. The scope of the company’s sustainability commitments is extensive: from zero-waste programs to resilient packaging and water conservation, to carbon-free energy and electric vehicle usage.
The Northern California creamery, where Straus’ premium organic milk, yogurt, ice cream, sour cream, and butter are produced, runs on 100% renewable electricity generated from wind and solar sources. The transition to renewable energy has decreased the company’s operational greenhouse gas footprint by 20 percent annually. With California’s farmers and businesses facing periodic drought conditions, the company has focused on water conservation, decreasing its water usage by 30 percent in the last seven years.
A pioneer since 2004 in using cow manure to generate electrical power, Straus’ on-farm methane digester reduces more than 1,600 metric tons of CO2e emissions annually, which is the equivalent of taking 350 cars off the road.
In 2017, Albert Straus launched the country’s first full-scale electric feed truck to feed to his 280 cows. Eight years in the making, Straus earned media attention when he beat Tesla Motors to market with his electric truck, a 33,000 lb. converted International Harvester model.
In 2018, U.S. based Climate Collaborative and National Co-Op Grocers Association honored Albert Straus with its ‘Outstanding Influencer’ award for his substantial environmental accomplishments.
About Straus Family Creamery: Based in Northern California, Straus Family Creamery is a certified organic creamery offering minimally processed milk, cream, yogurt, butter, sour cream, ice cream, and a variety of wholesale and specialty dairy products distributed throughout the Western United States. The Creamery makes its products from organic milk supplied by nine family farms in Marin and Sonoma Counties, including the Straus Dairy Farm, which is the first certified organic dairy farm west of the Mississippi River. Straus Family Creamery, the first 100 percent certified organic creamery in the United States, continues to make business decisions based on its mission to help sustain family farms, revitalize rural communities, and protect the environment. The family-owned business sustains collaborative relationships with the family farms that supply it milk, offering stable prices and predictability in what can otherwise be a volatile marketplace. Learn more at StrausFamilyCreamery.com, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Shereen Mahnami
Director of Communications
Straus Family Creamery
M: 510-734-4933
shereen@strausmilk.com
Haven Bourque
Haven B Media
415-505-3473
haven@havenbmedia.com
