The NNFA Northwest Region Board has selected the Edmonds Institute, located in Edmonds, Washington, as the 1999 recipient of the region’s $2,000 merit-based grant.

The Edmonds Institute, described by some as a "group of smart, passionate people working flat-out for environmental and social justice," is a non-profit, public interest organization committed to the health and sustainability of ecosystems and their inhabitants. The Institute focuses its efforts on understanding and sharing information about environmental, social, and ethical impacts of modern technologies. The current emphasis of its programs is on the prevention of adverse environmental and human health effects from the products of new technologies, particularly genetic engineering.

While the Institute is active on multiple levels, their key focus is research, policy analysis, public education, and political action. The Institute is involved with groups world-wide, from the USDA, to the World Trade Organization, and Codex Alementarius, where they are giving input to the standards for organic food and for genetically engineered food.

When the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity started to talk about environmental and human health effects of genetic engineering, the Edmonds Institute brought working scientists to the discussion. Many credit the Institute for pushing the delegates to opt for an international biosafety protocol.

The Institute, recognizing a need to encourage citizens to question new technologies, also brought together senior scientists from across the country to write a biosafety handbook. The handbook received so much use and acclaim that the United Nations Industrial Development Organization sought permission to put the next edition on their website so people the world-over could have access.

In 1998, the Institute published the final two-volume Manual for Assessing Ecological and Human Health Effects of Genetically Engineered Organisms. 700 copies of the work of eleven mainstream scientists were mailed to biosafety negotiators, scientists, decision-makers, and public interest organizations throughout the world.

The Institutes fundraising letter says that the Institute aims for maximum public education, maximum public involvement in decision-making, and maximum consideration of environmental and socio-economic impacts of technological (including agricultural) decision-making.

The Institutes Director, Beth Burrows is a dynamic and committed woman who gives and gives without stopping. She was a panelist for a seminar on organics issues at Natural Products Northwest several years ago.