The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, The Boston Consulting Group and the Financial Times Deutschland have chosen Thilo Bode, the founder of foodwatch to become Germany’s "Social Entrepreneur 2009". Thilo Bode and foodwatch were chosen from among 60 candidates and five finalists.

Foodwatch works to strengthen consumers' rights in the food market through the various activities and services. Through independent research and analysis, foodwatch informs the public which food products contain toxins and name the parties responsible. To guarantee absolute independence, foodwatch declines government funding and is financed solely by means of contributions and donations. Funding from corporations is also not accepted to avoid any conflict of interest that may arise or to prevent its work from being influenced.

Thilo Bode is mostly known for his work for Greenpeace and their campaigns in the 1990s. From 1989 to 1995, he was head of Greenpeace Germany, and then Greenpeace International from 1995 to 2001. Read a portrait of Thilo Bode in the Financial Times Deutschland.