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April 26, 2005 By John Finnerty 
Paul K. Keene, of Penns Creek, who died Saturday at 94, will be remembered as one of the founders of the organic foods movement, industry leaders said Monday.
In 1945, Mr. Keene and his wife, Betty, bought Walnut Acres, a farm in Center Township, Snyder County. Their small farming operation eventually grew to become a multi-million dollar organic foods company selling more than 300 products through a mail-order catalog, in natural food stores and in a retail shop at the Penns Creek headquarters. Gene Kahn, founder of Small Planet Foods, based in Sedro-Woolley, Wash., called Mr. Keene, "the single largest inspiration to me in starting an organic foods business." Small Planet Foods was purchased by General Mills in 1999. Small Planet Foods sells organic products under the Cascadian Farm and Muir Glen brand names. "(Mr. Keene) was the real pioneer in developing vertically integrated farming, manufacturing and marketing systems," Mr. Kahn said. "Paul always did it right. He was a real important hope for so many people who wanted to start on a small farm and make it work. He was an inspiration to many of us." Katherine DiMatteo, executive director of the Organic Trade Association, said that when talking about pioneers in organic farming, people refer to several people around the world, but in America, the two names most commonly recognized as the pioneers are J.I. Rodale and Paul Keene. Rodale founded the publishing company that prints Organic Farming and Gardening magazine and Prevention Magazine, as well as numerous other publications. "They are large figures in the history of organic farming," Ms. DiMatteo said. "From them came the inspiration for all those who took up the philosophy of organic farming," she said. "He was one of the few people who we all recognized and owe a great honor. "(Mr. Keene) was doing things in the '40s and '50s that were very different" from conventional farming. In 1998, the Organic Trade Association made Mr. Keene the second person honored with the Organic Leadership Award. "It's great that people are just discovering organic food, think it's exciting and new and it's hot," she said. "But (organic farming) is something that's been around a while and it's needed some care to get to where it is today." In a 1988 interview, Mr. Keene explained that he and Betty began organic farming for a simple reason: "We just said, 'This is the right thing to do,'" he said. "You don't think, 'Well I wonder if it's going to work and what if this happens? ... You just go to work and do it." Walnut Acres first gained national attention when the "Apple Essence" apple butter made by the Keenes was featured in the New York Herald Tribune. A Walnut Acres' press release from the time of the company's 50th Anniversary said, "Apple Essence has been recognized as the product that launched the organic foods movement." Mr. Kahn said that in addition to all of his other contributions to organic farming, the founder of Walnut Acres also inspired many with his writing as well. "(Mr. Keene) wrote so many important works I read to this day about agriculture and the importance of a strong rural culture," he said. |