Ashoka to Host "Nutrients for All" Event to Bring Together Leading Innovations

FRANKFURT, Germany, May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ashoka, the world's largest organization of social entrepreneurs, is hosting an invitation-only Globalizer Summit on June 3 & 4, 2013, in Frankfurt in partnership with KfW Development Bank, the Lemelson Foundation, CSCP, GIZ, and Forum.

The Globalizer Summit will share the vision of Nutrients for All: Vitality for People and the Planet and showcase the social innovators, businesses, and international organizations who are leading this movement from every corner of the world. The vision stems from the growing understanding that nutrients are the connecting thread between our health and vitality, the food we eat, and the environment from which food comes: the connecting thread between stunted babies and the inability to learn in poor countries, the obesity epidemic in rich countries, and soil degradation almost everywhere.

In South Africa, a respected mining engineer concerned about the wasting away of AIDS and TB patients developed a full nourishment food supplement that goes beyond anything available from conventional sources, enabling patients to make remarkable improvements in only a few months. In Belgium, a young pharmacist catalyzed food suppliers, restaurants, and ordinary consumers into a community focused on full nourishment food choices and preparation methods that improve wellness and the quality of life. In Zambia, a conservationist dealing with malnutrition and hunger among small farmers was able to show them how to restore the nutritional quality of their soils and improve their farming techniques, dramatically improving their ability to nourish themselves and their families.

These examples go beyond conventional notions of nutrition, beyond the debates over food security or organic versus non-organic. They suggest solutions that can generate full nourishment in soils, crops, foods, and human beings.

The conference will also feature:

• Leading social entrepreneurs—Ashoka Fellows—from around the world showcasing their innovations.
• Partner organizations, companies and experts—such as the Global Alliance for Nutrition, DSM, the author Hans Biesalski, and Professor Buddy Ratner—that are joining with Ashoka to catalyze the Nutrients for All Movement.
• Disruptive methods for measuring nutrients and nourishment.
• Prospective field trials—with mothers/infants, primary school children, employer/employees, and small farmers—to document the benefits of full nutrition strategies.

**Follow the conversation through @changemakers using the #nutrients4all hashtag.

About Ashoka

Ashoka envisions an Everyone A Changemaker™ world: a world that responds quickly and effectively to social challenges, and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address social problems and drive change.

To add to the momentum for a Full Nourishment Economy, Ashoka Changemakers launched a global competition in April to identify innovative solutions and make cross-sector collaborations viable and attractive. To date, two Early Entry Prize winners have been identified: Urban Farming Reimagined: Creating Large-Scale Distribution Opportunities for Micro-Sized Farms and Closing the Loop, Transforming the Poop. Close of entry is June 19, 2013.

Media Contact:

Marzena Zukowska, mzukowska@ashoka.org

Website: http://www.changemakers.com/nutrientsforall

SOURCE Ashoka