Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg will step down as president and CEO this month, passing the reins of the organic yogurt company he founded 29 years ago to a Ben & Jerry's veteran.

Walt Freese, Ben & Jerry's former CEO, will assume the title of "CE-Yo" later this month. Hirshberg will remain at the company as a chairman and, of course, a shareholder. He will also continue overseeing the company's European entities, Stonyfield Cafes and his Profits-for-the-Planet program.

The Profits-for-the-Planets program directs 10 percent of company profits toward environmental protection organizations. In 2008, Hirshberg told GreenBiz.com Executive Editor Joel Makower that Danone, Stonyfield's parent company, agreed to continue the philanthropy program for a decade after he leaves the company.

In a statement released today, Hirshberg said he hand-picked Freese to succeed him, citing his experience guiding Ben & Jerry's through a period in which sales more than doubled and operating profits more than tripled. Before Ben & Jerry's, Freese served as president of Celestial Seasonings. We published an interview with Freese earlier this year, talking about the "sweet life of a Ben & Jerry's CEO."

"Walt is well versed in fostering a sustainability mission in partnership with a global food company, and is deeply committed to Stonyfield’s organic and environmental missions," Hirshberg said in a statement. "Since our early days at Stonyfield, I’ve watched organic become a $29 billion industry and a healthy mainstay in peoples’ diets. Now more than ever, people want to know where their food comes from and to trust the companies behind the brands."

Hirshberg said he plans to ramp up his work on food-related political efforts, including seeking labeling requirements for genetically engineered food. Hirshberg also serves on several Danone boards and as co-chair of AGree, a policy initiative that aims to improve productivity and environmental performance in agriculture and support access to nutritious food.

I'll be touching base later today with Hirshberg and Freese to hear more about their plans. Stay tuned.