PETALUMA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Albert Straus, founder of Straus Family Creamery, joined representatives from dairy organizations worldwide in signing the Global Dairy Sustainability Declaration at the International Dairy Federation's 2024 World Dairy Summit in Paris, France, taking place from October 15 to 18. This declaration represents a critical step toward transforming the global dairy sector, emphasizing the need for coordinated climate action and sustainable farming practices to ensure a future that balances environmental health, global food security, and rural farming communities.
The Declaration emphasizes the essential role of dairy in food systems, highlighting its significance for local communities, the environment, and public health. It urges the global community to facilitate the widespread adoption of dairy practices tailored to meet local needs and contexts. By signing the Declaration, Straus Family Creamery is committed to communicating its specific commitments and documenting best practices to share in open dialogue with dairy stakeholders worldwide, supporting an accelerated shift toward resilient global food systems.
“At Straus Family Creamery, we are committed to leading by example, implementing scalable climate solutions that can serve as a blueprint for other dairies worldwide to follow," said Albert Straus. “Signing this declaration reinforces our shared responsibility to transform the dairy industry while supporting the livelihoods of farmers and rural communities for generations to come.”
Straus Family Creamery is a pioneer in sustainability, leading with its goal of achieving a carbon-neutral organic milk supply by 2030. Straus is partnering with its network of supplying dairy farms to achieve this goal, which is highlighted by the use of enteric methane-reducing feed supplements like red seaweed, methane digesters to convert manure into renewable energy, and regenerative carbon farming practices like intensive rotational grazing and compost application to lock atmospheric carbon in dairy pasture soils. This initiative also includes a financial incentive program to support its supplying organic dairy farms in achieving carbon neutrality. Straus Family Creamery is also providing environmental leadership by being the first creamery in the world to achieve TRUE Zero-Waste certification and working to install a first-of-its-kind 100% electric heat pump refrigeration system at an industrial level in 2025. By signing the Declaration, Straus Family Creamery asserts its position as a critical player in advancing responsible farming practices on a global scale.
ABOUT STRAUS FAMILY CREAMERY
Straus Family Creamery, the first 100 percent certified organic creamery in the United States when it launched in 1994, continues to make business decisions based on its mission to help sustain family farms, revitalize rural communities, and protect the environment. Based in Northern California, it crafts premium dairy products with high-quality organic milk and ingredients while focusing on minimal processing for superior taste. Its milk, cream, kefir, yogurt, ice cream, butter, sour cream, and various food service products are made with organic milk supplied by family farms in Marin and Sonoma Counties, including the Straus Dairy Farm, which was the first dairy farm west of the Mississippi River to become certified organic.
Founded by Albert Straus – a second-generation dairy farmer and climate action pioneer whose Straus Dairy Farm is currently on track to implement a carbon-neutral organic dairy farming model, believed to be the first of its kind – Straus Family Creamery is collaborating and innovating with its supplying dairy farms to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. The family-owned business advocates for local organic dairy farmers whose farms utilize 100 percent organic practices which regenerate soil through carbon farming.
