Feb 13, 2024

Organic Night Out celebrates research, products, producers

The best of organic — from innovative entrepreneurs and established organic brands to cutting-edge organic research and visionary scientists — will be honored at an event during the Natural Products Expo West trade show in Anaheim, California.

Hosted by The Organic Center and Organic Voices, “An Organic Night Out: Honoring the Year’s Best in Organic” on March 13 will recognize and celebrate the success of organic brands and companies in communicating the impact of organic to consumers, as well as showcase the latest organic research being conducted by The Organic Center and its partner scientists.

The honorees at the first-ever “Organic Oscars” — nominated and chosen by their peers — will reflect the huge diversity of today’s organic sector. Over 70 organic companies have nominated more than a hundred organic businesses. Groundbreaking organic research will be honored with an Excellence Award going to the most impactful organic research of the year.

Awards will be given in eight categories: Best New Organic Food/Beverage Product; Best New Organic Non-food Product; Best Organic Messaging: Better for the Planet, People or Animals; Best Organic PR or Social Media Activation; Best Retailer Organic Activation; Most Impactful Organic Research Result or Finding; Emerging Organic Entrepreneur of the Year and Organic Company of the Year.

Award-winning actress, philanthropist, and co-founder of the organic children’s nutrition company Once Upon a Farm, Jennifer Garner, will emcee the awards ceremony with organic advocate Gary Hirschberg, co-founder of the world’s largest organic dairy company, Stonyfield Farm.

“The organic community is so excited to be recognizing these incredible organic game changers,” Hirshberg said in a news release. “The response from the organic industry to celebrate and honor the work of their peers truly demonstrates the creativity, generosity and dedication of our sector to create a greener and healthier future for our planet.”

Celebrating the science behind organic

“To grow the organic industry and its positive impact on people and the planet, we all must understand the value of organic and the holistic benefits when we buy products carrying the USDA Organic seal,” Amber Sciligo, director of science programs for the Organic Center, said in the release. “This event will showcase the brilliant science that demonstrates those benefits and helps organic farmers succeed.”

The evening will feature an interactive science fair demonstrating research being conducted by The Organic Center and other scientists. Attendees will see first-hand the real benefits organic practices have on crop production and the health of our planet and people. Displays will show how organic farming protects the health of pollinators with a live bee observation hive, how choosing organic cotton is good for our environment, and how the organic industry is leading the charge to tackle the devastating citrus greening disease without the use of toxic chemicals.

An eye-catching installation at the science fair by artist Cynthia Minet will remind attendees of the copious amounts of plastic used and wasted across the food chain and the need to dramatically reduce its production. The Organic Center has partnered with stakeholders across the industry to tackle the use of plastic in agriculture products. In 2023, The center’s signature conference event, “Organic Confluences,” focused on reducing plastic across the organic supply chain. The activating message symbolized so effectively by Minet’s installation is at the heart of the work The Organic Center will continue throughout 2024 in an effort to provide tools and solutions for the organic industry to reduce their reliance on plastic.

The occasion is the biggest fundraising event for The Organic Center and Organic Voices, both nonprofit organizations that work on important research, education and communication with the organic industry and with consumers.