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The Provender Journal September-October, 2006 Provender Conference Arrives: Celebrating 30 Years! Provender Conference Arrives: Celebrating 30 Years! The 30th Annual Provender Alliance Educational Conference has arrived. 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 and Saturday, October 7th. 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. You should have received your Conference Announcement in the mail but if you shared your copy with someone and don’t have a hard copy, all the information and details about the conference can be found on the Provender web site, www.provender.org. This year’s conference sees several changes including scheduling. 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. This has also enabled us to bring down the cost of the conference. 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 and unforgettable raffle. Workshop topics will be quite diverse and we’re certain there will be several topics to pique your interest. Thursday morning includes Film as Political Action, Time to Hear From the FDA Again, Conducting Excellent Store Leadership Meetings, Build Your “Buy Local” Campaign: How to Create, Showcase and Define a Successful Program, Soy Science—The Big Picture on This Little Bean, and Buying In: The Art of Product Selection. Thursday afternoon will provide more thought-provoking sessions with WAL★MART’s Effect on the Supply Chain, Bs, Ms & As (Buyouts, Mergers & Acquisitions), Domestic Fair Trade—Taking Organic Where It Should Have Gone?, Firing Up a Blazing Hot Foodservice Program, How a Retailer Can Respond to Demands for Local, and From Plowshares to Share Value. Friday morning begins with Pastures of Plenty: Where Exactly is Outside?, Hiring for Motivational Fit, Community Policies for Sustainable Food: Are They On the Table or Off the Table?, OK, So I Saw “An Inconvenient Truth.” Now What?, Growing Organic Values—Policies and Practices to Protect Organic Integrity, and Nourishing Your Staff’s Culture. Friday afternoon is equally intriguing with Keeping Up With the Foodies—Bringing Current Food Trends into Your Natural Foods Kitchen, Safe and Nutritious: The Two Most Often Voiced Consumer Demands. How Can Retailers Respond?, Distribution–How Can I Get My Product to Your Store Sustainably and Profitably, Is Time Managing You?, Serving the Difficult Customer, or Handling a Bomb With Grace and Aplomb, and Where to Draw the Line: Avoiding Board Micromanagement in Personel Issues. We will enjoy our deliciously decadent menu with the expert oversight of Chef John Koch and will include our famous ice cream social on Thursday night. Thursday will also offer some ‘play time’ with croquet, frisbee golf, and the popular Member Munch & Mingle. We have a great band lined up for Thursday night as well. Friday sees the General Membership Meeting during lunch and a keynote event that is not to be missed. Our awards dinner will take place on Friday night followed by the raffle and dessert reception. This is going to be a great conference and one no one should miss. There are offerings for everyone. If you have any questions or need more information, please visit our web site, www.provender.org or contact the Provender office at 888.352.7431 or 503.859.3600. —by Jaimes Valdez, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, www.greentagsusa.org As you look forward to the 30th Annual Provender Alliance Educational Conference in Hood River this October, the schedule is full of ways to build your business along with the health of people and the planet. While it is great that so many people can converge to make this possible, it is not without environmental impacts. Travel by plane and car contribute significantly to carbon emissions and global warming, with 20 pounds of CO² produced for every gallon of gasoline burned. At this year’s conference, however, you have a new opportunity to reduce your impact on the planet. Addressing Distribution Challenges —by Brad Averill, Owner, Wildtime Foods, www.grizzliesbrand.com Small producers and processors face a big challenge playing in natural foods markets as they grow, mature and look more like conventional groceries. Where once a market was happy to deal with small players directly, they are now pushing them to use distributors. It simplifies the stores’ ordering and it reduces their cost of processing invoices. Unfortunately, many small players do not have the margin built into their products to give 25% to a distributor, nor are they eager to entrust distributors with the task keeping track of shelf placement and product freshness. To address these issues, a number of the members of the Willamette Valley Sustainable Foods Alliance (a trade organization of natural foods businesses in Lane County, Oregon) have organized a Distribution Committee to find a creative alternative to conventional distribution. We are looking for like-minded businesses in other Pacific Northwest cities with which we might partner. While it is easy to fill a truck traveling from Eugene to Portland, Seattle, Ashland or the Bay Area with finished goods from Lane County producers, it is not so easy to fill that truck for the trip back. By partnering with like businesses in the region, we can make a more efficient system that benefits all players - the producers, the stores and consumers. If we do not address this problem, consumers will be left with far fewer local choices. If you are interested in participating in this effort, please contact Brad Averill at Wildtime Foods, 541.747.1654. As an added bonus, there will be several workshops at this year’s Provender Alliance Educational Conference addressing many of these issues. This will be a great opportunity to get together and brainstorm on how to resolve the distribution dilemma. Oregon Tilth Annual Fall Conference —from Oregon Tilth, www.tilth.org Oregon Tilth is holding its Annual Fall Conference on Friday and Saturday, November 17th and 18th in Salem, Oregon. The conference theme is “Feeding the Future.” The conference will feature full day-long symposiums to explore and enjoy, focusing on either Dairy or Direct Marketing and introducing attendees to technical and specific information to apply to individual needs. Workshops will be diverse and will be presented from experts for consumers, producers, processors and handlers. Saturday morning workshop sessions include Native Bees as Pollinators, Organic Advantage: Current Nutritional Research, and Seeds in the Organic Movement. Afternoon sessions will include Urban Gardening: Garden to Table, Ingredient Supply Chain, and Success and the New Farmer. There will also be a trade show all day Saturday with over 20 organizations gathered in the gallery to provide further information and aid in your success as an organic producer, consumer or buyer. This is an opportunity to meet representatives of well known companies promoting organic and sustainability, purchase books, learn more about what organizations are doing to further the movement. The keynote presentation will be by Samuel Fromartz, author of Organic, Inc. He will discuss the growth of the organic industry and where this growth will take us. Registration begins on Friday at 7:00 AM with the symposiums running from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. An organic wine tasting will be held from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM immediately followed by the awards dinner ending at 10:00 PM. Saturday begins with registration at 7:00 AM with breakfast and the annual meeting from 7:30 to 9:00 AM. The keynote address will be presented from 9:30 to 10:30 with workshops running from 10:45 AM to 12:30 PM. Lunch will be served from 12:30 to 1:30 followed by the second set of workshops beginning at 2:00 and ending at 4:00. The final event will be the closing session from 4:00 to 5:00. For more details and information, contact the Oregon Tilth office at 503.378.0690 or send an e-mail to organic@tilth.org. Group to Investigate Micro-Dairy Licensing Challenges —from Washington State Department of Agriculture, www.agr.wa.gov Do very small dairies with less than 10 cows have difficulties meeting state licensing requirements? Can microdairies that offer unpasteurized milk or process artisan cheeses thrive as small businesses in Washington? A workgroup of licensed small dairy operators, as well as industry and consumer advocates, will investigate what financial or regulatory barriers, if any, exist to starting a small milking or dairy processing operation, as well as solutions to knock down those barriers. During its move to strengthen the state’s dairy laws last session, the legislature heard public testimony about possible barriers and directed the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to convene the workgroup. WSDA and the workgroup must report their findings and recommendations to the legislature by December 1. The workgroup includes small licensed pasteurized and raw milk producers, small cheese and yogurt manufacturers, larger dairy operators, public health officials, WSU extension agents, and industry and consumer advocates. The names of the 14 workgroup members are listed on the WSDA web site at www.agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/Dairy. According to WSDA licensing records, the number of small milking and dairy processing operations has seen a dramatic increase since a 2005 change in state law that allows hand-capping of milk bottles. The number of licensed unpasteurized milk producers has increased from one to more than a dozen in less than a year. Since March of this year, the number of licensed milk processing plants has increased by nearly 50 percent, with most of the new operations being small bottling, yogurt and cheese operations. Under current state law, a dairy must obtain a free milk producer license to sell milk to a processing plant. If the dairy wants to bottle its own milk or make other dairy products, it is required to obtain a $55 milk processing license. The licensing requirements stipulate that dairies and processing plants must meet sanitation requirements and that dairy animals must be tested for certain communicable diseases. WSDA offers technical assistance and guidance to those wishing to obtain these licenses. Members of the public may identify problems or suggest solutions to the difficulties of obtaining milk producer or processing licenses by submitting written comments to workgroup coordinator Nancy Jordan at njordan@agr.wa.gov. Jordan, a community and business development expert, was raised on a dairy in Oregon and worked as a commercial and agricultural lender for 14 years. You can view a PDF of the Small Dairy Work Group descriptive document by visiting at www.agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/Dairy/docs/SmallDairyWorkGroup.pdf. —from Kumarian Press, www.kpbooks.com Over the past half-century, capitalist economics has deviated from its original ethical and social purpose. Recently, capitalism has mutated into an amoral quest for economic growth at any cost. A relentless pursuit of profits and the “bottom line” poses a constant threat to civil society and the natural environment. The sustainability, indeed survival, of earth and the life upon it, is at risk under this brand of unfettered capitalism. In order to maintain a new economics of sustainability, social and ethical values must be reintegrated into capitalist economics, thus restoring a sense of balance into the economic system that ensures that communities the world over will benefit and thrive. "Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense" suggests how capitalism can become a vehicle for these ends. Both a penetrating critique of capitalism and an exploration of its vast and untapped potential for maximizing human welfare, Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense is written for a wide audience, including students and professors whose fields and interests embrace development, economics, ecology, sociology, and cultural anthropology. Those concerned with the future of our planet and the continued viability of global capitalism will regard this book as a vital addition to their libraries. Dr. John Ikerd’s book is published by Kumarian Press, August 2005, Paper $21.95 (ISBN 1-56549-206-4) and will be available at the Provender conference. —by Diana Crane, Community & Public Relations Manger, PCC Natural Markets, www.pccnaturalmarkets.com The excitement felt by Roxanne Winship and me, staff members at PCC Natural Markets, upon learning that a stunning Fair Trade display built by Roxanne won a contest sponsored by TransFairUSA, was beyond words. The prize was a tour of Fair Trade pineapple, coffee, cacao and banana cooperatives in Costa Rica. It was a chance to learn first-hand what Fair Trade means to the small producers the movement has supported for well over 50 years...and to leave the gray skies of Seattle behind last March for a week of sun. Both of us knew about the fair trade business model and that PCC has offered fairly traded products in our eight Puget Sound locations for several years. We were familiar with the Fair Trade Certified™ (by TransFairUSA) coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, sugar and rice sold by PCC, as well as the bananas and chocolate products grown according to fair labor standards assured by the companies that distribute them. We were also proud that two years ago, PCC made the unprecedented decision to offer only organic, shade grown and Fair Trade Certified™ bulk, bagged and brewed coffee in all of our stores. But not until we were face to face with farmers who, together with their families, struggle daily to make a living against barely surmountable odds, did we truly understand what one of the farmers so eloquently stated: “Fair trade isn’t something you think; it’s something you feel. You must talk about fair trade from your heart.” For producers involved in the fair trade movement, the benefits are very heartfelt and personal. They earn a fair price for their products, they can grow more by using sustainable methods taught in their cooperatives, they can send their children to school, they have pure water for their families, and they have repaired roads and secured transportation to get their products to market. Because of fair trade, they have a future. PCC supports Fair Trade year-round, but is pleased to support Fair Trade Month each October by hosting public events to raise awareness of the benefits that purchasing fairly traded products bring to all involved: producers, retailers and consumers. We hope cooperatives around the country are taking some action, as well, to spread the word and spirit of “buying fair.” —from NNFA Northwest, www.nnfa-northwest.com Mark your calendar and plan to attend Natural Products Northwest on Friday through Sunday, November 3-5, 2006 in beautiful Seattle at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center. Conference and events take place all three days with the trade show on November 4 and 5. In keeping with this year’s theme “Building Bridges to Better Health” the 2006 show will offer time to learn, network and explore new products. Stay tuned for exciting updates on the show, educational conference and more. Please visit www.nnfa-northwest.com for up to date details. Whole Foods Support for Small Farms —from National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture News and Resources From the Field, July 19, 2006, www.sustainableagriculture.net Whole Foods Market Inc. is pledging $10 million annually in support of locally grown food, says company CEO John Mackey. The assistance will come in the form of long-term, low-interest loans to small farms, with an emphasis on those producing grass-fed beef and organic, pasture-based eggs. The company, based in Houston, also will host open markets on Sundays to help farms market their products locally. This initiative was begun following correspondence between John Mackey and journalist Michael Pollan. Pollan’s new book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, noted the relatively limited amounts of locally grown food available at Whole Foods. Michael Pollan’s letter to Whole Foods is available at www.michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=80. Tilth Producers Annual Conference —from Tilth Producers, www.tilthproducers.org Tilth Producers of Washington’s annual conference, “The Future of Farming,” will be held November 10-12, 2006 at the Red Lion at the Quay in Vancouver, Washington. The conference will build on three decades of efforts to transform agriculture in Washington State. Participants will present ideas, celebrate accomplishments and further strengthen the Tilth sustainable agriculture movement in the Pacific Northwest. Friday’s day-long Washington State University Symposium, Farming for Food Quality, will raise awareness of the agricultural factors that influence food quality, including crop genetics and production practices. By providing information that links food quality to specific practices and production systems, food processors, manufacturers, farmers, and consumers can make more informed choices in the ongoing effort to enhance the quality of the American food supply. Friday evening brings a no-host reception, dinner, and workshops on Water Law and the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill. Saturday begins with a keynote address, Bringing the Food Economy Home, by Helena Norberg-Hodge, a leading analyst on the impact of the global economy on cultures and agriculture worldwide. She is a cofounder of the International Forum of Globalisation and the founder director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture. Norberg-Hodge will address many aspects of localization, including the key reasons for creating a local farm and food economy, the impact of globalization and Peak Oil, and the cultural effects of the current globalized economy. An interactive plenary session, Creating a Regional Food System, follows the keynote address on Saturday morning. Panelists include Helena Norberg-Hodge, Paul Roberts, author of The End of Oil and a long-time observer of energy issues and politics, and Fred Fleming, fourth generation wheat farmer in Reardon, Washington and founder of Columbia Plateau Producers and Shepherd’s Grains. Workshops on Saturday afternoon and Sunday include Organic Dairy Production, Decisions Facing Beginning Farmers, Creative Value Added Marketing, Agricultural Labor and Sustainability, Beekeeping, Disease Diagnosis, Soil Fertility, Choosing the Correct Varieties of Berries for Your Farm, Alternative Pest Management, Record Keeping for Greater Farm Profitability and Organic Certification, Organic Blueberry Production: The Good, The Bad and the Mummy, Seed Saving, Creating a Locally-Based Regional Food System, Managing the Liability and Risks of Direct Farm Marketing, Herbs in the Diversified Small Farm, Irrigation Fundamentals, Extending the Seasons: Structures and Plant Manipulation, and Renewing the Food Traditions of Salmon Nation. Also planned are roundtables on Direct Marketing and Internships, a Saturday night dance, Washington Organic Wine Tasting, and Trade Show. Everyone is welcome to attend the conference. The full program and registration details will be available September 1st, on line at www.tilthproducers.org or by calling 206.442.7620. —from OR Physicians for Social Responsibility, www.oregonpsr.org Wilcox Dairy, based in Tacoma, Washington, announced in mid-July that it is going completely rBGH-free. Wilcox, a major Pacific Northwest dairy processor, produces 2 million gallons of milk per month. It markets its milk from northern California to Alaska, both under its own label and under a number of grocery store labels. A family-owned business, the farm was started in 1909 and began dairy operations in 1961. In a story in the Olympia, Washington Olympian, company representatives Jim and Brent Wilcox said the dairy made the decision “to respond to the health concerns of consumers.” Brent Wilcox added, “In general, customers just want natural things.” Jim Wilcox said that customers have been lobbying the company to “share their concerns about added growth hormone.” Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility has been leading the effort for over two years to persuade Wilcox to go rBGH-free. We urge you to contact Wilcox and thank them for this wonderful move that will benefit cows and consumers. Their toll-free line is 800.568.6456 and their web site is www.wilcoxfarms.com where you can send them an e-mail directly. Non-GMO Project Announces Free Membership Drive This article originally appeared in the August 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 The Non-GMO Project, a collaboration of natural foods retailers nationwide who want natural food and supplement companies to undergo third-party Non-GMO verification, has announced free membership. Project organizers are asking all manufacturers of food and supplements they carry to go through a review process to confirm the non-GMO status of their products. Organizers need help to create a strong base of support for this project and to make an impact on the natural food industry. Consumers want to know, and have a right to know what is in the products they are buying. For technical support, project organizers have retained the world’s expert in GMO control, Genetic ID. Genetic ID has created a cost-effective strategy both for the food and supplement companies whose products are sold in natural food stores. The stores and their customers will be the first to get information generated from non-GMO Compliance Reviews. The natural foods industry serves a specific client base, which demands all natural ingredients. Retailers must respond to the demands of these consumers or lose business. The ethics of the natural food industry demand that it address the needs for quality assurance and quality control, specific to GMOs, in a more rigorous way. The Non-GMO Project can meet these needs. Grocery stores in the US or in Canada are encouraged to join The Non-GMO Project. There is no cost to join; membership in The Non-GMO Project is free. Foe more information about The Non-GMO Project, please call 510.526.2456-ext. 154 or send an e-mail to info@nongmoproject.org. Please visit www.nongmoproject.org for more information. WSU to Offer Organic Ag Degree —from National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture News and Resources From the Field, July 19, 2006, www.sustainableagriculture.net Washington State University recently received approval from the state to offer this country’s first organic farming degree. The Organic Agriculture Systems major marks a new development for a university that holds three decades of pioneering research on organic farming and an agriculture program that owns its own organic research farm. Michigan State and Colorado State Universities are also on the verge of offering degrees in organic agriculture. The new major is expected to appeal not only to aspiring farmers but also to people interested in related industries, such as global marketing and direct marketing of organic food. —from Northwest Coaltion for Alternatives to Pesticides, www.pesticide.org Our work, possible through your support, secured what is likely the nation’s largest consumer education effort to protect endangered species from the hazards of pesticides. While not fully realized yet, with our continued effort, home and garden stores up and down the West Coast will warn consumers of the dangers to salmon posed by seven common pesticides. The “Salmon Hazard” signs were distributed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of a legal settlement with NCAP and our allies. The consumer education campaign targets hundreds of products that contain seven pesticides that contaminate urban streams and can harm salmon or salmon habitat. All pesticides with the ingredients malathion, carbaryl, 2,4-D, diazinon, diuron, triclopyr, or trifluralin must carry the warning, according to court order. To learn more about these pesticides as well as practical healthier ways to manage pests in and around the home read our on-line fact sheets at www.pesticide.org. The warning reads: SALMON HAZARD This product contains pesticides that may harm salmon or steelhead. Use of this product in urban areas can pollute salmon streams. Pesticides compromise water quality and can harm salmon. With these signs, consumers have the chance to keep these chemicals out of the river in the first place. It is much harder to clean up a river after the damage has been done. Without the generous support of people like you success stories like this would not be possible. National Uniformity for Food Act —from Food & Environment Electronic Digest, July 2006, Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org On March 8, 2006, the House of Representatives passed the National Uniformity for Food Act (H.R. 4167). Food industry lobbyists were able to sell the House of Representatives on this disastrous bill with a series of misleading arguments. The industry argued that more stringent and informative labels that differ from state to state only serve to “confuse” consumers, and consumers would therefore be better off without having these labels at all. Lobbyists also argued that the bill allows any states wishing to maintain their food safety and labeling laws, or enact new ones, to petition the Food and Drug Administration for approval. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this new petition process will cost the government $100 million dollars in the first five years alone. That is on top of costs to the state and local governments. State regulators, environmental groups, consumer advocates, and others opposed this effort to undo decades of progress toward improving food safety and food labeling. They mounted a stirring opposition that generated enormous publicity in the days leading up to the House vote. A letter from 37 state attorneys general decried this move to “eviscerate” laws dealing with such issues as arsenic in drinking water, lead in cans and tableware, and the alcohol content in candies. The attorneys general argued that passage of this measure would represent a “startling change” in the traditional role of states in “taking action on their own to protect consumers.” The Senate is expected to vote soon on the National Uniformity for Food Act (S. 3128), a bill that could wipe out an estimated 200 state and local food safety and labeling laws, including shellfish and milk safety laws, restaurant safety laws, and carcinogen and lead warning labels. Many senators have already come out against it. The bill will eliminate these state laws in favor of a “uniform” lowest common denominator of existing federal food laws. We need your help now to defeat this bill in the Senate. Learn more about this issue and write to your senators today and urge them to oppose the National Uniformity for Food Act. Please be sure to personalize your letter so that it has the greatest impact. If you have already sent a letter on this issue, please call your senators to reinforce your message. A sample letter can be found at www.ucsaction.org/campaign/03_15_06_food_labels. Horizon Grows Organic Farmer Network —from Horizon Organic®, www.horizonorganic.com Horizon Organic® announced in late July that it has welcomed 27 additional certified organic farms in 2006 to its rapidly growing network of organic family farmer partners. Horizon Organic’s network of family farmers now totals 342 family farmers. All 27 farm families transitioned to certified organic practices though the company’s Horizon Organic Producer Education (HOPE) program, which provides financial and educational support to farmers as they convert to organic protocols. For many family farmers, converting to organic production has ensured survival of their businesses, while also promoting stewardship of the land and a healthier working environment for both people and animals. In 2005, Horizon Organic has kept more than 14.5 million pounds of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers out of the environment and has nearly 50,000 acres in the conversion process. For more information visit www.horizonorganic.com. Farmers interested in learning more about the HOPE program should call 303.635.4557.
Provender Alliance
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