Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirschberg to speak in Burlington

Gary Hirshberg, president and "CE-Yo" of Stonyfield Farm, the world's leading organic yogurt producer will speak in Burlington, VT, on Thursday, November 19 at two events, both on behalf of the Intervale Center.
Environmental activist, business entrepreneur, renewable energy advocate, and food activist (Hirshberg appears prominently in the film, Food, Inc.), his topic, "Inventing the Future of Food" will be presented at the University of Vermont at 3 pm in the Billings Building North Lounge. The event is co-sponsored by UVM's Institute for Global Sustainability, the Food System Research Collaborative at the UVM Center for Rural Studies, Solutions Journal, and the Intervale Center. The event is free and open to the public.
From 5:30-7:30 pm, Hirshberg will speak at a reception held at the Bluebird Tavern, 317 Riverside Avenue, in Burlington. This gathering is for the benefit of the Intervale Center, the non-profit organization that stewards 350 acres of Intervale land, and fosters farm and community-based food enterprises.
Hirshberg, in addition to creating a successful business in Londonderry, NH, is the recent author of Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World (Hyperion Books, 2008). In his book, he advocates "the inherent profitability of climate change," and gives many examples of how Stonyfield's investment in carbon footprint reduction has ultimately resulted in increased profitability for the company.
Since 1983, Hirshberg has overseen Stonyfield's phenomenal growth, from its infancy as a seven-cow organic farming school to its current $330 million in annual sales. Stonyfield has enjoyed a compounded annual growth rate of over 24% for more than eighteen years, using innovative marketing techniques that blend the company's social, environmental, and financial missions. In 2001, Stonyfield Farm entered into a partnership with Groupe Danone, and in 2005, Gary was named managing director of Stonyfield Europe, a joint venture between the two firms with brands in Canada, Ireland, and France.
For more information about Hirshberg's talk at UVM, contact Matt Sayre at [email protected]. Reception tickets are $50 per person and must be reserved in advance by contacting Joyce Cellars at [email protected] or calling 660-0440 #101.
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