‘We need to prepare our members for the groundswell of consumer concern about safety and sustainability,’ says Ecological Food Manufacturers Association founder Winston Riley.

The Ecological Food Manufacturers Association (EFMA) has been formed, Riley says, to help food companies meet the challenge of growing concerns raised by such books as Michael Pollan’s “Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” and by Marion Nestle’s “Food Politics and What to Eat,” and events such as the new film, Food, Inc.

‘If the health of our children is being threatened or there is a compounding negative effect to the environment from our current food system, the solution is not to attack the food companies, but to work with them,’ insists Riley. ‘It won’t help to overturn the apple cart. It is the food companies who feed us and employ a huge work force. It is an industry which should be supported.’ Riley suggests that food companies can follow the principle of the triple-bottom-line—giving equal concern for the customer, the planet, and profit.

Riley contends that the logical path to revitalize the industry is to confront this consumer concern with ‘eyes wide open,’ and to regain consumer confidence with meaningful sustainable solutions. The mission of EFMA is two fold, he says: ‘To help our members produce foods that are healthy for the consumer, healthy for the planet and financially healthy for the company; and, secondly, to provide marketing support for its members.’

‘Our children will be grateful, our planet will be grateful and stockholders will be grateful.’

_Winston Riley is a chef, a businessman and a self proclaimed ‘green warrior,’ who has worked on sustainability projects for over ten years. He is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, Green America and is the Founder and first president of the Research Chefs Association. He coined the word “Culinology”, (now a college curriculum and the name of a national magazine), which he defined as the convergence of Culinary Arts and Technology. The Ecological Food Manufacturers Association was first introduced to the general public on June 17, 2009 in Boulder, Colorado, at the 12th Annual LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) Forum

To find out more about EFMA, you may visit www.ecofma.com.