Paul K. Keene
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul K. Keene (1910-2005) was one of the first organic farmers. He was the owner of Walnut Acres, in Penns Creek, Pennsylvania. There he produced various food products sold nationally in health food stores and via a mail-order catalog. The foods included chicken, peanut, apple and other butters, and granola. He was one of the pioneers of the idea of growing food without pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
Before starting Walnut Acres, he taught mathematics at Drew University. He learned about organic farming from Sir Albert Howard, while teaching in northern India. When he returned to the US, he studied further at the School of Living, in Suffern, New York and Kimberton Farm School in Pennsylvania.
While in India, he was also involved with Mohandas Gandhi and the Indian independence movement.
He also met his wife while in India. Her name was Enid Betty Morgan. They were married in 1940.
His first big breakthrough in selling organic foods came when Clementine Paddleford, the New York Herald-Tribune food editor, was entranced by the farm's first product, Apple Essence, an apple butter.
Walnut Acres was started just after World War II. In 1994, it had sales of close to $8 million dollars annually.
