[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9620-9621]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

                 CONGRATULATING DR. HOWARD-YANA SHAPIRO

 Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I wish to congratulate Dr. 
Howard-Yana Shapiro, who will receive the Organic Leadership Award on 
May 7, 2007. The award is bestowed annually by the Organic Trade 
Association on individuals who have demonstrated leadership and vision 
in furthering the goals of organic agriculture.
  Dr. Shapiro has had a very impressive career in organic agriculture, 
having been involved with sustainable agricultural and agroforestry 
systems, plant genetics, and food production systems for over 35 years. 
He is best known as the principal author of ``Gardening for the Future 
of the Earth,'' which shows how to ``create natural bounty in your own 
backyard and help save the planet one seed at a time.''
  During his long and diverse career, Dr. Shapiro has been a community 
gardening activist, a university professor for 15 years, twice a 
Fulbright Scholar, twice a Ford Foundation Fellow, and winner of the 
National Endowment for the Humanities Award. He has worked with 
indigenous communities, nongovernmental organizations, governmental 
agencies, and private institutions throughout the world, including 
Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Forest

[[Page 9621]]

Service, ICRAF, The World Agroforestry Centre, Smithsonian Tropical 
Research Institute, and many other national and regional agricultural 
institutions in Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Honduras, 
Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia, 
Papua New Guinea, and Australia.
  Most recently, Dr. Shapiro has held a leadership role in Seeds of 
Change, the largest certified organic seed company in the country. 
Located along the Rio Grande in El Guique, NM, Seeds of Change, a 
division of Mars, Incorporated, is a pioneering cultivator of 
organically grown seeds for home and market growers, a leader in the 
organic foods industry, and a valued resource for organic farmers. Dr. 
Shapiro has been dedicated to Seeds of Change since its inception and 
was a key figure during the launching of the Seeds of Change 100 
percent certified organic food line in the United States, Europe, 
Australia, and Japan.
  I am proud that New Mexico is home to Seeds of Change and that the 
company, and organic agriculture as an industry, has been so well 
served by the expertise and vision of Dr. Shapiro throughout its 
growth. Again, I congratulate Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro for receiving the 
Organic Trade Association's highest honor. I thank him for his 
commitment to furthering organic agriculture around the world, and I 
wish him continued success in the years ahead.

                          ____________________