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About Me

Harrison's Bird Foods were formulated in the mid-1980’s by Dr. Greg Harrison and HBD Intl., Inc. was established in 1989 to market theses new diets. But who is this guy and how did he get to know so much about feeding birds?

After growing up in a small farming community in Iowa, Greg Harrison attended Iowa State University (ISU) where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in 1967. He moved to South Florida where he worked in a small animal clinic and then opened his own practice in 1969 in Lake Worth. There he raised his family and gravitated toward aviculture after serving as a zoo and wild animal park consultant. He soon established The Bird Hospital, the first Florida practice exclusively developed for pet bird medicine and surgery.

At one time when the importation of parrots into the United States was still very popular, he owned 200 pairs of various species of psittacine birds. In a clinical trial to improve the breeding results of a group of hyacinth macaws, he developed a formulated diet, which became the basis for Harrison's Bird Foods, the world’s first organic formulated pet food. Dr. Harrison continues as President of HBD Intl, Inc., the manufacturer of Harrison’s Bird Foods.

Through continued study, Dr. Harrison became a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) and a Diplomate of the European College of Avian Medicine and Surgery (ECAMS), two avian veterinary specialty organizations. There are currently only seven other veterinarians in the United States and European Union who are double-boarded avian specialists.

In 1997, he was awarded the Stange Award, ISU’s highest honor for contributions to the veterinary field. Dr. Harrison is committed to sustainable agriculture and was been a member of the Board of Directors of the Rachel Carson Council starting in 2001.

When he retired from veterinary practice in January, 2005, he created Spix Publishing Inc, a small communications company. Spix Publishing has recently released a two-volume avian veterinary textbook, called Clinical Avian Medicine. Besides coordinating the efforts of 50 contributing authors along with his co-editor, Dr. Teresa Lightfoot, Dr. Harrison contributed to the writing of multiple chapters. He and his wife Linda have started a foundation at ISU to assist in advancing avian and exotic animal medicine. Dr Harrison spends most of his days in his retirement broadening his knowledge and impact on sustainable agriculture and lessening the impact of the current use of chemicals and promoting native landscapes in farm buffer zones, parks, water confinement areas, schools, golf courses and other areas that would benefit from less manicuring.

Location:
United States, Palm Beach, FL
Current organization:
Harrisons Bird Foods
Past organizations:
Harrisons Pet Products, Harrisons Organic Acres
Current role:
President & CEO
Gender:
Male
Areas of expertise:
Avian Medicine and Surgery
Associations:
American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Avian Dip, Dip European College of Zoological Medicine (Avian) (retired) Consultant
Languages:
English
My website links:
avianmedicine.com, harrisonsbirdfoods.com, harrisonspetproducts
Universities:
Iowa State University
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More About Me

I'm passionate about

How to get permaculture more a vital part of organic sustainable farming. Incentives given to proper interaction with plants and animal not for just farming.

An idea worth spreading

Permaculture. See Michael Pollens TED TALK under my favorites. Check out http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/ no pesticides, fertilizers or irrigation in a dry land. Modifications of this simple concept is demanded by the future of our species.

Talk to me about

Bringing back small responsible farming

People don't know that I'm good at

Solar power

My TED Story

Jonathan has missed the boat.
1. Cows eat grass and if on free range their manure is sequestered with carbon.
2. Cows in confinement for meat or dairy are adding to methane production much more than on grass.
3. Cows should not be fed soybeans and corn but grass (hay, pasture) such land is not ideal for food for humans.
4. Human food land should not be used for biofuel (corn ethanol).
5. Buffer zones for filtration
5. Crop insurance, subsidies

6. Most irrigation is inefficient.

Agriculture exemptions need to be based on conformity to the above put into standards. Not because it is "farming".

Biomass makes best soil for crops and water retention. Support it. Not farming in desert.

Revise USDA to be proactive to these ideas

RELATED TALKS: Jonathan Foley: The other inconvenient truth

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