Daniel Goleman and Gary Hirshberg will appear at the 92 Street Y Wednesday, May 6^th at the 92^nd Street Y in New York City. Enter the code “hazo” for a discount on tickets.They will be discussing the green revolution. Check out Susan Bodnar’s article to read about her interview with Daniel Goleman.

How does yogurt fit into the economy and the environment? Just ask Gary Hirshberg, Chairman, President, and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s largest organic yogurt maker. His recent book, Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, addresses issues of greening the economy and ethical business practices.

I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Hirshberg about his book, food culture in America, and his background. A big thanks to Mr. Hirshberg for taking the time to answer our interview questions.

In your recent book, Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World, you write about the power of individuals in our economy and environment. This seems quite fitting in the current economic climate. How are economics and the environment linked together, and what can Americans do to make a positive impact on these two topics?

After more than three decades in the environmental movement and almost that long building Stonyfield Farm into the world’s largest organic yogurt maker, I’ve learned that ecologically sound practices are also economically sound over the long term. Indeed, saving the planet can prove profitable in both a fiscally narrow sense and in a much broader context of job creation and greatly expanded economic development.

At Stonyfield, we’ve saved millions by being greener. For example, just replacing our plastic yogurt lids with foil lids has meant 16% less energy used; 6% less solid waste created; 13% less water used; and we save over 200 tons of plastic annually.

In 2008, we reduced the energy use at our manufacturing facility by 8% while producing 12% more yogurt, saving more than a quarter million dollars. We also reduced trash per ton of yogurt by 30%, saving over $100,000 and in the past two years, we’ve reduced greenhouse gases from finished product distribution by 40%, saving a half million dollars.

Where do consumers come in? In the wake of stories about corporate greed and financial irresponsibility, the public is demanding greater accountability from companies.  It’s amazing the power consumers wield when they choose goods and services that have lower environmental footprints. We all send an undeniable message to the businesses that produce them — and the ones that don’t. More and more businesses are taking stock and recognizing like we did 25 years ago that ‘green’ – not greed – is good.

Where do you see the American food system in one year? Ten years? Fifty years?

In the next year, we’ll see two major issues surface: food safety and healthfulness. People are concerned about their food – where it comes from, how it’s grown, how it’s processed and packaged. I think food safety is the most immediate on people’s minds, but that will only become more pronounced as efforts continue to address food inspection, food safety, etc. As for healthfulness, a study just out showed that there is now a higher percentage of Americans considered obese than the percentage that is simply overweight. Combined, both these groups account for 60% of Americans. That has to change.

In ten years, I believe organic food, which now accounts for 2.6% of food sales, will reach 5 to 6%, thanks to consumers’ desire to take their health seriously and closely examine their food purchases.

In 50 years, our global population will reach 9.2 billion, yet arable land will be shrinking, due to climate change and the resulting chaotic weather patterns. Indoor farming will become a new focus, just as organic food will account for half of all food sales. And we will be forced to pay even closer attention to the carbon footprint of conventional agriculture due to the uncontrolled soaring cost of fossil fuels.

But why wait for  50 years–or even 10—to really get where we need to go. Go see the new film FOOD Inc in theatres this summer for a sobering examination of our current food system. I’ll be shocked if people don’t want to start changing how we produce our food immediately—to protect our own health and the well-being of workers, animals and the planet. 

Are you influenced by your Jewish background, and if so, how?

I was raised in a secular Jewish family, but came of age and was bar mitvahed in the year of the Six Day War. As a result, I see my Jewish identity as being more rooted in politics than in religion per se.  Since then, the unrest and instability in the Middle East has continued, now largely due to the constant struggle among oil-producing nations, and the global demands for that oil. And because of our own energy dependence, the US looks the other way at some of the highly restrictive practices in some Mideast countries – the treatment of women for example, as well as other human rights issues.  As a culture, we ignore this clash of values because of our oil addiction but my hope is that things are going to change. As we move towards a rational energy policy grounded in sustainability, we will be able to act in ways that better reflect our values.

Gary Hirshberg is Chairman, President, and CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer, based in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  The author of  Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World (Hyperion Books, January, 2008), he is a world-renowned speaker on topics including sustainability, climate change, the profitability of green business, organic agriculture, socially responsible business and sustainable economic development. (Stonyfield Farm)