The goal is to advance community and economic development programs that work to secure – for the present and future, and within the means of nature – a just and equitable life for all species.

Sustainable food systems:

$100,000 over two years to the CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR RURAL STUDIES, Davis, Ca., for Toward a Broader Vision of Sustainability, a research and dissemination project consisting of (1) a survey assessing the state of social equity in sustainable agriculture in California; and (2) a pilot dissemination project offering information and technical assistance to growers to promote the adoption of more socially equitable labor practices.

$50,000 to CALIFORNIANS FOR GE-FREE AGRICULTURE, Occidental, Ca., to build an alliance of organizations, the California Alliance on Biotechnology in Agriculture, for joint education and action on the need for state policies to prevent genetically engineered (GE) crop contamination; require labeling of GE food; establish a moratorium on pharmaceutical crops; and create stronger monitoring and enforcement laws to protect farmers, consumers, and the environment from the risk of GE crops and food. The Occidental Arts and Ecology Center is the sponsor.

$50,000 to the CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY, Washington, D.C., for general support of its California office, which runs two initiatives: (1) The Agricultural Biotechnology Watch Project, which uses policy, legal, and public-education tools to promote human health and environmental protection by ensuring that genetically engineered food is appropriately regulated, tested, and labeled; and (2) the Organic and Beyond Campaign, which promotes sustainable-food systems that are humane, socially just, ecologically sound, and appropriately scaled.

$110,000 over two years to the COMMUNITY ALLIANCE WITH FAMILY FARMERS, Davis, Ca., for Buy Fresh, Buy Local (BFBL), a joint project with FoodRoutes Network to promote and expand the direct purchase of locally grown food through labeling and farm-direct sales in California, including the Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and Sacramento Valley.

$60,000 over two years to FOODROUTES NETWORK, Millheim, Pa., for a joint project with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers to promote the direct purchase of locally grown food through labeling and farm-direct sales. The Tides Center-Western Pennsylvania is the sponsor.

$75,000 over two years to the GREAT VALLEY CENTER, Modesto, Ca., for the planning and testing of several approaches to effective dissemination of sustainable-agriculture growing practices to growers throughout the Central Valley, and for developing possible approaches to regional-food systems in the Valley to provide better regional markets for sustainable growers.

$25,000 to the HUSBANDRY INSTITUTE, Emeryville, Ca., for a seed grant to develop its first campaign, Ask for Change: Sustainable Meat Choices for Health, Environment, and Animal Welfare, a consumer-education campaign inspired by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s very successful Seafood Watch program that distributed wallet-sized cards about fish. The Tides Center is the sponsor.

$100,000 over two years to the HUSBANDRY INSTITUTE, Emeryville, Ca., for Ask for Change, a public education campaign to create public understanding of: (1) the impact of meat and dairy-production practices on animal welfare, human health, and the environment; and (2) the positive change consumers can support through educated choices about what they consume. The Tides Center is the sponsor.

$50,000 to the INSTITUTE FOR FISHERIES RESOURCES (IFR), San Francisco, for the Klamath Basin Coalition, a federation of fifteen regional and national organizations coordinated by the IFR jointly working to restore the salmon-producing river ecosystems of Northern California’s Klamath Basin, one of the nation’s most important biological resources.

$15,000 to the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY INSTITUTE FOR URBAN AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Berkeley, Ca., for Sibella Krause of Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAGE) to research and develop a new publication, New Ruralism: Developing Agricultural Places at the Edge and Beyond.

Sustainable economies:

$50,000 to the BUSINESS ALLIANCE FOR LOCAL LIVING ECONOMIES, San Francisco, to develop and connect membership networks in California to support the development and success of locally owned, sustainable businesses.

$100,000 over two years to the NORTHCOAST REGIONAL LAND TRUST, Bayside, Ca., for continuing support of Sustaining Regional Agriculture, Natural Diversity, and Healthy Communities to protect both the productive capacity and natural-resource values of farms, forests, and ranchlands comprising the California North Coast landscape.