Gary Hirshberg
Mr. Gary Hirshberg is the husband of Meg Hirshberg and the father of three yogurt eaters. He is Co-Founder and Chairman of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer. Since 1983, Gary has overseen Stonyfield’s growth, from its infancy as a seven-cow organic farming school to its current $370 million in annual sales, consistently producing great-tasting products and using innovative marketing that blends the company’s social, environmental, and financial missions. Stonyfield entered into a partnership with Danone in 2001, and Gary is now Managing Director of Stonyfield Europe. He serves on several corporate and non-profit boards. In 2011, President Obama appointed Gary to serve on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. As a founding partner of Just Label It, We Have the Right to Know, he has led consumer drive to require the US FDA to mandate labeling of genetically engineered foods.
A frequent speaker on sustainability, organic agriculture and the profitability of green business, as well as the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates and awards for corporate innovation and environmental leadership, Gary was named a Gordon Grand Fellow at Yale University, one of “America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs†by Business Week,and one of the top ten “most inspiring people in sustainable food†by Fast Company. He has authored Stirring It Up: How To Make Money and Save the World (Hyperechion, 2008), co-authored Label It Now: What You Need To Know About Genetically Engineered Foods (New Word City, 2012), and published books on wind-power and organic gardening.