What We Accomplished in 2024
As 2024 comes to a close, the Transfarmation™ team is taking time to reflect on what was a truly remarkable year for our program. Join us in taking a look back at the highlights we are most proud of:
Foster & Gather
We kicked off the new year by launching the Foster & Gather collective with an in-person gathering in North Carolina. This group of food-system leaders spent several days hashing out the biggest challenges we face in food-system reform and making plans for creating lasting change. And of course, we shared delicious food and even got to hear directly from Tom Lim, a Transfarmation farmer who presented to the group about the work on his former poultry farm!
Food Planet Prize
Spring was filled with the excitement and celebration of learning that we had been selected as one of seven finalists in the world for the Food Planet Prize! A few Transfarmation team members had the privilege of flying to Stockholm in June to present to the jury and meet other food-system changemakers from around the globe. While we didn’t come home with the prize, we are incredibly grateful to have had the chance to discuss factory-farming issues on a global stage. It’s a recognition that our team is so honored to receive.
Big Achievements
Things only got better from there! By fall we had achieved two monumental milestones: launching our first demonstration hub in North Carolina and helping fuel the introduction of the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act, proposed legislation that would use existing federal conservation funds to help finance farm transitions. These projects were both years in the making, and we were overjoyed to see them come to fruition.
Farm Aid 2024
In September we tabled at Farm Aid for the fourth year in a row. We were joined by Paula Hamilton, one of the farmers we work with. It was a fabulous time as our staff interacted with tens of thousands of attendees to share about our work and enjoy some good tunes.
Transfarmation: The Movement to Free Us from Factory Farming
We rounded out the year on a true high note. Our founder, Leah Garcés, published her book on Transfarmation, bringing stories of our work, the farmers, and the animals to a wide audience. She launched the book in New York City and continued spreading our message to several cities on a book tour including Charlotte, North Carolina; Denver, Colorado; and even São Paolo, Brazil!
While all this was going on, our internal work continued. We published six reports on recipients of our R&I grants. Our social media following grew by nearly 25,000 in this single year. We published 11 farmer resources on our website and landed media coverage by NBC, NowThis, the Guardian, BBC, the New York Times (three times!), and more. It’s been a truly amazing year for our program, and we could not have done it without our incredible team, supporters, farmers, and allies. We can’t wait to see what we do together in 2025!
