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July-August, 2006 Read the first few paragraphs of the current edition. Save the Date: Provender Turns 30! Save the Date: Provender Turns 30! Provender heads not quite so far north this year to Hood River for our 30th Annual Provender Alliance Educational Conference. The conference will be held Thursday and Friday, October 5th and 6th at the Hood River Inn. Additional events will take place on Wednesday, October 4th. The conference theme is “30 Years of Provender: A Celebration of Dedication.” Keynote speakers will be Deborah Koons Garcia, filmmaker of “The Future of Food” and a return visit from Dr. John Ikerd, author of “Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense.” In addition, we have an all-star line-up for an historical perspective of Provender and natural foods in the Northwest. This year’s conference sees some scheduling changes. The conference will begin with breakfast on Thursday and end with the dessert reception on Friday night. For the first time in many years, your conference fee will NOT include lodging so you will be responsible for making your own arrangements. There will be a block of rooms at the hotel for a reduced conference rate. We’ve got some additional events scheduled for Wednesday afternoon that are optional and Equal Exchange is hosting a gathering at their warehouse to celebrate their 20th anniversary. We are planning to show a double feature to include “The Future of Food” and “The Real Dirt on Farmer John”. It promises to be a fun filled and relaxing evening in preparation for the conference. There will be four workshop sessions each running two hours, one each morning and each afternoon. There will be scheduled playtime as well as our annual general membership meeting and awards dinner. Workshop topics will be quite diverse and we’re certain there will be several topics to pique your interest. The FDA will present a session regarding updates and compliance issues. We will have a naturopath and a representative from White Wave to discuss current issues regarding soy. There is a panel discussion planned to discuss all the buyouts, mergers and acquisitions occurring in natural foods. We will also offer an update on domestic fair trade. Harry MacCormack will present an interesting session addressing local food security and another on cellular community in food nutrition. There is another panel discussion planned regarding how to influence USDA organic standards. Participants include Mark Kastel from The Cornucopia Institute, Jim Fullmer from Demeter, Jim Riddle from the University of Minnesota, Dan Kent from SalmonSafe and JoAnn Baumgartner from Wild Farm Alliance. One of the hot issues on the radar screen these days is dairy pasturing. To address this concern, we have a session planned with participants including Mark Kastel, a representative from Organic Valley, a representative from Oregon Tilth and a representative from Horizon Organic. Carolee Colter will present several sessions centered around personnel issues and Jim Riddle has offered to present an in depth session on the meaning of organic certification and the US organic regulation. In addition, Rainbo O’Connor from Ashland Food Co-op will present a follow-up to the discussions that took place last year. For those that feel there is never enough time in your day, a consultant from Technical Assistance for Community Services (TACS) will present a session on time management. There are other workshops planned as well and all the details will be available in the conference announcement to be mailed in early August. You can also visit our web site at www.provender.org. —Reprinted with permission from In Business, May/June 2006, www.inbusiness.org “Our goal is to remanufacture products from all leftover burlap coffee bean bags in Oregon and Washington,” says James Brannaman of the Arc of Multnomah Clackamas in Portland. His nonprofit organization also promotes employment for disabled workers by providing opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities. Continues Brannaman: “We’ve been able to reprocess over 60 tons of burlap coffee bean bags from local coffee roasters, while creating economically viable employment. The used burlap is picked up by our trucks from roasting locations and then converted by our sheltered workshops into reusable shopping tote bags and other environmentally sustainable products.” Some burlap material becomes green “branding opportunities” for companies (convention bags, gift bags, etc.) Other uses are as a natural weed barrier at local vineyards instead of plastic or straw; mulch fiber for hydroseeding; storm water mitigation devices for the city. Totes are sturdy, and 100 percent biodegradable. Visit www.thearc-mult.org. —by Annie Hoy, Outreach/Owner Services Manager, Ashland Food Co-op, www.ashlandfood.coop Congratulations to the organizers of Medford Market, a new food cooperative in the planning for Medford, Oregon. They have received a $10,000 Seed Grant from Food Co-op 500, a joint initiative of the National Co-op Bank, NCB Development Corporation, National Cooperative Grocers Association and Cooperative Development Services. The grant required Medford Market to raise matching funds in order to qualify, which they did by selling almost 100 subscriptions and holding a fundraising Gala. Subscriptions are still available for $100 each. We are so proud of their successful efforts so far and look forward to working with the organizers as they work toward opening their new retail grocery cooperative. Medford mayor Gary Wheeler said, “For its size and the outlying communities it serves, Medford should have a cooperative. The Medford Market will honor our community’s diverse needs bringing with it employment opportunities, healthy products and encouraging awareness through education and concern for the community.” The Medford market steering committee has given the Ashland Food Co-op a wish list of things they hope to have donated. If you can supply anything on the list, please contact them at medfordmarket@hotmail.com. The most valuable thing you can do is subscribe. This helps provide funds for start-up costs. Subscription materials are on their web site which you can access through Ashland’s web site, www.ashlandfood.coop. The wish list includes a PowerPoint projector, lap-top computer, HP printer cartridges (78 and 15), clean white/off-white recycled paper, cell phone with minutes, recent edition of QuickBooks or other financial software, storage unit to store Medford Market materials, memory card for digital camera, mailing labels, plain thank you cards, $.39 stamps, letters to the editor supporting Medford Market, volunteers for PR campaigns, business advisors to the steering committee, scholarship funds for upcoming co-op conferences, and donated shelving, freezers/refrigeration units, display cases. Kettle Earns Salmon-Safe Certification —from Salmon-Safe, www.salmonsafe.org Continuing its leadership in sustainability, Kettle Foods’ headquarters in Salem has become the second corporate campus to earn Salmon-Safe certification, a designation that means the company is proactively and significantly improving the environmental health of its seven-acre property that borders Mill Creek. To qualify for Salmon-Safe certification, Kettle Foods met rigorous conservation requirements. These included committing to further streamside restoration along Mill Creek to provide bank stability, shade, and cover. Other measures include shifting from a traditional pest management program to an all-organic, biologically-based integrated pest management plan that relies on natural methods to control weeds and pests, additional water conservation, reducing storm water runoff from parking lots and buildings, and incorporating salmon-friendly design in all future campus development. “By adopting Salmon-Safe practices on its campus, Kettle Foods is leading the way a healthier Willamette River,” said Dan Kent, Salmon-Safe director. “Kettle Foods is an environmental innovator with initiatives ranging from biodiesel to solar power to restoration of wetlands on the property. Salmon-Safe certification represented a powerful next step because Mill Creek, in their own backyard, is home to Chinook salmon, steelhead, and cutthroat trout.” Corporate campus certification is the latest offering from Salmon-Safe, an organization that has been certifying agricultural and urban land since 1996 as a powerful means to encourage management practices that protect and restore salmon habitat. Since 1996, more than 40,000 acres of farmland have become Salmon-Safe certified, including 85 vineyards that represent a third of Oregon’s total vineyard acreage. Other Salmon-Safe farm products range from hazelnuts to fruits and vegetables, herbal medicinals, bison meat, grass seed, and cut flowers. In 2005, Salmon-Safe announced the certification of Nike’s 175-acre world headquarters campus, completing a year-long process by the company to transform its operations to fish friendly management practices. To find out more about Salmon-Safe, please visit www.salmonsafe.org. For more information about Kettle Foods please visit www.kettlefoods.com. —from Organic Farming Research Foundation, www.ofrf.org The US House of Representatives passed an amendment to its 2007 Agriculture Appropriations Bill in late May increasing funds for the USDA Organic Transitions research program from $1.8 million to $5 million for the next fiscal year. Offered by Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Rep. Jim Leach (R-IA), Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), and Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), the amendment passed on the House floor by a resounding voice vote. The Organic Transitions program provides competitive grant funding to research, education and extension projects that help farmers address the challenges of modern organic production and marketing. With the House working to cut nearly $100 million dollars from 2006 spending levels for agriculture programs, the increase for organic research was particularly significant. Several members of the House rose to speak in support of the bill, including Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the ranking member of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee; Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH); and Representatives Holt and Kind. Many members of OFRF’s Organic Farmers Action Network, along with colleagues in the rapidly growing organic industry, contacted their Representatives to urge them to support the amendment. The four-month-old Network is comprised of more than 500 farmers who have chosen to receive updates and action alerts on public policy issues that pertain to organic agriculture. The Senate will now develop its own version of the 2007 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The two chambers will then reconcile differing provisions of the legislation in a conference committee. If the Senate includes the same $5 million for the Organic Transitions program in its version, the change is very likely to be included in the final bill forwarded to President Bush later this year for his signature. A full list of organic program appropriations for the 2007 fiscal year is available online at www.ofrf.org/policy. OFRF will provide updates and action alerts on this site as the Senate bill moves forward. —from Organic Bytes, Issue #82, May 26, 2006, www.organicconsumers.org The largest study ever conducted on the relationship between sleep and weight gain was presented yesterday at the American Thoracic Society International Conference. In the report, scientists analyzed the sleeping patterns of nearly 70,000 women over the course of 16 years. The study revealed that women who sleep too little (5 hours or less per night) are at risk of major weight gain. In comparison to sound sleepers, women who sleep only 5 hours per night are 32 per cent more likely to experience major weight gain - defined as an increase of 33 pounds or more. For the full article, visit www.organicconsumers.org/2006/article_545.cfm. —from PCC Natural Markets, www.pccnaturalmarkets.com PCC Natural Markets (PCC) opened its eighth store in Redmond, Washington on Wednesday, May 17. The 23,382 sq. ft. grocery store, located at 11435 Avondale Rd. NE (at the intersection of Avondale and NE 116th) is one of the “greenest” structures in King County. Building enhancements that maximize energy efficiency and minimize waste are expected to qualify the store for LEED certification, which will make PCC Redmond the third grocery store in the country to be awarded this distinction, and the first to attain the LEED Gold level. The new store reflects PCC’s commitment to sustainable business practices, from the building’s energy efficient features to the use of biodegradable shopping bags. The sales area is lit by natural light enhanced by 28 skylights specially glazed to block solar heat. Energy efficient fixtures provide lighting well below Washington State’s Energy Code, and timers and sensors have been installed to minimize usage of all store energy-consuming systems. The store’s space heating, hot water heating, and refrigeration systems have been designed so that they are interconnected, making it possible for the refrigeration system’s waste heat to be utilized by the other systems. All building products were selected for low VOCs (volatile organic compounds), all office furniture, tables, and outdoor seating have been obtained from re-use sources, and cabinetry throughout the entire store is made of Skyblend, a 100 percent recycled material. The store is open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., and is staffed by over 80 full and part-time employees. Cooking classes have been offered at PCC Redmond since June 13. —from USDA Agricultural Marketing Servies, www.ams.usda.gov The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will survey more than 3,400 farmers market managers nationwide for its 2006 USDA Farmers Market Survey. The data collected will show how farmers markets have changed since USDA last conducted a poll in 2001, quantifying many areas of the industry. Additional questions were added this year to chart emerging market trends. The survey will gather information on the current state and economic impact of farmers markets throughout the country, and is designed to help farmers market managers and vendors of farm products make strategic business decisions. Data gleaned from the survey will answer many questions, including:
The resulting study will highlight emerging trends in farmers markets, including organic sales, and “eco-labeling,” the acceptance of electronic benefit transfer technology, and consumer participation in USDA’s Women, Infants, and Children Farmers Market Nutrition Program and the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program. AMS will collect, analyze, and disseminate survey data, posting the results on its web site. Published copies will also be available on request. The 2006 Farmers Market Survey may be accessed on the Internet at www.farmersmarketsurvey.com. —from NNFA, www.nnfa.org NNFA is pleased to announce the acquisition and opening of its new Washington, D.C. headquarters, effective June 1. Located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, NNFA’s new locale will allow for continued growth of the association, advocacy efforts, and ardent representation for the natural products industry. NNFA first opened an office in Washington, D.C. three years ago in order to expand advocacy efforts with federal legislators and regulators on behalf of its members and the natural products industry. Since then, the office has grown and houses several senior staff members, including CEO and Executive Director David Seckman. The association’s new headquarters address is 1773 T St., NW, Washington, D.C., 20009. The main telephone number for the Washington, D.C. office, 202.223.0101, remains the same. NNFA will still operate an office in Santa Ana, California. Member inquiries regarding the annual trade show and convention and membership services should still be directed to the California location at 800.966.6632. Starbucks Clarifies Non-GMO Policy —This article originally appeared in the May 2006 issue of The Non-GMO Report monthly newsletter, ©Copyright 2006 The Non-GMO Report. You are invited to stay informed by subscribing. For more information contact ken@non-gmoreport.com or call 800.854.0586 or visit www.non-gmoreport.com Coffee giant Starbucks says it is committed to serving its customers non-GMO food products and an increasing number of organic products. According to the company’s customer service, Starbucks applied the requirements of the Australia/New Zealand Food Association (ANZFA) food labeling regulations with regard to genetically modified ingredients. ANZFA regulations require labeling for all GM materials, except for highly refined minor ingredients derived from GM material, as long as these ingredients do not contain genetically modified protein. Starbucks verifies that highly minor ingredients used in its products are free of GM protein. Starbucks reviewed all of its coffees and teas and determined none is derived from GM materials. The company also conducted a review of other beverage ingredients and all were found free of GM material except for one beverage ingredient, which was reformulated. There are no GM coffee varieties on the market, and Starbucks says it has “no plans to purchase coffee or tea that is derived from GM materials now or in the future.” The company believes there is no reason to pursue GM technology for coffee. In addition to its non-GMO commitment, Starbucks offers organic products, including pastries made with organic ingredients, along with organic milk and soymilk. Starbucks has introduced organic milk and soymilk to address concerns over the use of milk from cows treated with the genetically engineered growth hormone, rBST. Endangered Species Chocolate Company —by Daniel Fretto, Product Standards Committee, Ashland Food Co-op, www.ashlandfood.coop Endangered Species Chocolate (ESC) was founded in 1993 in Talent, Oregon. The company makes natural and organic chocolate bars and helps preserve endangered plant and animal species by donating a portion of their profits to environmental organizations. ESC was recently sold and moved its operations to Indiana. This was a concern to many. Would the new owners stop supporting endangered species? The Product Standards investigated and here are the results. Since purchasing ESC in January 2005, new CEO Wayne Zink said that he has donated $5,000 each to 5 of the non-profit organizations with which the former owner had agreements. The National Wildlife Federation is one of them and they confirmed that this is true. Chimp Haven is a new organization that ESC now supports. Their mission is to provide lifetime care for chimpanzees no longer used for research, as pets or entertainers. It was verified that ESC donated $20,000 each to both Chimp Haven and The National Wildlife Foundation in January 2006 and promised another $20,000 each (possibly as much as $60,000 each) in January 2007. Although ESC has always supported endangered plants and animals, under new ownership they have directed some of their philanthropic power toward our own species. During a recent visit to Nigerian cacao farms, ESC found that the family owned farms and surrounding villages were in dire need of improvements. Villages often lack potable water, health care, educational systems and roads. ESC said they contributed more than $52,000 to purchase and install water pumps and filters, and supply needed educational materials. “This is just the start,” Zink said. “We see this as a long term commitment…These are the very villages that are growing the beans used in our chocolate. We are pleased to help improve the quality of life for those who live here.” ESC also apologized for the delay in printing the new chocolate bar wrappers and said they’ll be out soon. The new wrappers will include a coupon that has no expiration. If anyone wants to exchange any expired coupon for a new one, send an e-mail to info@chocolatebar.com or call 800.293.0160. Hospitals to Serve Organic Food —from Food & Environment Electronic Digest, www.ucusa.org Hospitals serve millions of meals a day. As some of the largest institutional meal-providers in the country, their food purchasing policies affect not just the patients who eat the meals, but the food industry as a whole. Thanks to a recent deal between MedAssets, a purchasing organization for the health care industry, and United Natural Food Incorporated, an organic food distributor, more than 2000 hospitals nationwide now have access to organic food. In related news, dozens of U.S. hospitals, including the entire Catholic Healthcare West system, have pledged to buy food that is nutritious and sustainably raised, according to the nonprofit Health Care Without Harm. Visit www.noharm.org to read a press release about this recent development. Horizon Announces Quality Awards —from Horizon Organic, www.horizonorganic.com Horizon Organic® recently announced its Exceptional Quality Award winners to honor its farmers as part of the company’s Producer Milk Quality Program. The Awards recognize the top 10 percent of the company’s farmer partners whose milk is the highest quality. The 2006 winners were selected based on strict criteria for milk quality. In order to be considered for the award, farmers must ship organic milk to the company for one full calendar year, and the average test results for each shipment of that milk must rank in the top 10 percent in their respective states. This year’s national winner for the best quality milk in Horizon Organic’s total producer supply of more than 340 family farms is Alan Howe of HowAcres, Inc. in Tunbridge, Vermont. Howe, who milks 50 cows on 385 acres, has been an organic dairy farmer shipping to Horizon Organic since 2004, continuing the farming tradition that his father started in 1935. Currently, 340 family farms ship 80 percent of Horizon Organic’s supply. Horizon Organic continues to expand its resources and support family farms nationwide by increasing the number of organic dairy farmers in its network, signing on more than 57 new farmers in 2005 and 25 to date in 2006. In addition, 200 farmers are in the process of transitioning to organic through the Horizon Organic Producer Education (HOPE) initiative. The HOPE program, founded in 2001, provides financial and educational support to dairy farmers over the three-year required transition to certified organic, per USDA regulations. An Adventure in Extreme Localization —by Deborah Schumacher, The Food Co-op, Port Townsend, www.ptfoodcoop.coop What would it mean to purchase or collect all that you eat from within 100 miles? A couple in Canada, Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon, did just that and documented their adventure in a six part article that you can read by going to www.thetyee.ca. Why this experiment in “extreme localization”? They say: “This may sound like a lunatic Luddite scheme, but we had our reasons. The short form would be: fossil fuels bad. For the average American meal, World Watch reports that the ingredients typically travel between 2,500 and 4,000 kilometers, a 25 percent increase from 1980 alone.” The experiment was challenging. The couple reported that they lost 15 pounds in six weeks. Being limited to what you can find within 100 miles is harder than you think. Open your cupboards and look at the food inside. Anything containing wheat or any other grains? Salt? Sugar? What about tea and coffee? If you’re going to eat only foods produced within 100 miles, toss those imports out. There are no easy local sources of grains and local sources for salt (seawater might present some possibilities), sugar, teas or coffee. Grains are hard to come by; you’ll have to do your homework and find a local grower of bread and cereal grains, and then mill it yourself or find someone to mill it for you. Plan to bake your own bread, capturing your own wild yeast to make the dough rise, because you won’t be able to use store-bought baking yeast (most commercially produced yeast is genetically modified anyway). Rediscover local honey. No morning caffeinated brew; you will have to switch to locally grown herbs for tea and for spicing up unsalted foods. The point of this survey of your cupboard is this: Most of us are eating a hugely unsustainable food diet, and truly eating locally is much more complicated than you might think. Growing your own fruits and vegetables or buying from local farmers is only the beginning. Alisa and J.B. began their experiment with the same reservations any of us would: What will we eat? They visited supermarkets, with “all those glittering aisles,” and realized there was nothing in stock that fit their criteria. Their challenge became a journey of discovery—they became inquisitive of their place, their neighborhood and their region, and discovered surprising sources of seasonal and local foods. “What we’re finding.” They report in their third posting (“Local Eating Rhapsody”), “is that there is a world of local foods to be found below the megamart radar.” They found fiddleheads, dried local seaweeds, Strait of Georgia shellfish, and wines from local vintners. They located a hazelnut orchard, 40-year-old family fish shops and...people who have grown their own soybeans for homemade tofu.” Released from the tyranny of the supermarket and its global trade, they enjoyed for dinner one night “ a Dolly Varden trout, chanterelle mushrooms, dandelion greens and potatoes—all found within easy walking distance.” This is an amazing story and one that set me to thinking about the possibilities here on the Quimper Peninsula. The 100-mile circle that surrounds us spans from Port Coquitlam, B.C. in the north to Chehalis in the south, from approximately 20 miles into the Pacific on the west, to the northwest tip of Lake Chelan to the east. All of the Olympic Peninsula and the lower quarter of Vancouver Island are in this circle. We don’t quite get to Wenatchee, where a lot of our apples come from, but we have some excellent local apples here on the peninsula. And let’s not forget the virtues of the root cellar, where we can store late summer and fall apples, squash, onions, potatoes. This is the traditional way people enjoyed food during the winter: storage and preservation (canning, freezing, dehydrating). What would be required of us to eat a fully and truly local diet? Begin by going outside and looking at what grows around us. The plants we’ve become accustomed to ignoring or that we’ve worked so hard to remove from our tidy lawns and gardens were once considered food. Rediscover wild foods such as dandelions, nettles, fiddleheads, miner’s lettuce, mushrooms. Blackberries are abundant, and abandoned apple trees drop their fruit in the fall. I am trying to cultivate a habit of awareness of what is around me, to notice what is harvested now, and be able to anticipate what will be harvestable next week and next month, and plan my eating around that. Our busy lives do not lend themselves to such habits, and we are increasingly separated from the natural rhythms of the seasons. Such awareness and planning comes along slowly, but I believe in the necessity of it and am always enchanted by the beautiful possibility of it. Look forward over the next several month for regular “The 100-Mile Diet” postings on the web site. We can begin together an education in seasonality and perhaps begin the more important conversation about increasing the choices available to us here in our watershed, as we begin to truly disconnect from the glittering aisles of the megamart.
Provender Alliance
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