Global Warming Solutions: Plant a Tree

We have 100 trees to give away FREE at theValley Garden Party. As a member of the ArborDay Foundation the Co-op is pleased to be

working with them to re-tree ourworld. This year we will be offeringFREE Blue Spruce Evergreens and Thornless Honeylocust trees.

The following are some statisticson just how important trees aregathered from the sources notedby the Arbor Day Foundation.• The net cooling effect of a young,healthy tree is equivalent to tenroom-size air conditioners operat-ing 20 hours a day. —U.S. Department of Agriculture• One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide andputs out four tons of oxygen. —U.S. Department ofAgriculture• Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air con-ditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20 - 50 percentin energy used for cooling. —USDA Forest Service• The planting of trees means improved water quality, result-

tried yet? Local farmers, manufacturers and ven-dors will be set up throughout the Co-op soyou’ll have the opportunity to do just that. Andfor the children there be a jolly jumper as well asother children’s activities

Hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate andbless us with a beautiful spring day, but asMarch weather can be unpredictable even byNew Mexican standards the weather date isSunday, April 1st - no fooling!

Farmers, gardeners, and related educational organ-izations, space is limited so reserve yours today.Call Robyn at 217-2027 or toll free at 877-775-COOP(2667).

Valley Garden Party Music Schedule11:00am: Susan Clark12pm: Holy Water and Whiskey1:30pm: Saoirse

Saturday, March 31st 10am-3pm

Hooray! It’s planting time! And time for the Co-op’s 8thAnnual North Valley Garden Party. Despite the wetwinter we are still gardening in the desert. Asalways the Co-op has what you need for a success-

ful growing season in our arid climate. From the finest in organ-ic seeds, veggie/flower seedling and native plants to the most upto date information on how to successfully garden/landscape inour dry climate, composting, growing organic, mulching, con-servation based watering systems and much more come to theCo-op.

As always there will be a wide variety of organic seeds, veggie,flower, herb seedlings, native plants, compost, and all the otherthings you need for a great year in the garden. Some of ourregion’s most dedicated farmers have already confirmedincluding: certified organic Bethany Farms, Becky Thorpe andher native plants and medicinal herbs, County Extension AgentJoran Viers, Chuck O’Herron-Alex’s micro greenhouses, theFigman, Lloydd Kreitzer with his extensive variety of heritageNew Mexican fig trees, tree health education from DivineEarth Gardens and so much more.

In addition to supplies there will be some of our community’smost knowledgeable people on hand to answer your how-toquestions. Again this year we are honored to have Joan Quinn,education coordinator for the New Mexico Organic Com-

Don’t Miss the CO-OP’S 8th AnnualValley Garden

Party modity Commission, our state’s organic certificationagency. A walking, talking natural resource, she can tellyou everything you need to know on how to grow it organ-ically, how to get certified organic or how organic farmingand gardening supports healthy food production and longterm environmental health.

Also on hand will be another of our farming and gardeningexperts, Bernalillo County Extension Agent Joran Viers.Need composting information or some of that rich “blackgold” itself? New Mexico Compost Products/ Soilutionsfolk will be happy to oblige. Get your home compost pilegoing good with Kate Heath’s High Desert Worm Ranch’sRed Wrigglers.

As always it’s our great pleasure to spotlight some of our community’s wonderful local musicans. Enjoy the angel-ic voice of singer songwriter SusanClark, the acoustic traditional folkand bluegrass of Holy Water andWhiskey and New Mexico’s fa-vorite Celtic Eclectic band Saoirse.(See the Schedule on this page.)

And of course there will be greatCo-op food. Sit at an umbrella-shaded table with friends andneighbors and enjoy deliciouslunch specials from the Co-op Deli.La Montanita’s support of localproducers is legendary, with 20%of all our purchases local products.Want to sample some you haven’t

A Festival for Children of all Ages Saturday, April 28 10am-2pm

The Co-op at 913 W. Alameda Street in Santa Fe is pleased to beparticipating in Turn Off TV Week again this year. Turn Off TVWeek is sponsored by the Santa Fe Public Schools’ Office of

Student Wellness and the Santa Fe TV Turn Off Committee.

On Sat. April 28th the Co-op will block off a large section of our parking lotand with the help of friends, neighbors and the Santa Fe community providea special day to honor all the elementary school children throughout the pub-lic school system who participated by turning off their TVs for one week. Wealso welcome other children ofall ages in the hopes of inspir-ing more of us to TURN OFFTV and TURN ON LIFE. Enjoyyouthful musicians and otherperformances, puppet theater,art making, readings and booksales, healthy, local and natu-ral foods, environmental edu-cation and action to inspire theunderstanding of all we can doand be when we TURN OFF TV.

Come and participate in thisFREE FESTIVAL. Local com-munity organizations and child related businessesare welcome to participate. To reserve your FREE space call Robin at 877-775-2667 or e-mail her at robins@lamontanitacoop.com.

ing in less runoff and erosion. This allows more rechargingof the ground water supply. Wooded areas help prevent thetransport of sediment and chemicals into streams. —USDAForest Service• In laboratory research, visual exposure to settings withtrees has produced significant recovery from stress within

five minutes, as indicated by changes in bloodpressure and muscle tension.—Dr. Roger S. Ulrich Texas A&M University

Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens)The silver blue-green spruce is a magnificentsight! Rated one of the most popular evergreens.It grows well while young and matures at 50-75’;25’ spread. This spruce does well in full sun andgrows in acidic, alkaline, drought tolerant, loamy,moist, rich, sandy, well drained, wet, wide range,clay soils. Water while getting established.

Thornless Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos inermis) A fast-growing tree with fragrant spring flowers, its deli-cate, open silhouette lets grass grow underneath. This treeis pollution, salt and drought tolerant. Adapts to a widerange of soils including Acidic, Alkaline, Loamy, Moist,Rich, Sandy, Well Drained, Wet, Wide Range, Clay soils.Prefers full sun but will grow in partial shade. Water whilegetting established.

Sunday, April 22 10:30am-6pm

I t’s that time again! People all over Albuquerque and throughoutthe state are getting ready for the 18th Annual Celebrate theEarth Festival. You can expect the same wonderfully inspir-

ing day filled with information and education booths fromdozens of environmental, social and economic justice organiza-tions, local farmers, seedlings, drought resistant plants, beautifulart from fine local artists and crafts people, inspiring music anddancing by some of our favorite local performing artists and ofcourse great Co-op food. This year there are several new addi-tions to our festival and we will be moving down the block tocreate more space to host these new activities.

New This YearGlobal warming and its effects are one of the gravest environ-mental issues we face. Lisa Hummon of Defenders of Wildlife

trained in Tennesse with Al Gore to give global warmingpresentations. She will present his slide-show from themovie An Inconvenient Truth and lead a solutions baseddiscussion. This year we are partnering with Green EnergyNew Mexico to green tag our event. Our purchase of greentags for all the energy we use at the Festival is an investmentin alternative energy source creation here in New Mexico.Everyone who comes to the Festival will have the opportu-nity to “green tag” their energy use to invest in renewablesolutions developed in our state.

Another new Festival addition is our exciting AlternativeTransport Area. Both to combat global warming and due tothe higher costs of gas many people have taken to the streetson two wheels. This year we are thrilled to be partnering withThe City of Albuquerque’s main bike man, Chuck Malagodi,Bike ABQ and the Albuquerque Police Department on a BikeSafety Rodeo, bike safety training classes, bike maintenanceclasses and all things to do with bike transport. Watch formore information in our April Co-op News.

As always, you can count on seeing some of our fine localartists, hearing some of your favorite musicians and thrill-

ing to performances from our gifted local per-formers. Look for the full entertainment schedulein the April Co-op Connection News.

We’re praying for a beautiful day, and withMother Earth’s blessing we will once again taketime to celebrate “Her” and reaffirm our commit-ment to restoring and sustaining our blue/greenplanetary gem. Our street fills up quickly so pleasereserve your booth space early. We do give firstpriority to environmental, social and economicjustice non-profit organizations and farmers andfarming organizations. Join your friends andneighbors as we educate and inform ourselves andjoyously dance in the streets at Albuquerque’sfavorite spring gathering. Mark your calendar,this is one event you don’t want to miss.

Sunday, April 22th 10:30am-6pm at the back door ofthe Nob Hill Co-op location. For more information orto reserve your free booth space please contactRobyn at 217-2027 or toll free at 877-775-2667.

The 18th Annual Celebrate theEarthFest!

Get a FREE Tree at the ValleyGarden Party!

Turn Off TV&Turn on Life

ppllaanntt aattrreeee

march31garden

PARTY

coming home to eat

A Community - Owned Natural Foods Grocery Store

La Montanita CooperativeAlbuquerque/ 7am-10pm M-S, 8am-10pm Sun.3500 Central SEAlbuq., NM 87106 265-4631

Albuquerque/ 7am-10pm M-S, 8am-10pm Sun.2400 Rio Grande Blvd.Albuq., NM 87104 242-8800

Gallup/ 9am-7pm M-S, 11am-6pm Sun.105 E. Coal Gallup, NM 87301 863-5383

Santa Fe/ 7am-10pm M-S, 8am-10pm Sun.913 West Alameda Santa Fe, NM 87501 984-2852

Cooperative Distribution Center 3361 Columbia NE, Albuq., NM 87107217-2010

Administrative Staff: 505-217-2001TOLL FREE: 877-775-2667 (COOP)• General Manager/C.E. Pugh 217-2020ce@lamontanitacoop.com• Controller/John Heckes 217-2026johnh@lamontanitacoop.com• Computers/Info Technology/David Varela 217-2011 computers@lamontanitacoop.com• Human Resources/Sharret Rose 217-2023hr@lamontanitacoop.com• Marketing/Edite Cates 217-2024editec@lamontanitacoop.com• Membership/Robyn Seydel 217-2027robins@lamontanitacoop.com

Store Team Leaders: • Mark Lane/Nob Hill 265-4631markl@lamontanitacoop.com • John Mulle/Valley 242-8800jm@lamontanitacoop.com• William Prokopiack/Santa Fe 984-2852willpro@lamontanitacoop.com• Tracy Thomasson/Gallup 863-5383tracyt@lamontanitacoop.com

Co-op Board of Directors:email: bod@lamontanitacoop.comPresident: Martha WhitmanVice President: Marshall KovitzTreasurer: Ken O’BrienSecretary: Roger Eldridge Lonn CalancaTom HammerTamara SaimonsJonathan SiegelAndrew Stone

Membership Costs:$15 for 1 year/$200 Lifetime Membership

Co-op Connection Staff:Managing Editor: Robyn Seydelrobins@lamontanitacoop.comLayout and Design: foxyrock incCovers and Centerfold: Edite CatesAdvertising: Robyn Seydel Editorial Assistant: Stephanie Claytonstephaniec@lamontanitacoop.com 217-2016Printing: Vanguard Press

Membership information is available at all four Co-op locations, or call 217-2027 or 877-775-2667email: memb@lamontanitacoop.com

Membership response to the newsletter is appreciated. Address typed, double-spaced copy to the Managing Editor, robins@lamontanitacoop.comwebsite: www.lamontanitacoop.com

Copyright © 2007La Montanita Co-op SupermarketReprints by prior permission.

The Co-op Connection is printed on 65% postconsumer recycled paper. It is recyclable.

BY LISA HUMMON, DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE

T hrough the conservation title of the Farm Bill,farmers and ranchers all across America areparticipating in programs including the

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Environ-mental Quality Incentives Pro-gram (EQIP), Wildlife HabitatIncentives Program (WHIP), andGrasslands Reserve Program(GRP), just to name a few. Theseprograms seek to recover imper-iled species, protect habitat, con-serve natural resources, and pro-tect farmland threatened withurban encroachment.

They are critical to conservationefforts. Seventy percent of land in the U.S. is man-aged by farmers, ranchers, and foresters, keepingvast areas of land undeveloped, and impacting localsupplies of water and soil. Furthermore, sixty per-cent of at-risk species are found on private or statelands. And forty percent of threatened and endan-gered species are found ONLY on private or statelands. Farm and ranch lands are incredibly impor-tant for protecting our land, water, and wildlife.

The 2002 Farm Bill contained the single largestappropriation for natural resource conservation inthe nation – averaging nearly $3 billion a year from2002-2006. This amount far exceeds funding pro-vided through the Endangered Species Act, but it isnot nearly enough. And every year, through theappropriations process, Congress makes cuts tothese vitally important programs.

2 March 2007

The program that has taken the biggest funding hit, theConservation Security Program (CSP), is also the program that hasthe greatest potential to reward good farm and ranch stewardship.The program is authorized at $2.8 billion, but has only been fund-ed at $489 million, an 82.5% shortfall. Overall, farm conservationprograms have faced a 13.3% shortfall since 2002.

There is a steady “backlog” or waiting list of farmers and ranchersfor conservation programs. This backlog represents project appli-

cations that met the selection criteria and were accepted, but therewas not enough funding to support them. The 2004 backlogreached a record $4.5 billion, representing 151,716 disappointedlandowners nationwide.

Farmers and ranchers don’t have it easy. In addition to dealing withthe pressures of nature, the market, corporate agri-business, anddevelopers, they are also the stewards of our land, water, andwildlife. For all their work, it behooves us to do all we can toimprove upon and expand policy in Washington, D.C. to help sup-port their efforts. The Farm Bill will be reauthorized this year. Wehave the opportunity to influence change and create a new visionfor agricultural policy. For more information contact Lisa Hummon,Defenders of Wildlife, 248-0118 x5, lhummon@defenders.org. Staytuned for future articles on the Farm Bill in the Co-op Connection.

STEWARDS

Land

BY GEORGE PYLE, PRAIRIE WRITERS CIRCLE

In farm country, Christmas comes about every five years. The nextvisit of Santa Claus — or in this case, Uncle Sam — is due in2007. The wish list of American agribusiness giants and theirvassals at the U.S. Department of Agriculture is the same as

always: many billions of federal dollars prop-ping up an unnatural, anti-competitive, secu-rity-undermining, environment-destroyingsystem that gluts the world with cheap grainand pig manure.

And any warm feeling taxpayers might getfor thinking their money goes to support thetraditional family farm springs from about asmuch reality as flying reindeer.

After 52 public forums from Florida toAlaska, many presided over personally by Agriculture Secretary MikeJohanns, and more than 4,000 public comments, the USDA clings to itswillful misreading of the situation, promoting policies that endangerthe planet and destroy farmsteads from Nebraska to Niger.

Some hold out hope that Congress, after decades of agreeing that thesolution to every farm problem is larger production subsidies, mighttake another course. The ascension of the Democrats, specifically thefact that conservation-friendly Tom Harkin of Iowa will be chairmanof the Senate Agriculture Committee, provides some encouragement.

But the USDA’s own summary of the issues facing American agriculture— “Strengthening the Foundation for Future Growth in U.S.Agriculture” — still views farming as an industrial process needing toramp up production and increase exports.

It’s a sad missive that refers to the dependency of livestock and veg-etable producers on straightjacketing production contracts with giantprocessors as “opportunities,” and calls the need for farm families tobalance their budgets with off-farm jobs a “choice.”

It’s a business plan that assumes poor nations whose agricultural baseis destroyed by America’s market-glutting production will magicallystart having the kind of disposable income necessary to buy our grainand meat. Our government’s refusal to deviate from this view was the

key reason why the last round of World TradeOrganization talks, once seen as a chance to bring poornations into the fold, collapsed in July.

It’s a blueprint for yet another round of taxpayer sub-sidies for the so-called “program crops” — generallywheat, corn, rice, soybeans and cotton — that pushfarmers to max out their production using all the fer-tilizer and pesticides they can afford.

The government dropped nearly $144 billion on farmsubsidies between 1995 and 2004, according to calcula-

tions by the Environmental Working Group.The bulk of that money went to an ever-shrink-ing number of giant companies that continueto soak up both the taxpayers’ money and theirneighbors’ land.

The resulting cut-rate price of corn furtherencourages feedlot fattening of cattle, hogs andpoultry rather than the more natural grazing.The nitrogen-heavy runoff from those massivefeeding operations, combined with all the fer-tilizer that flows from wheat and corn fields inthe Plains and upper Midwest, endangers

municipal water supplies and once-teeming sealifedownstream in the Gulf of Mexico.

Soil conservation is always a part of farm legisla-tion, but a small part. In Kansas, for example,federal farm payments over the decade ending in

2004 totaled $6.2 billion for production subsidies and$1 billion for conservation. When budget hawks startlooking for savings, it is the conservation plans, not thesubsidies, that are on the chopping block.

True conservation farming, where land is lovingly hus-banded everywhere, not hyper-farmed here and left fal-low there, is the key to sustainable, affordable foodproduction. And we can have it for a fraction of whatwe now spend on production subsidies.

If we tell Congress that is what we want.

George Pyle, an editorial writer for the Salt Lake Tribune,is author of “Raising Less Corn, More Hell: The Case forthe Independent Farmer and Against Industrial Food.” Hewrote this comment for the Land Institute’s Prairie WritersCircle.

of our

Farm Bill: Conservation Title

The Farm Bill: Sustainability or Agribusiness as usual?Drawing:

by Cirrelda Snider-Bryan

Farm andranch landsare incrediblyimportant for protecting our land,water andwildlife

Our Preverse Farm

PLANFOOD security at stake

While many people equate its programs and subsidies with assis-tance for struggling family farmers, the Farm Bill actually hastwo primary thrusts. (1) Food stamps, school lunch, and othernutrition programs account for 50 percent of current spend-ing—an average of $44 billion per year between 2000 and 2006.(2) Income and price supports for a number of storable com-modity crops that combine for another 35 percent of spending.In addition to these two major pieces of the pie, the Farm Billfunds a range of other program “titles,” including conservationand environment, forestry, renewable energy, research, and ruraldevelopment. (See “How the USDA Spends a Tax Dollar.”)

For decades, Farm Bill negotiationshave been dominated by a tag-team oftwo powerful interest groups. The“farm bloc” (commodity state repre-sentatives along with the agribusinesslobby) has orchestrated a quid pro

quo with the antihunger cau-cus (urban representativesaligned with hunger advoca-cy groups). As a result, ever-increasing payments havebeen successfully directedtoward surplus commodityproduction and the livestockfeedlot industry. In return,the Farm Bill’s desperatelyneeded hunger safety net pro-grams have survived relative-ly unscathed.

Who Gets the Money?

F or the simplest answer, one might twist a line from BillClinton, “It’s the commodity groups, stupid.” Thanks to agrowing number of nongovernmental, governmental, and

mass media resources, following the Farm Bill money trail is notthat difficult. (Environmental Working Group, OxfamInternational, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, WashingtonPost, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution are excellent places tostart.) According to the Congressional Research Service, 84 per-cent of commodity support spending goes to the production ofjust five crops: corn, cotton, wheat, rice, and soybeans. Half ofthat money currently goes to just seven states that produce mostof those commodities. The richest ten percent of farm-subsidyrecipients (many of whom are corporations and absenteelandowners and can hardly be classified as “actively engaged” ingrowing crops) take in more than two-thirds of those payments.Here are just a few other broad brush strokes:

• Almost 50 percent of all commodity subsidies went to 5 percent ofeligible farmers in 2005.• Subsidies help the largest farms to acquire the best land andsqueeze out the smaller growers.• The growth-rate for jobs trailed the national average in nearly two-thirds of counties receiving heavy subsidies between 2000 and 2003according to a recent report.

What About the Food Pyramid?Very little of all the agriculture we subsidize is directly edible, atleast by humans. Out of the hundreds and even thousands ofplant and animal species that have been cultivated for humanuse, the Farm Bill favors just four primary groups: food grains,feed grains, oilseeds, and upland cotton. Most are either fed tocattle in confinement or processed into oils, flours, starches, sug-ars, or other industrial food additives.

It only takes a stroll down the supermarket aisles to understandhow Farm Bill dollars flow into the country’s food chain. A dol-lar buys hundreds of more calories in the snack food, cereal, orsoda aisles than it does in the produce section. Why? Because theFarm Bill favors the mega-production of corn and soybeansrather than regional supplies of fresh carrots, healthy fruits, andnuts. Unfortunately, eating a diet high in calories doesn’t neces-sarily ensure that one is well-fed—even if that food is cheap.

continued on page 13

coming home to eat

March 2007 3

Co-op ValuesCooperatives are based on the values of self-help,self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity andsolidarity. In the tradition of their founders, coop-erative members believe in the ethical values ofhonesty, openness, social responsibility and car-ing for others.

Co-op Principles 1 Voluntary and Open Membership 2 Democratic Member Control 3 Member Economic Participation 4 Autonomy and Independence 5 Education, Training and Information 6 Cooperation among Cooperatives 7 Concern for Community

The Co-op Connection is published by LaMontanita Co-op Supermarket to provide informa-tion on La Montanita Co-op Supermarket, thecooperative movement, and the links betweenfood, health, environment and community issues.Opinions expressed herein are of the authors andare not necessarily those of the Co-op.

CO-OPYOU OWN IT

Valley

Gallup

Santa Fe

BY DAN IMHOFF

Every five years, Congress revisits and ultimatelypasses a massive but little understood legisla-tion known as the Farm Bill. This year, 2007will be one of those years, and if things play

out the way they’re headed, this could become the mostscrutinized food and farm policy debate in recent histo-ry. Originally conceived as an emergency bailout formillions of farmers and unemployedduring the dark times of the Dust Bowland Great Depression, the Farm Bill hassnow-balled into one of the most—if notthe most—significant forces affectingfood, farming, and land-use in theUnited States. In a country consecratedto private property rights and free mar-ket ideals, it might seem hard to fathomthat a single legislation could wield suchfar-reaching powers. But to a largeextent, the Farm Bill determines whatsort of foods we Americans eat (andhow they taste and how much they cost), which cropsare grown under what conditions, and ultimately,whether we’re properly nourished or not.

Why the Farm Bill Matters If you pay taxes, care about the nutritional values ofschool lunches, worry about the plight of biodiversityor the loss of farmland and open space, you have a per-sonal stake in the tens of billions of dollars annuallycommitted to agriculture and food policies. If you’reconcerned about escalating federal budget deficits, thefate of family farmers, a food system dominated by cor-porations and commodities, conditions of immigrantfarm workers, the state of the country’s woodlands, orthe marginalization of locally raised organic food andgrassfed meat and dairy products, you should payattention to the Farm Bill. There are dozens more rea-sons why the Farm Bill is critical to our land, our bod-ies, and our children’s future. Some include:

• The twilight of the cheap oil age and onset of unpre-dictable climatic conditions; • Looming water shortages and crashing fish populations; • Broken rural economies; • Euphoria over corn and soybean expansion for biofuels; • Escalating medical and economic costs of child and adultobesity and diabetes;• Record payouts to corporate farms that aren’t even los-ing money before subsidies;• Over 35 million Americans, half of them children, who

don’t get enough to eat.

“The farm policies we design now will likely determinewhether we will continue to have a sustainable foodsystem in the future,” writes long-time North Dakotaorganic farmer and food activist, Fred Kirschenmann,in the introduction to Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guideto a Food and Farm Bill. Although the economic chal-lenges of modern agriculture may seem abstract tomany urban and suburban residents, he argues, “anenlightened food and farm policy is of considerableconsequence to every citizen on the planet.” We all dohave to eat after all.

What is the Farm Bill?The Farm Bill is essentially a $90 billion tax bill forfood, feed, fiber, and more recently, fuel. Each billreceives a formal name, such as the Food andAgriculture Act of 1977, the Federal AgricultureImprovement and Reform Act of 1996 (a.k.a.“Freedom to Farm”), but more often each act is simplyreferred to as “the Farm Bill.”

take action!

A Citizen’s Guide to Food, Farming and the Upcoming Farm Bill

foodFIGHT

The Food and Drug Administration has given preliminaryapproval to the use of cloned animals for food. Accordingto the agency’s chief of veterinary medicine, milk and meatfrom cloned cows, pigs, and goats, and from their offspring,are as safe to eat as the food we eat every day.

Public comment period ends April 2

Tell FDA NOcloned animals in our foodand food products!

Consumers and the public now have until April 2, 2007, to sendcomments to the FDA concerning their Draft Animal Cloning RiskAssessment report.

Email comments may be sent to clones@cvm.fda.gov. Writtencomments can be sent to Docket No. 2003N-0573 Division ofDockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration,5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

Be sure to reference Docket No. 2003N-0573 in either your writ-ten or e-mail comments. The FDA will also accept telephone mes-sages of up to 3 minutes on the draft cloning report at this num-ber: 240-453-6842. LOOK FOR LETTER WRITING TABLES AT THECO-OP NEAREST YOU.

coming home to eat March 2007 4

by Heather Gaudet

This time of year, Les Crowder is counting his bee-hives and moving them back to his home yard. Heis preparing for a journey to California, wherehe will take between 150 and 200 hives to pol-

linate an almond orchard. He will load the hives on atruck, cover them with a net, and make the long drive withas few stops as possible. When he arrives, he will unload them into anorchard just as the almond trees are about to spring into bloom.

Each year, beekeepers from all over the country take their bees to polli-nate the almonds. Honey bee populations have been in decline for manyyears due to agricultural applications of pesticides as well as the rise ofthe varroa mite, a parasitic mite that kills its host. While the varroa miteis now in decline, pesticide use is still a major threat for honey bees,monarch butterflies and other valuable pollinating insects.

In order to safely bring his bees to California, Les must first sign acontract with the orchard owner that guarantees that the orchard willnot be sprayed with any kind of pesticide or other chemical applica-tion during the time his bees are present. Often spraying recommencesas soon as the bees are removed. This widespread use of pesticideseliminates all of the native pollinators in an orchard, thus causing anextreme need for the imported honey bees.

When Les returns in March with his bees, they will be hungry, andready for the spring blossoms of New Mexico. March will also

mark the begin-ning of a certifi-cate program that Les teaches for burgeoning bee-keepers who wish to learn the ins and outs of nat-ural topbar beekeeping. I participated in the pro-gram last year, and learned to appreciate the beau-ty and sanctity of this incredible insect.

Over the course of the season I learned to under-stand the biology of the bee, what differentiates aqueen, worker and drone, and how honey, wax,pollen and propolis are made. As I became com-fortable with opening hives and working with thebees, I was drawn into a deeper understanding ofthe complexity of their social relationships and wasinvited to participate in their fascinating world bycaring for them.

All my life I have feared stinging insects. Over-coming my fear was both thrilling and calming.

When one is with the bees, it is best to move veryslowly, with bated breath. The bees do not see slowmovements, rather they respond to fast-movingobjects and the smell of mammalian breath. It is aforced meditation to be in an open hive. For me, it isalso a window into a world of sweetness and clarity.

The class teaches how to gather swarms of beesfrom trees, as well as to remove established hivesfrom inside trees or walls. Knowing what I doabout the dangers that honey bees have to face inorder to survive, I felt good taking them fromplaces where they might be unwanted and puttingthem into hives where I could take care of them.

We learned to treat the bees with respect, caringfor them without the use of antibiotics, miticidesor other chemicals. The bee industry is no dif-ferent than any other agricultural industry, inthat it advocates a whole range of pharmaceuti-

cal products, chemical applications and expensiveequipment to be successful. Les keeps his bees with-out any of these things. He considers himself a stew-ard of his bees, not their owner. He provides themwith shelter that is supportive of their natural ten-dencies, and advocates that all new beekeepers con-sider themselves as stewards and caretakers of thiswonderful creature.

I love my bees, and look forward to the honey theycreate, and the meditation offered to me by tendingthem. At the end of January, I will peek into my hivesto check that their food reserves are ample to carrythem to the first blooms of the year, and my bee-keeping season will begin.

To find out more about Les Crowder’s beekeeping cer-tificate course, you can contact him at 514-8601.

Sparrow Hawk Farm:sparrow

hawkfarms

many garden problems, but we quickly found that itcouldn’t block whipping wind and blowing sand,couldn’t keep exposed vegetables fromfreezing, and couldn’t deter insects,chickens or other birds. I found myselfback at square one, needing a durable,fairly inexpensive cover that would blockthe wind, keep pests out, and could act asa mini greenhouse.

The design that I finally came up with isone that seems to solve many of the prob-lems that I’ve encountered both in Juarezand here in New Mexico. Before Idescribe the basic cover design I need toacknowledge that it is pretty hard to invent somethingnew in agriculture. Humans have been gardening forthousands of years. I have studied many other people’sdesigns and have incorporated aspects from a variety ofdesigns into my design. I am happy to share what I havelearned and what has worked for me because I havebenefited from the experience and wisdom of others.

So the basic design goes like this. 1) Build a square orrectangle out of 2”x4” lumber. This frame can be

Learn to appreciate the beauty and sanctity of Bees

Mini Greenhousesby Chuck O’Herron-Alex

W hen I moved to the Southwest 12 years ago, I was amazed by thefact that there was sun all winter long. I grew up in the Midwestand thought that winter meant grey overcast skies. That first

winter in the Southwest I started playing around with ways to use thewinter sun to continue growing food through the winter. I experimentedwith cold frames, cloches, and a variety of hoop houses. These thingsworked moderately well, but all had some distinct problems. After a briefinvestigation into the price of a real greenhouse I quickly realized that if Iwere going to grow food through the winter and not spend a fortune Iwas going to need to find a system that could be made out of basic mate-rials, was small enough to fit into my small yard, and avoided the hugetemperature fluctuations I experienced with cold frames.

Four years ago I was helping people in Juarez, Mexico learn how togrow some of their own food. We started by bringing in a large amountof compost and quality topsoil they could use as a growing medium.Now I know that compost is wonderful stuff and that it can overcome

whatever size you want it to be up to about10’x10’. 2) Drill 7/8” holes into the 2”x4”s ontwo of the sides. 3) Place one end of a 1/2” pvcpipe into one of the holes and bend it over andplace it in the hole on the other side of the frame.This forms an arch or hoop. The pvc lengthdepends on how big your frame is and how highyou want your cover to be. 4) The final step is todrape a piece of flexible greenhouse plastic or row

cover material (depending onthe season) over the hoopsand securing it by pinching itbetween the 2”x4”s andpieces of 1”x2” lumber. Thisframe can then be placedover your in ground gardenor can be attached to yourraised bed. For access to yourgarden you can lift the coveron one end and roll it backon itself while you tend toyour garden.

This protective covering system blocks wind,keeps pests out, cuts down on evaporation, andacts as a mini greenhouse in the winter. I haveused this design throughout the Southwest tohelp people grow food in climates where thetemperatures get down to 5 degrees. For moreinfo contact Chuck at www.veggiegrower.net orstop by his store, Veggiegrower Gardens of NewMexico at 3211 Silver Ave. SE, Albuquerque, NM.

by Kim Pophal

Erda Gardens is Albuquerque’s oldest Biodynamic CSAfarm, in continuous operation since 1996. Biodynamicagriculture is the original non-chemical agricultural

movement; it pre-dates the organic movement by twenty years.Founded by Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner in the 1920’s, itstrengthens the health of living soil, which in turn producesmore nutritious produce. This makes pesticides and chemicalfertilizers unnecessary. Healthy soil makes healthy food!

Erda is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model farmwhere shares are sold at the start of each growing season. Oncea week, members receive their share of the harvested produce.This method directly connects the consumer and grower andbrings the freshest possible produce to the members.

All of our farms are located in the South Valley within a 6 mileradius of each other, and Erda has had more offers of land than

we can work. We offer only locally grown fruits and vegetables.Most of the work from ground preparation through harvesting isdone by hand. We plant heirloom seeds whenever possible,seeds that have not been hybridized or genetically modified.

Our distribution season starts the second Wednesday of May(weather permitting) and continues weekly until the first frost(historically the end of October). Half share portions can feedone to two people, while full shares are appropriate for three tofour people. Space is limited; applications and information aboutmembership is available at www.erdagardens.org or 610-1538.

CSA’s offer opportunities to be active in a network of mutualsupport between food growers and food consumers. Theyrepresent the revolutionary opportunity for communities toregain control of their food in a local agrarian economy.PLEASE JOIN US for the 2007 SEASON!

BEE KEEPING at its best!

allow year-round GROWING !

EAT LOCALLY: ErdaGardens

LLooss PPoobbllaannooss OOrrggaanniiccss

The best produce from the field to you. Always fresh. Always organic

sign up onlinewww.NMOrganics.com

or call

668811--44006600

There is something invigorating about workingwith a piece of earth and seeing it change. I arrivedat the farm during the height of summer harvest,when we had more tomatoes and squash than weknew what to do with, when our bean plants werefull and healthy, and when we had volunteerwatermelons in our okraand in our compost. Wewould spend two daysharvesting, sitting fortwenty minutes at a timepicking the same cherrytomato plant or the samesection of bean plants, ajungle of flowering buck-wheat looming over us.We would take muskmel-ons out of the field by thecartload, devouring thecracked ones and the dropped ones. We built amoveable coup out of lightweight PVC pipes andlet our baby chicks out of their nesting boxes intoa field cover-cropped with millet.

By the end of September, I had seen successions ofsquash eaten by vine bores and squash bugs, rowsof tomato plants whither and brown, and an entirefield grazed bare by adolescent hens. I had helpedclear, cut and till in bitter chard and summer covercrop. I had planted new cover crop and new fallgreens and had watered and weeded them, hoed andfertilized them and watched as they grew a little biteach day out of the corpses of summer crops.

When you put so much care into growing produce,eating it and cooking it is all that much morerewarding. At the farmhouse, we would spendhours together in the kitchen, preparing meals andtalking about our families, our interests, publichealth and our life goals. Our meals tended torevolve around which crops we had in excess. Ihave learned an incredible amount about cookingand enjoying it by living with people whose culi-nary motivation and creativity emerge from thefresh herbs and vegetables carried into our kitchenby the bin load. We stocked our freezer withblanched green beans and kale, roasted peppers,pesto and tomato sauce. We pickled okra andcucumbers. We dried herbs. We baked and friedpotatoes, made sandwiches with roasted vegeta-bles and fresh herb bread, blueberry cobbler andice cream, cucumber salad, carrot and butternutsoup, eggplant stir-fry, steamed amaranth greensand so much more.

by Ariel Ingram

Iused to buy organics for two reasons. First, it justplain tastes better. And second, I saw it as amonetary investment; spend a little extramoney now on food that is less processed and

as chemical free as this earth’s soils will allow, thenpotentially spend thousands less on doctor’s billstreating things like cancer and endometriosis. Aftergraduating college in the smoggy suburbs of LosAngeles, I threw my bike and a suitcase of clothes inthe back of my car and headed out to work as anorganic farmhand in the Georgia countryside.

After working, literally, in the field of organics, Ihave come to see organic food production as morethan just an investment in public and environmentalhealth. It’s also not just about the long list of envi-ronmental perks of soil amendments, crop rotationand uncontaminated water or the culinary attrac-tions of fresh heirloom varieties and vibrant “off thevine” flavors. It is about a way of life.

As an organic farmer, I did not feel like I was work-ing for a company. I felt like I was working for thehealth and happiness of an entire system—a com-munity that included myself and fellow farmers,market communities, plants, chickens, bees, bugs,and the soil itself.

My first day on the farm I worked weeding a bed ofbasil. The other farmers and seasoned interns dugtheir fingers into the dirt around the herbs, uproot-ing weeds and mixing them up with the soil. This isgreat, I thought. I can do this, no problem. I pressedmy fingers into the bed and… nothing. No clayballing up in my palm, no soil crumbling throughmy fingertips, no weeds uprooting in my grasp. Justfive little finger imprints. I looked over at the farmmanager who had weeded nearly two feet in thetime it had taken me to realize that this dirt is a lit-tle tougher than it looks. She was pulling dirt withboth hands, running her fingers through the earth asif it were sand. Leaning over the other side of thebed, I couldn’t help but think that as an initiationjoke I must have gotten stuck with the side you haveto karate chop to get through to any weed roots.

A week before I left the farm, we weeded a newplanting of basil. We all had our hands in the bed,pushing and pulling the soil with our fingertips. Icould smell the sweetness of the basil as I workedwith both hands, still not as quick and effortless asour manager, but more adapted to the soil.

coming home to eat March 2007 5

by Corva Rose and Lloyd Kreitzer

H ow about Albuquerque’s future as a datecapitol of the southwest with an annual 4-day date festival? Pipe dream? Not really.

All we have to do is plant Chinese date trees andwait 5 years. What is a Chinese date? It’s a treethat has been cultivated by the Chinese for 4,000years that gives an olive to apple-sized fruit that,when it turns red, is mature and sweet and tasteslike a cross between an apple and a date. Ifallowed to dry and dehydrate a little it looks likea date, tastes like a date, and even has a date pitinside. The fruit is very nourishing. We’ve hadthem in Albuquerque for 50 years, and in thesouthwest (the panhandle of Texas) since 1875.

The genus, Zizyphus, is grown in the East Indies andMalay, in China and the Himalayas, in Texas andMexico, tropical Africa and South America, andaround the Mediterranean, from Spain to Greece,and throughout the Middle East. There is a greatdebate about the origin of the species most commonto North American cultivation, Zizyphus jujuba. Butno one is in debate about their love for it.

More commonly called the Chinese date, this toughspecimen of a tree hails from the buckthorn family,

Rhamnaceae. It is deep rooted and takes well todesert conditions. It will tolerate drought, saline, andalkaline soils. This tough tree can grow in full sun, islong-lived and will top out at 20 feet tall and as wide.Have we perked your interest?

The Chinese red date, or jujube, is a nice looking tree.It has a handsome, ash-like bark, with very shiny

green leaves that turn yellow-gold in the fall. It makesan excellent patio tree, and can withstand severe cold,frost, and snow. Pruning is best done in the winterwhen you can see the beautiful, gnarled, and pendu-lous silhouettes against our expansive, blue skies.

The care of this tree is quite easy, as you may imag-ine. Although it tolerates neglect and is not particularabout soils, the shade will be more healthy and denseif compost and mulch are applied in the root zone (ie:under the entire canopy and extending out beyond a

few feet). Global warming? No problem. Jujube handles sustaineddays and weeks of 100 degrees plus and can also handle 23 belowwinters and anything in between. It must have a frost to producefruit. It is self-pollinating, so one may be enough, but will be evenmore fruitful if there are two. They grow better with a regular, deepwatering twice monthly in summer and are good candidates for thatdownspout water from the monsoons. In Best Plants for NewMexico Gardens and Landscapes, Baker H. Morrow describes the

jujube as a tree that “should be more widely cultivated inNew Mexico,” and we heartily agree.

Medicinally, it is used as a tonic sweetener in many sup-portive Chinese herbal remedies and it specificallystrengthens the liver and kidneys. Dried on the tree natu-rally, it is a great additive to breakfast cereals, smoothies,muffins and a sweetener for tea. In Forest Gardening:Cultivating an Edible Landscape, Robert Hart touts thejujube as “one of the world’s hardiest trees” and givesexamples of the ways the prolific fruit is used: as butter,cheese, and even flour-like in recipes. It is very rich in vita-min C. The fruit can also be put in freezer bags when freshand frozen to enjoy later.

There are over 400 varieties of jujube. The 2 most common inAlbuquerque are Lang, elongated fruit best for drying and Li, largerrounded fresh eating, with a higher sugar content of 45%.

So how about a date… for the future?

Lloyd Kreitzer sells wild jujubes, historical Albuquerque fig trees andpomegranates. He can be reached at 266-8000. Corva Rose is a localcontemplative pruner and co-owner of divine earth: aesthetic prun-ing and restoration. She can be reached at 203-8968.

Some good places to purchase jujube trees: Plants of the Southwest(344-8830), the Co-op Garden Party (March 31), the Co-op Celebrate theEarth Festival (April 22) and Roger Meyer, authority on jujubes, (email:xotcfruit@yahoo.com).

Singing the Praises of a Stalwart Tree

Oh,Jujube!

It amazes me the energy that surrounds fresh organic foods. OneSaturday, our farm manager offered a woman a Sungold tomato as shewas paying for other vegetables. “Oh, that’s to die for. I’ll take twoboxes.” As she left, she smiled and added, “You knew that was going tohappen, didn’t you?” I saw this same energy in the children who wouldbeg for carrots and blueberries and cherry tomatoes. I saw it in themothers who would tell me their toddlers “don’t like birthday cake butjust can’t get enough of mashed delicatas.” I saw it in the chefs and gro-

cers who would buy us out of okra, heirloom tomatoes, basiland fingerling potatoes.

I am deeply inspired by this circulation of energy. I have feltit in the ground, the rain, the plants and have shared it withthe local community outside the farm. Although the soils ofGeorgia are no longer a part of my life, I still find joy in buy-ing and cooking local organic foods. I now live in NewMexico, where support for local organics continues to growand where grocers like La Montanita Co-op make possiblethe development of a healthy, vibrant community in whichhuman life and labor coexist with the natural organic world.

WHY I BUY ORGANICA Tale of Farming and Fresh Food

A sweet, nourishingfruit that tastes like across betweenan apple and a date.

Sandia SoapAlbuquerque, NMHandmade Sandia Soap Bars, 5.5 ozAssorted Varieties, Reg. $4.19, Sale $3.29

High Desert EssentialsAlbuquerque, NMHandmade High Desert Soap Bars, 4 ozAssorted Varieties, Reg. $3.99, Sale $2.99

La Montanita Co-op Albuquerque, NM\Tree-Free Kenaf Co-op Greeting Cards, AssortedDesigns, Sale 99¢ each

VALID IN-STORE ONLY from 2/28-4/3, 2007:Not all items available at all stores.

co-op news March 2007 6

LOCAL SALE ITEMSSHOP LOCAL & SAVE

by Stephanie Clayton

WW ater conservation, sustainability, andlandscaping are topics that get EliWayne and Seth Regensburg of

Second Nature Landscaping really talking. Poolingtheir own unique backgrounds with the skills theylearned working for Cicada Landscaping, the duoteamed up to form their own business two yearsago. Second Nature Landscaping is committed toconsulting with their customers to implement sus-tainable yards and gardens, which in NewMexico has a lot to do with being smart about water. Eli stresses theimportance of using “native or adaptable plants that work well in thisspecific environment.” Seth is keen on the important role played bymulch, which can help retain “up to 75% of the water that otherwisewould evaporate during the hotter months.”

Both come to Second Nature with ample experience in implementing sus-tainable alternatives. Seth worked with sustainable architecture in Taos,including straw-bale construction, gray water systems, and solar power,while Eli boosted education about sustainability by forming the Centerfor Sustainability, now part of the graduate studies program at PennState. Working together to create solutions to the restrictions of planting

Second NaturSecond Nature Landscapinge Landscapingin a predominantly desert climate, Eliand Seth use drip irrigation methods,heavy mulch, and try as much as possi-ble to use plants that are well suited tothe extremes of temperature found inour area. They obtain as many of theirmaterials as possible from local busi-nesses such as Plants of the Southwestand Soilutions (a.k.a. New MexicoCompost Products). They also workwith community sharing projects andwith other local gardening guilds.

Second Nature also does stone work to complementsustainable garden designs. From rock lined areasfor better drainage and water circulation to raisedbeds encased in rock for vegetable and herb gar-dening, Eli and Seth have the know-how to trans-form your land into a truly green space. They alsoencourage folks wanting to do their own landscap-ing to stop using water! Seth and Eli are very seri-ous about mulch, using up to 8 inches on someapplications, and praising it for its multi-use prop-erties. Mulch will not only prevent the water

already in the root systems from evaporating, butnutrients from the mulch will continuously con-tribute to the plant’s growth.

Both Seth and Eli have been members of the Co-opsince moving to Albuquerque (9 years and 5 yearsrespectively) and look forward to the growth ofsustainability as not only a topic on people’stongues, but a practice in their daily lives. Seth, aself-confirmed family man, likes spending his freetime practicing kung fu with his six year old andcaring for his new 5-month-old baby. He says thathis family is most important to him, and that he’d“have it no other way.” And Eli, in the midst ofcamping, hiking, cooking, and learning as much ashe can about Bill Mollison and Permaculture, looksforward to doing some private landscaping aroundhis newly acquired home. Not only is this teamfriendly and accessible, they really have a passionfor their work and positive changes that can lead toa better future. Both brought my attention to waterconservation rebates, where you can get moneyback for lowering your home and garden’s waterusage, which includes installing the kind of sustain-able landscaping that Second Nature can provide.

Contact Seth and Eli at Second Nature at 304-7591.Drawing: by Cirrelda Snider-Bryan

a Member Profile

O n the advice of pet lover and ValleyGrocery Department Team lead purchaser,Dana Lusby, our CDC (Cooperative

Distribution Center) has worked a dealwith Quality Care Plus (QC+) Petfoods to get in a load of these highquality products. You’ll find them atour Albuquerque and Santa Fe loca-tions and by special order from theGallup location.

QC+ pet products contain no slaughterhouse waste and use only the highestquality ingredients The primary ingre-dient, fresh de-boned chicken, is asuperior protein that is highly digestible and isformulated with wholesome high quality carbo-hydrates like brown rice and oatmeal. Thechelated minerals in their products are more

readily absorbed than standard minerals insuringa healthy and more active pet. The dog foods con-tain the proper and balanced levels of OmegaFatty Acids and guaranteed levels of Glucosamine

and Chondroitin Sulfate forhealthy joints and cartilage.Their high quality ingredi-ents are free of meat by-products, allowing for betterdigestion and resulting inbetter overall health and less waste.

Also thanks to our CDC wehave been offering gallons

of organic apple juice at greatly reduced prices aswell. And the CDC also has egg cartons and ani-mal feed for our farmers. Hopefully these are justthe beginnings of the good the CDC will be doing forCo-op members, shoppers and local producers.

Product Spotlight: Cooperative Distribution Center

L actose intolerant folks, or those who suffer fromulcers and other stomach ailments, may find reliefswitching from cow’s milk cheeses to cheese

made from goat’s milk. More compatible to our digestivesystem, goat cheeses also possess a high quantities ofpotassium, vitamin A, thiamin,niacin, and protein while havinglower amounts of fat, calories, andcholesterol.

FRESH, FAIR AND LOCAL: Organicgoat cheeses available at the Co-opinclude Coonridge 8 oz. jars full ofolive oil and flavors such as greenchile, curry, lavender, Herb deProvence, raw milk feta and Italianherb. Nancy Coonridge’s goats arenot fenced in. Roaming the wilds of New Mexico, they eatinsects and wild growing brush, having their hooves sharp-ened by the rough terrain in the process.

Another New Mexico goat dairy is Sweetwoods, known andloved for their 4 oz. red ribbon cheeses of plain, greenchile, onion, lavender, and 4-pepper to name just a few.

From South Mountain Dairy, goat havarti and goat feta areavailable along with flavored chevres that are fabulous forbreakfast or any time you want a delicious fruity and healthysweet. Look for assorted flavors like strawberry and apricotin 5 oz. tubs. For snacks and lunches, their luscious chevrewith dill or sundried tomatoes, spreads easily on a baguette.

Apples, grapes, pears are lovely accompaniments. Or trytheir drinkable yogurts found in the dairy cooler.

Haystack Cheeses from Colorado have a “creamy, clean cit-rusy” flavor that are irrestible. You can try the no preserva-tive, vegetable rennet 4oz. applewood smoked log and see

for yourself why these cheeses earned theirnational awards.

DOMESTIC CHOICES: Cypress Grove Chevre fromCalifornia is gourmet goat at its best. FeaturingMidnight Moon, an aged hard goat cheese and 5oz. purple haze with lavender and fennel.

Mt. Sterling Cheeses are produced by a cooperativein Wisconsin. They offer 8 oz. blocks of raw milkCountry Jack with Jalapenos, Smoked Raw Milk

Mild Cheddar, and Raw Aged Cheddar and Monterey Jack.

FABULOUS IMPORTS: Woolwich Goat Diary in Canada isan award winning family farm in Orangeville, Ontario. Theymake round 4 and 8 oz. mini bries and feta as well as 8 oz.bars of cheddar and mozzarella.

From Spain, we have Drunken Goat, a cheese immersed inred wine and a delight for appetizers. From Holland, GoatGouda, is distinctively tangy and satiny, and highly addictive.

You can also try 4 oz. Saladena Goat Crumbles, made fromnatural ingredients, it is ready to sprinkle on top of yourfavorite salads, sandwiches, and other dishes.

Quality Care Plus Pet Products

Product Spotlight: Goat Cheese

Local or Imported, all Delicious!

QC+

by Lotti AbrahamMARCH SPECIALS

WANT TO SEE YOUR LOCAL PRODUCT ADVERTISED HERE?Contact Angela at angela@lamontanitacoop.com.

Classical HomeopathyVisceral Manipulation

Craniosacral Therapy

MARY ALICE COOPER, MD

St. Raphael Medical Center204 Carlisle NE Albuquerque, NM 87106

505-266-6522

PPaauull BBaarrlloowwM A S S A G E T H E R A P I S T

224422--11779955

RPP LMT #2663 in the Old Town Area

Somato -Emotional ReleaseC r a n i o - S a c r a l

S w e d i s h

P o l a r i t y

by Gwyneth Doland

O n February 4, dedicated members of the Co-opcommunity gathered at a World Café organized bythe Co-op Board. The event was based on a model

described in the book The World Café: Shaping Our FuturesThrough Conversations That Matter, by Juanita Brown andDavid Isaacs. The World Café is a visioning exercise with astructured format and open-ended results. Basically, a group ofpeople get together, break up into groups and discuss a ques-tion. Twenty minutes later, everyone plays musical chairs andstarts over with another topic.

Board President Martha Whitmantold the group, “We’re not lookingfor specific answers and we haveno expectation of a particular out-come. …We want ideas to bubbleup…ideas that we couldn’t getwithout each other.” GeneralManager C.E. Pugh began, “We’velost half of the Co-ops in thiscountry in the past 15 years.” “Co-ops used to be thesource for natural, organic food, but today there are many,many choices out there. So what is our role? What is our pur-pose?” he asked. Referring to feedback from the annual mem-ber surveys, C.E. reported that most people say they come tothe Co-op because of our support of locally grown food andlocally made products. As a result, the Co-op has made signifi-cant changes to capitalize on that strength. But what other func-tions should the Co-op strengthen or in which new directionsshould we move? “We want to make sure that 10, 20, 30 yearsfrom now,” C.E. said, “La Montanita is still an important and rel-evant part of this community.”

After clearing away the remains of baby greens, pasta andcrusty Sage Bakehouse bread, we got down to business.Martha gave us our first topic: “What might the Co-op be in 30years?” Discuss! My table included nurses and a health poli-cy worker. They wanted the Co-op to branch out into offeringcooperative health insurance. As a group we talked about howfood was what brought us to the Co-op, but it was the coop-erative aspect, the part about economic democracy, thatseemed most important. “I want to know that my purchasesaren’t making someone else far away rich. I want my moneyto go back into the business,” one member said.

When the 20 minutes were up, we dispersed, leaving behind oneof the nurses, who agreed to tell the next group what we’d talkedabout. I sat down at a new table and Martha assigned our next

topic: “How do we think beyond what we’re thinking aboutnow?” Martha clarified, asking us to come up with one thought,no matter how outrageous that could point us in new directions.“Bartering!” one member at my table blurted out.

At our final round the group topic was: “What do we need tolearn to prepare us for the future.” We talked about what previ-ous groups had come up with, recognizing that the same top-ics came up again and again. Everyone seemed to be interestedin cooperative health care and other cooperative ventures. We

talked about expanding our Co-op’s involvement withlocal farmers, land trusts, selling seeds or training new

farmers. Education was anotherpopular theme; members at mytable said they wanted the Co-op to offer workshops on victo-ry gardens, green building tech-niques and cooking. We talkedabout diversifying into energy, abiodiesel station, and offeringcooperative car insurance.

• Representatives from eachtable reported on our conversations to the whole group. Themost common ideas included:• Making the Co-op a source for leadership in sustainabili-ty and education in the community, and a clearinghouse forland, water and seed protection issues.• Playing an active role in promoting practical skills likefarming, gardening, and green building.• To diversify beyond food, applying the cooperative modelto health care, housing, energy and real estate trusts.• Increasing ethnic, economic and age diversity amongmembers, increasing community outreach and inspiringnew members to join.

And despite the fact that the World Café spanned the entireSuperbowl, from kickoff to the teary trophy ceremony, therewas near unanimous support for continuing this process.Board members hope to host more World Cafés, and theywant to hear your feedback.

If you have ideas about where you’d like to see the Co-op in30 years, e-mail the Board of Directors at bod@lamontani-tacoop.com, come share your ideas at the next board meet-ing or attend the next World Café. More importantly, talkamongst yourselves!

co-op news March 2007 7

Calendarof Events

3/20 Board of Directors Meeting, Immanuel Church 5:30pm3/21 Member Linkage, Immanuel Church 5:30pm3/24 Coffee with the Board, Valley Co-op 10am-12pm3/26-28 Southwest Farmers Marketing Conference/Foodshed Project in Flagstaff, AZ see page 153/31 Garden Party, Valley Co-op 10am-3pm4/22 Earth Day Festival, Hob Hill Co-op 10am-6pm4/28 Turn Off TV/Turn on Life, Santa Fe Co-op 10am-2pm

BoardBrieBrieff::

Alamos, and members of La Montanita’s managementstaff have been helping them. Two members of the LosAlamos Co-op came to the meeting to express theirthanks and give an update on their progress. Visit them atlacoop market.com.Auditor’s Report for Fiscal Year 2005–2006. BrianReinhardt from Mackie, Reid presented this year’s reviewof financial statements. Overall there was an increase innet sales, and all stores showed some increase in sales; theCo-op is in good financial condition.Board Meeting. Members are invited to attend monthlyboard meetings. The next meeting will be held on thethird Tuesday, March 20, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. at theImmanuel Presbyterian Church at Carlisle and Silveravenues in Albuquerque.

Meeting of January 16, 2007by Shirley Coe, Admin. Assist.Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A Co-opmember requested that the Board sign a lettergoing to Senator Bingamon defending the ArcticNational Wildlife Refuge. The Board will consid-er a proposal on the subject.Los Alamos Cooperative Market. An interimboard is working to start a food co-op in Los

World Café: Discussions on a Cooperative Future

TALK Amongst Yourselves!

eeaattyyoouurrGREENS

SHOP CO-OP!

Co-op VOLUNTEER OpportunityGED TUTORS NEEDED

SER de New Mexico GED/ABE Center is a non-profit organizationthat offers Adult Basic Education services, including GeneralEducation Diploma preparation, adult literacy and one-on-onetutoring. SER DE NEW MEXICO needs dedicated individuals totutor. Co-op members who are interested in volunteeringfor this organization can receive an 18% discount for theirefforts. Contact Robyn at 217-2027. If you know someonewho would like to get their GED call Faith at 907-9957.

This season there is a whole new batch ofgreens and fresh food to be enjoyed.Greens like Swiss chard, arugula, andseveral different lettuces, are poppingup all over. Add them to squash, beans,and even pears for early spring recipeswith a subtle crisp quality. March canbe the perfect time for an exciting anddiverse menu to celebrate the seasons’transition with the lingering warmth offavorite winter dishes plus bright freshgreens to herald in the spring.

(Key: C = cup, T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, lb. = pound, oz. = ounce)

Spring’s Early Greens Salad

3 T olive oil2 T white wine vinegar2 T orange juice1 1/2 t grated orange peel4 beets, unpeeled, scrubbed, all but 1inch of tops removed1 T olive oil 14 oz Mesclun: a mix of young greens(arugula, red leaf lettuce, radicchio,and mustard greens)1/2 C walnut pieces, toasted4 oz chilled soft fresh goat cheese,coarsely crumbled

Whisk first four ingredients in smallbowl. Season with salt and pepper.Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss beets with 1tablespoon oil in 11x7-inch metal bak-ing pan. Roast beets until tender, about1 hour 10 minutes. Cool beets; peel andcut into 1/2-inch wedges. (Dressing andbeets can be made 1 day ahead. Cover

greens of spring March 2007 10

separately; chill. Bring both to roomtemperature before continuing.)

Mix lettuces, walnuts and dressing inlarge bowl; toss. Divide among plates.Arrange beets around greens; sprinklewith goat cheese. (Serves 4)

Pinto Bean Burgers withChipotle Mayonnaise

1/2 C diced onion1/2 C dry breadcrumbs1/4 C chopped cilantro2 T minced seeded jalapeño pepper2 T reduced-fat sour cream1 t hot pepper sauce1/2 t ground cumin1/4 t freshly ground black pepper1/8 t salt1 large egg1 (15-oz) can pinto beans, drained1 (8 3/4-oz) can no salt-added whole-kernel corn, drained1 T canola oil

Chipotle Mayonnaise:1/4 C low-fat mayonnaise1 teaspoon canned minced chipotlechile in adobo sauce

serve with: 4 (1 1/2-oz) whole wheathamburger buns, toasted4 red lettuce leaves

To prepare burgers, combine the first10 ingredients in a large bowl. Addpinto beans and corn; partially mashwith a fork. Divide bean mixture into 4equal portions, shaping each portioninto a 3 1/2-inch patty, and refrigeratefor 10 minutes.

To prepare chipotle mayonnaise, com-bine mayonnaise and 1 teaspoon chipo-tle in a small bowl; set aside.

Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skil-let over medium-high heat. Add pattiesto pan, and cook 4 minutes on eachside or until thoroughly heated. Placepatties on bottom halves of buns; topeach patty with 1 tablespoon mayon-naise, 1 lettuce leaf, and top half ofbun. (Serves 4)

Curried Squash-Pear Bisque

1 butternut squash (about 2 3/4pounds)1 T butter2 C chopped peeled Bartlett pear(about 1 pound)1 1/2 C thinly sliced onion2 1/3 C water1 C pear nectar2 (14 1/2-oz) cans vegetable broth2 1/2 t curry powder1/2 t salt1/8 t black pepper1/2 C half-and-half1 small Bartlett pear, cored and thinlysliced

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut squash inhalf lengthwise; discard seeds andmembrane. Place squash halves, cutsides down, on a baking sheet; bake at375° for 45 minutes or until tender.Cool. Peel squash; mash pulp. Set aside3 1/2 cups pulp, reserving remainingsquash for another use.

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven overmedium-high heat. Add chopped pearand onion; sauté 10 minutes or untillightly browned. Add squash pulp,water, and next 5 ingredients (waterthrough pepper). Bring to a boil; par-tially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40minutes. Place one-third of squash mix-ture in a blender; process until smooth.

First Spring Pour puréed mixture into a large bowl;repeat procedure with remaining squashmixture. Return squash mixture to pan;stir in half-and-half. Cook over low heat3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.Ladle soup into bowls, and garnish withpear slices. (Serves 8)

Pasta e Fagiole

2 t olive oil1 onion, chopped2 garlic cloves, chopped2 cans (141/2 oz each) chicken or veggie broth1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes1 can (15 oz) cannellini or whitebeans, rinsed and drained1/2 C ditalini or other small pasta1/2 lb Swiss chard leaves or spinachleaves, coarselychopped1/4 t salt

Warm the oil in a large pot over medi-um heat. Add the onion and garlic.Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5minutes or until the onion is soft.

Add the broth, tomatoes (with juice),beans, and pasta. Cook, stirring occa-sionally, for 15 minutes or until thepasta is cooked. Add the Swiss chardand salt. Cook, stirring occasionally,for 2 to 3 more minutes or until theSwiss chard is wilted. For added flavor,sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese andground black pepper on the pasta efagiole just before serving. (Serves 6)

Goat Cheese and Arugulaover Penne

5 1/2 oz goat cheese2 C coarsely chopped arugula

Greens!

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1 C quartered cherry tomatoes1/4 C olive oil2 t minced garlic1/2 t ground black pepper1/2 t salt8 oz penne pasta

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling saltedwater until al dente. Crumble goat cheeseinto a large serving bowl. Add arugula, cher-ry tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and salt and pep-per. Drain pasta and toss with goat cheesemixture. Serve.

Zesty Wilted Greens

2 lb Mixed dandelion greens, mustardgreens, and Swiss chard, washed but notdried, tough stems removed1/4 C extra virgin olive oil1 T minced garlic1 T grated lemon zest1 t kosher saltcrushed red pepper to taste

Pour the olive oil into a wok or large sautépan. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for 1minute. Add the greens, toss quickly, coverthe pan, and cook until the chard is wilted,about 3 minutes.

Add the lemon zest, salt, and red pepper, andtoss quickly. Remove from the heat, transferto a serving dish, and serve immediately.(Serves 4 to 6)

Kale Corn Cakes

1 C flour1 C fine yellow cornmeal1 t salt, or to taste2 C fresh or thawed frozen corn2 C finely chopped, firmly packed kale2 large eggs2 T melted butter or olive oil2 C milk1 C diced onion (optional)Butter or oil for frying

In a large bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, salt,corn and kale.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs, melt-ed butter or oil, and milk to combine. Pourwet ingredients into dry and mix briefly.

Heat butter or oil in a large frying pan. Addthe onion, if using, and sauté until golden.Add the sautéed onion to the batter, mixagain, then drop about 1/4 cup batter percake into the hot skillet, adding more oil orbutter as needed to keep cakes from sticking.Cook until cakes begin to bubble, about 3minutes, then flip and cook until the otherside is golden, 1 or 2 minutes longer. Servewarm. (Serves 4-6)

Asparagus Lemon Risotto

1 T butter1/2 small onion, finely chopped7 oz arborio rice1/2 C white wine3 1/2 C hot chicken ( or veggie) stock14 oz asparagus, choppedsalt and freshly ground black pepper2 lemons, zest and juice3 T grated parmesan

Melt the butter in a wide, high-sided pan over avery low heat. Peel the onion and chop it finely.Let it soften in the butter, stirring from time totime so that it does not brown but insteadbecomes translucent and silky.

Stir in the rice, folding the grains over briefly inthe butter with a wooden spoon. Pour in thewine and let it bubble down until the liquid haspretty much disappeared, chopping the aspara-gus into short lengths as it does so.

Add a hefty ladleful of hot stock, turn the heat upa bit, then let the liquid almost disappear beforeadding the pieces of asparagus and a second ladleof stock. Continue adding the stock as it boilsdown to almost nothing. Stir the rice often, grat-ing and squeezing the lemons as you go.

Season with salt, pepper, the lemon zest andjuice and continue cooking till the rice is creamybut has a little bite left in it. Stir in the cheeseand eat immediately. (Serves 4)

Asian-inspired Asparagus

1 T toasted sesame oil1 T soy sauce3 cloves garlic, minced1 t brown sugar1 1/2 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed2 T toasted sesame seeds

In a bowl, mix sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, andbrown sugar. Place asparagus in the bowl, andtoss to coat.

Lightly oil a skillet. Place asparagus on preheat-ed and oiled surface, and cook 8 minutes, untiltender but firm. Garnish with sesame seeds toserve.

The recipes above have been adapted and reprinted from the following sources:www.food.comwww.allrecipes.comLa Montanita Co-op Deli Staff

greens of spring March 2007 11

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• The antibacterial components of soaps must be left on a sur-face for two minutes in order to take effect. Two minutes islonger than most people will spend washing their hands.

• The more bactericidal agents we use over time, the moreresistant strains of bacteria are likely to develop.

• Some bacteria on the skinare actually beneficial. Thenormal population of bacte-ria on our bodies not onlyeats our sweat, but alsohelps defend us against trulyharmful, invasive bacteria.

• Many common diseasesare viral in nature, and arenot affected by anti bacterialproducts.

• Chemicals left on the skincan irritate and/or deteriorate

the skin. Lotion soaps can help these chemicals stay on the skinunless they are rinsed off completely. Unbroken skin is the bestdefense against many noxious substances.

Detergent surfactants were first developed in response to ashortage of animal and vegetable fats and oils during WWI

spring cleaning March 2007 12

W ere we to trust our thinking to the advertising moguls andchemical company magnates, we would know that chemicalsare the most effective way to remove dirt and odor from our

bodies. Why then would the current recommendation from theCenters for Disease Control for skin exposure to numerous toxic substances be: goodhandwashing with soap andwater? A closer examinationof how cleaning takes placebrings to the light aspects ofthe process which have beenignored by the media.

In essence, cleaning happensby removing the unwantedresidue from the surface ithas settled upon and sus-pending it in a medium thatwill carry it away (tradition-ally, water). The action ofcleaning is facilitated by:thermal energy (warm water), which helps dissolve grime;mechanical energy (scrubbing, agitation), which helps pull the dirtfree; and chemical energy (soap), which binds the dirt, oil, and bac-teria and encapsulates and thus lifts it. Soap, as a surfactant (surfaceactive agent), also decreases water’s surface tension so that it canspread and wet surfaces, and as an emulsifier, is able to disperse onemedium (for example, grease), in another medium (water) that itdoes not naturally mix with.

This marvelous capacity of soap to bring together ordinarily incom-patible elements happens by virtue of the chemical structure of thesoap molecule, which is a long strand with an ionic, water-lovinggroup at one end, and a non-polar, grease-loving group at the otherend. The grease-loving (lipophilic) end adheres to residues of oil,sweat, dirt, etc., and helps loosen and encapsulate it; the water-loving(hydrophilic) end joins the water used for cleaning, bringing the restwith it [which is why enough soap is needed for the amount of oil tobe removed]. Dirt and bacteria are easily scrubbed off and washedaway in this suspended state. So, ordinary soap does get rid of bacte-ria. Do antibacterial soaps eliminate more? Possibly. But there areadditional points to consider, amid the antibacterial craze:

The Chemical Bath and WWII. In addition, a substance that wasresistant to hard water was desired to makecleaning more effective. (Hardness of wateris caused by the presence of mineral salts,which react with soap to form an insolubleprecipitate. This precipitate, soap scum, pro-duces visible deposits on clothing, bathtubs,etc., and can leave fabrics feeling stiff.) AfterWWII, petroleum was found to be a plentifulsource for the manufacture of surfactants.Now, of course, the use of petroleum in man-ufacturing would best be limited, due topotential effects on health, decreasing avail-ability, and increasing cost. More recently,antibacterial soaps and detergents weredeveloped, as were so many of today’s prod-ucts, to stoke the modern world’s glut forconvenience (less scrubbing, less scum),increased ease, and germ paranoia.

At this time in the life of the world, we maybegin considering whether we are willing toexpend a little more energy and trust naturalprocesses a little more, to truly demonstrateconcern for our planet. Soaps made fromnatural products and as few chemicals aspossible are much better for our health andmuch kinder to the planet. by Mary Grube

The Co-op has a fine selection of natural andlocally made soaps.

Amidst theanit-bacterialcraze it’simportant toremember thatordinary soapDOES get ridof bacteria

by ?

T here’s clean, and then there’s honest clean. In1993, John E. Vlahakis founded Earth FriendlyProducts with a simple mission: To provide high

quality cleaning products that are absolutely safe foryour family, your pets and theenvironment. Using replenishableingredients that compete with the“majors” in performance, priceand convenience, in only 10 yearsVlahakis has created an extensiveline of fine household products.

Earth Friendly Products are madewithout toxins, petrochemicals,bleach, ammonia, phosphates, arti-ficial colors, fragrances or otherharmful ingredients. When devel-oping their products they adhere toa strict “Freedom Code,” a list of chemicals and ingre-dients that are not used in the products and they never test on animals or use animal ingredients.

Their award-winning products are based on pure andsimple “pronounceable” ingredients including corn,

coconut, citrus and other essential plant oilsand herbs. These products biodegrade quicklyand completely, so there is no further environ-mental impact or added cost for toxic cleanupthat petroleum-based products eventually forceus to incur. Their ultra-condensed plant-based

formulas provide hard-hittingcleaners that, ounce-for-ounce,give good old-fashioned valuefor your dollar.

As a family business, they doeverything with a special kindof care in a detailed, hands-onmanner. As a primary manu-facturer with four manufactur-ing plants in the USA, theysource ingredients locally, havebetter control over productquality, contain product costs,

and provide jobs locally. Their business prac-tices helped them earn the 2003 Socially Re-sponsible Business Award.

The Co-op is pleased to be offering these prod-ucts at ongoing special pricing.

earth friendlyy productsGrocery Spotlight

Presented by Lisa Hummon of Defenders of WildlifeAt the 2007 La Montanita Co-op EARTH DAY CelebrationApril 22,2007

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Appetite for Profit: How the Food IndustryUndermines Our Health and How to FightBack, by Michele SimonREVIEWED BY VENETIA PIMLEY

In her first book Michele Simon peels back thelayers of spin swirling out of big food corpora-tions and reveals the ways they deceive andexploit consumers, especially kids. Does

Kraft’s “Sensible Solutions” Pepperoni FlavoredSausage Pizza Lunchable (with its 34 grams of sugar

and 600 milligrams of sodium) seem sensibleto you? When food companies make alterna-tive product lines such as PepsiCo’s “SmartSpot” and Kellogg’s “Whole Grain” junkfoods, they’re creating a new marketingstrategy, a source of good PR, and a protec-tion against regulation and lawsuits. Simoncalls this nutriwashing. When fast foodrestaurants create “healthier” products (asalad at McDonalds, for example), currentcustomers aren’t switching over. Rather, newcustomers (erstwhile veto voters) are bring-ing in more customers. Simon wonders whythese corporations get to define “healthy”food in the first place.

Turning the conversation to consumers’ personalresponsibility is a beloved strategy of fast foodcompanies and makers of processed food. If theonus is on consumers to make good choices, we

March 2007 13

coming home to eat

While the USDA’s Food Pyramid emphasizes the nutritional advantages of eatingfive daily servings of fruits and vegetables, Farm Bill funding for diversified rowcrop and orchard farming remains relatively disconnected from the balanced,healthy diet that professional nutritionists endorse. Meanwhile, most consumerfood dollars spent in farm country end up leaving the region because our agri-cultural areas have effectively become “food deserts.” There is at least one sim-ple solution to this. Farm and food subsidy programs could be realigned to sup-port the federal dietary guidelines and reoriented toward food chains that pro-duce and distribute locally grown, healthy foods.

A Food and Farm Bill for the 21st Century?The silver lining is that Americans actually do have a substantially large food andfarm policy program to debate. Conditions for change have perhaps never beenbetter, as market dynamics and public awareness rapid-ly align to create uncertainty about farm politics asusual. Indeed, the Farm Bill matters because it can actu-ally serve as the economic engine driving small-scaleentrepreneurship, on-farm research, species protection,nutritional assistance, school lunches made fromscratch, regional development, and habitat restoration,to name just a few.

Our challenge is not to abolish government supportsaltogether, but to ensure that those subsidies we dochoose to legislate actually serve as valuable invest-ments in the country’s future and allow us to live up toour obligations in the global community. How we getthere will be a work in progress. But most observersagree that the era of massive giveaways to corporationsand surplus commodity producers must yield to policies that reward steward-ship, promote healthy diets, secure regional economies, and do no harm to fam-ily farms or hungry kids and their families.

“Today, because so few realize that we citizens have a dog in this fight,” writesMichael Pollan in his excellent Foreword to Food Fight, “our legislators feel freeto leave the debate over the Farm Bill to the farm states, very often trading theirvotes on agricultural policy for votes on issuesthat matter more to their constituents. But noth-ing could do more to reform America’s foodsystem, and by doing so, improve the conditionof America’s environment and public health,than if the rest of us were to weigh in.”

Dan Imhoff is the author and publisher of numerousbooks, including Farming with the Wild, Paper orPlastic, and Building with Vision. His most recentbook Food Fight: The Citizen’s Guide to a Food andFarm Bill (Foreword by Michael Pollan andIntroduction by Fred Kirschenmann) was released inFebruary 2007.

book REVIEWS

Edited by Daniel Imhoff and Jo AnnBaumgartner, published by Watershed MediaREVIEWED BY DORIE BUNTING AND ROBYN SEYDEL

T hese essays are a collection of little gemsthat could forever change the way you thinkabout food, farming, nature and our place

within it. Written by some of the foremost writersand thinkers of our time, including Wendell Berry,Michael Pollan, Barbara Kingsolver, LauraJackson, Dave Foreman, Gary Nabhan and RichardManning, these pieces both articulate the current food andenvironmental challenges we face and provide a vision ofthe co-existence necessary if we are to sustain biodiversity,steward the planet and feed ourselves. Ranging from the

philosophic to the scientific theyargue passionately and powerfullyfor the wholeness and interdepend-ence of our planetary systems.

Richard Manning’s essay “The Oil WeEat” describes the grain based farm-ing that eventually settled Europe,built the wealth of the western worldand with the “green revolution” sad-dled all of us with an increasingdependence on oil for our food. Hewrites, “Every single calorie we eat isbacked by a calorie of oil, more liketen. In 1940 the average farm in theU.S. produced 2.3 calories of food

energy for every calorie of fossil energy it used. By 1974 (the lastyear in which anyone looked closely at this issue), that ratio was1:1. And this understates the problem, because at the same timethat there is more oil in our food there is less oil in our oil… Inthe 1940’s we got about 100 barrels of oil back for every barrel

Essays in Conservation-Based Agriculture

Farming and the Fate of

Appetiteforprofit

must have information. However, the industryfights efforts to get nutrition information in thehands of the public. The Center for ConsumerFreedom, a front group for the food industry,links the ideas of personal responsibility andfreedom of choice, trumping up fears about the“food police” and threats of government regula-tion. CCF likes to talk about “choice,” but onlythe choices offered by the industry. Another con-versation the industry likes is the one about“energy balance” (calories-in-calories-out). Thisidea allows the industry to ignore the nutritionalbankruptcy of its food.

Some of the most egregious marketing efforts arethose aimed at children—exclusive soda pop con-tracts in schools, industry lies about marketing tokids, the exploitation of toys and cartoon charac-ters. For example, the food and beverage indus-tries have fought every effort to regulate sales ofunhealthy products in schools. They want to buildbrand loyalty in this captive audience.

Although her book shows the cynical maneuver-ings of corporations and the cooptation of gov-ernment, Simon’s vision is actually optimistic. Sheimagines a world in which people aren’t bound toeat junk, kids aren’t exploited for commercialgain, and our food-system isn’t controlled by cor-porations. She’s not satisfied with tweaking thesugar level in Frooty Pebbles because she’s askingbigger questions about our food system and call-ing for bigger changes in the ways we produce,transport, and sell food.

of oil we spent getting it. Today each barrel invest-ed in the process returns only ten….”

This book should be required reading in schoolsthroughout the nation as well as by each andevery Congressional Representative and Senatorbefore they consider the 2007 Farm Bill vote.Should this be the case, we could see real changefrom the agri-business model the Farm Bill cur-rently supports to family faming, sustainablefood production, true food security and as thetitle of the book implies hope for the “Fate ofWild Nature.”

From bees to beef, from wolves to wild-lands,each essay and each of the four sections, Agri-culture and Conservation, Core Issues, Bio-diversity Challenge and Society and Culture, intowhich the twenty-odd essays are divided, expandour understanding and give much food forthought. We owe a debt of gratitude to The WildFarm Alliance and Watershed Media for giving usaccess to these poineering heroes of conservationbased agriculture, as they eloquently integrate sus-taining and restoring the beauty of this miracu-lous earth with our need to feed ourselves.

by George Monbiot

Reviewed by New Mexico Climate News

George Monbiot’s new book Heat picks up where Al Gore left offon global warming, offering real solutions without sugar-coating.

Heat is a remarkable book. For it is not written to convince theunconvinced, but to educate the already-persuaded, thosewho exited the theater after watching An Inconvenient Truthwith fire in their bellies, ready to fight the incoming menaceand face the significant sacrifices that will have to be madealong the way.

Monbiot launches his investigation by asking a crucial ques-tion rarely discussed by Al Gore and other U.S. environmen-talists: How does the responsibility of the world’s largest pol-luters differ from that of the rest of the world? Monbiot

argues for a global carbon emissions cap allocated on a per capi-ta basis...The bulk of the book is a sector-by-sector, hardheadedexamination of the technical and economic capacity for wealthy,industrialized nations to achieve the necessary reductions.Monbiot recommends more rapid reductions than others, but heargues persuasively that an ounce of reduction in the early yearscan avoid the need for a pound of reduction in the later years.

Monbiot sums up his findings, “I have sought to demonstrate thatthe necessary reduction in carbon emissions is — if difficult —technically and economically possible. I have not demonstratedthat it is politically possible.” For those who believe we have onlya 10-year window of opportunity, expanding renewable energy andimproving efficiency is not sufficient unless it is done at a scalethat dramatically reduces global carbon emissions by 2030, withemissions by nations like the United States and United Kingdombeing reduced by upwards of 90 percent.

Reprinted from ClimateNewsNM@aol.com

Wild Nature

foodFIGHTcont.

GREATbookshheeaatt : How to keep the Planet from Burning

climate chaos

solutions

(derived from petroleum) thatnot only kill the pests but havedetrimental effects on desirableinsects, small mammals andbirds, to say nothing of humans.

New diseases? Plant disease-resistant (for now) expensive

varieties with patented seeds that can’t legally besaved by farmers for next year’s crop. Sincethis is the 21st century, use GeneticallyEngineered seeds, further bottleneckinggenetic diversity as well as threatening near-by farmers with legal action since their ownsaved seed will now have unwelcome cross-pollinated GE traits, a “genetic trespass” forwhich corporations such as Monsanto nowbring lawsuits.

Consolidated monoculture tracts ratherthan small family holdings erode communi-ty. There are less or no neighbors to call onfor help or communal assistance in, say,harvesting which was once common practice.Fewer families means fewer people for a thrivingsmall town: merchants, mechanics, doctors andgrocers close shop. Seed & feed dealers may selllarger quantities to each farm, but fewer customersmeans they carry fewer varieties of seed, furthertightening the genetic bottleneck. And if the farm-ers are now a strength as larger, more lucrativeaccounts for the dealer, they are also his weaknessas the failure of any one of his farm accounts resultsin greater business loss.

All of this is nothing new or attributable only to grow-ing corn for ethanol. But a renewed push for corn willrenew this destructive cycle and affect the rest of theeconomy.

US food production is based on cheap corn so beef, chicken, pork, dairy, soft drinks and more will see price in-creases as corn

demand rises. Morecorn planted means

less land for other crops like soy (also used for feed) sothat price rises too. The farmer may make a few moredollars (if he can afford the cost of petroleum-basedfertilizer and pesticides, and fuel for his machines) butas always the middleman will get hundreds to thefarmer’s one.

And what, incidentally, powers the distilleries that makeethanol? Coal or natural gas, making it difficult to seejust where this great savings in energy will come from.

food & environment March 2007 14

by Brett Bakker

A s usual, the question has become how do we keep up with fueldemands? rather than how do we use less fuel? The available sta-tistics that show how much oil we “save” by using corn-based

ethanol don’t take into account the hidden costs of production. Our useof corn as feed, cheap sweetener and other industrial uses has been amotivating factor behind monocultures displacing small family farms,community and countryside biodiversity for decades. Organic corn willfetch no premium in the ethanol market, so increased acreage will notspur new organic farms.

In the ‘70s, Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz urged farmers to plant“fencerow to fencerow,” which resulted in the abandonment of waterand soil-saving methods, like contour plowing (which prevents runoffand erosion) and hedgerows (areas of wild hedges and trees for diver-sity as well as windbreak and floodbreak). Mile after mile of only oneor two varieties of corn enables the spread of virus and disease: if thatvariety is susceptible to a new illness (as they all become in time), thereis nothing to stop its spread. The “cure” for such ills has always beenmore technology.

Erosion and loss of nutrient rich topsoil? Add more fertilizer (derivedfrom petroleum) that feeds the crop only limited nutrients but doesnothing to build the nutrient reserve while actively killing off earth-worms and microbacteria that keep soil what it is: a living breathingorganism. A soil poor in nutrients cannot produce a crop that is rich innutrients.

Loss of wild birds and predatory insects that formerly made their homesin the hedgerows and kept harmful pests in check? Use more pesticide

Fueling the Future

Corn Ethanol:Boon or Boondoggle

itchy green

thumb

Halts Genetic Engineered Field Trials

By Lisa Hummon, Land Wildlife and Energy Act Coalition

New Mexico is on the verge of so many greatthings. Our Department of Game and Fish hasone of the best visions for wildlife conservation in

the country. There are efforts all across thestate to reconnect urban centers with localfamily farmers, and to protect those familyfarms permanently from development. Andwe are emerging as a leader in the fight tostop global climate change with renewableenergy sources.

But if we are to break ahead of the pack inany of these arenas, we need a real com-mitment from our political leaders. TheLand, Wildlife, and Clean Energy Act, HB 433 and SB 309,would help us get there.

The Act would redirect about $9.6 million per year from theexisting Oil and Gas Conservation Tax to a special fund usedto protect family farms and ranches by purchasing develop-ment rights from willing sellers. It will increase outdoorrecreation opportunities and improve habitat. The fund willhelp dairy farmers turn harmful waste into energy. It willassist communities with needed forest thinning projects and

spur wind and solar power projects. And it will conserve ourstate’s natural areas for native plants and wildlife.

But, despite these environmental, social, and economicbenefits, there is still a chance that the Act could never

reach the Governor’s desk. Certain power-ful members of the legislature don’t likethe idea of a dedicated funding source thatwould have to be provided every year.

The Land, Wildlife, and Clean Energy Actis New Mexico’s green ticket to a moresustainable future. Please contact thechairs listed below as well as your ownrepresentative and senator and ask themto support the Act.

Senate FinanceTimothy Z. Jennings, Co-Chair (986-4362)John Arthur Smith, Co-Chair (986-4363)Carlos R. Cisneros, Vice Chair (986-4863)

House Taxation and Revenue CommitteeEdward C. Sandoval, Chair (986-4420)Roberto J. Gonzales, Vice Chair (986-4235)

In a decision broadly affecting field trials ofgenetically engineered crops a federal districtjudge ruled in early February that the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA) must halt

approval of all new field trials until more rigorousenvironmental reviews are conducted. Citing potentialthreats to the environment, Judge Harold Kennedyfound in favor of the Center for Food Safety that USDA’spast approvals of field trials of herbicide tolerant, genet-ically engineered bentgrass were illegal.

The federal lawsuit was filed by the Center for FoodSafety, Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center and otherindividuals and organizations in 2003. At issue in thelawsuit are novel varieties of creeping bentgrass andKentucky bluegrass manufactured by Scotts andMonsanto that have been genetically engineered toresist Roundup, Monsanto’s popular herbicide.

Currently, use of the Roundup weed-killer is limited tospot spraying of weeds as the herbicide kills any grasswith which it comes in contact. The new engineered

grass has been altered to be resistant to the weed-killer sothat users will be able to spray entire lawns, fields and golfcourses with large amounts of the chemical without fearof hurting the grass. Large scale planting of the biotechgrass would significantly increase the amounts of herbi-cide used in home lawns, sports fields, schools and golfcourses around the country.

In studies concerning environmental contaminationfrom genetically engineered creeping bentgrass, the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency found multipleinstances of the pollen from engineered bentgrass trav-eling several miles and transferring its traits to nativegrasses. Last year, EPA researchers found that the engi-neered grasses had escaped from field trials to contam-inate a national grassland. For more information go towww.center forfoodsafety.org or call 202-547-9359.

court VICTORY

New Mexico’s Green Ticket:The Land, Wildlife and Clean Energy Act

N EW DIRECTION

C H IR O PR ACTICChiropractic with an Ayurvedic Influence

K elly Coogan D.C.3216 Monte Vista Blvd. NE, Suite AAlbuquerque, New Mexico 87106chiroveda9@yahoo.comph 505.247.HEAL fx 505.247.4326

community forum March 2007 15

Regional

-by Le Adams, Co-Director of Farm to Table

T he purpose of the Southwest MarketingNetwork is to promote local agricultural mar-keting in the Four Corners states. Our Fifth

Annual Conference will be held in Flagstaff, ArizonaMarch 26-28th, 2007. Previous years’ participantsnoted that this is the best conference concentrating onagricultural marketing that they have attended. Theyalso welcome the opportunity tonetwork with other producers andservice providers in the winter.

A highlight of the conference willbe our keynote speaker. AnthonyFlaccavento is a founding memberand Executive Director of Ap-palachian Sustainable Develop-ment which has helped to create aco-op program for new and expe-rienced organic farmers. Co-op participants now selltheir fresh, organic produce wholesale to major retailmarkets.

On Monday, there will be a tour of farm sites in theChino Valley area. Once a thriving agricultural area, theChino Valley region has changed radically in the lastseveral years. Many of the farms in the area haveturned these demographic changes to their advantage

by developing direct market opportunities. Burnin'Daylight Farm is one of the stops. It is a mother daugh-ter team growing diversified vegetables and some live-stock. Granite Creek Winery is a terrific example ofagritourism. They have developed a vineyard and win-ery at the oldest homestead in the Chino Valley.

Also on Monday there will be a number ofworkshops, all of which give the opportu-nity to delve deeply into specific subjects.The workshops will cover - Farm to Cafet-eria, Introduction to Good AgriculturalPractices, Tribal Farmers’ Market De-velopment, Southwest Policy Roundtable,and Field Agent Training in AlternativeMarketing.

Throughout the next two days, 25 other informativesessions including business and resources track, analternative, organic and increasing marketing track, apolicy track and a food security track will be offered.

For more information or to register go to:www.swmarketingnetwork.org

Or call L. Adams in Santa Fe at 505-473-1004.

by Martha Todd

Bernalillo County Juvenile Probation Officers haverecently entered into a relationship with La MontanitaCo-op, with the purpose of educating

teens that attend the Youth ReportingCenter (YRC) about healthy eating habits,sustainability, and Fair Trade. The YRC,also known as “day detention” was estab-lished by the Second Judicial District Courtas a positive alternative to secure, overnightdetention.

Youth involved in the Juvenile JusticeSystem who are temporarily lacking aschool or work placement may attend theYRC during the day and return to theirhomes and families during the evenings.One young man who attends the program, Arturo,explained it like this, “I think that the YRC is betterthan being in jail. It’s like a program for a secondchance.”

Mornings at the YRC are dedicated to traditionaleducational programming. Youth have the option ofattending the Continuation School, a branch of APSor the Computer Lab, where they learn math andreading skills. However, up until recently there has

cery item purchased. When asked to define “organic” one youngwoman, Randee, was able to say after the class that it meant“healthy, with no chemicals.”

For the next session students engaged in a discussion of “fair trade,”and were treated to chocolate bars provided by La Montanita. Mostof the students admitted to knowing little or nothing about workingconditions in other countries. However, most of them knew what theminimum wage was in the US, and they all agreed that they couldnot live on it if they had to.

All the young people involved in the program have expressed a greatdeal of appreciation to La Montanita for providing them with cre-ative food activities. Probation Officers are looking forward tofuture sessions on healthy eating and sustainability. There is also inthe works a plan to construct a greenhouse and garden at the YRC.For more information or to make donations for this project contactMartha Todd at 841-7337.

CO-OP Partners for NutritionEducation been little afternoon programming. Some of the

Juvenile Probation Officers have taken on the taskof providing more creative and innovative afternoonprogramming.

La Montanita has begun providing food donationsfor nutrition education activities. The first food

preparation activity was a“salad creations” class.The youth were providedwith a multitude of organicsalad making ingredients,and the assignment was toprepare a salad that wasboth aesthetically and de-lectably appealing. Stu-dents were to name theirsalad, as if they were pre-paring it for a restaurantmenu, and then describe it.

This was a challenging task, as several of the partic-ipants said that their only prior experience with sal-ads consisted of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, andcucumbers. One participant, Joseph, said “makingsalad was creative, healthy.” Arturo added, “makingsalad was exciting.”

For many of these kids it was their first exposure toterms like “organic” and “fair trade.” Most of themadmitted that they had never read the label on a gro-

V iolence against women and girls affects every one us. V-Day works to moti-vate all of us to reclaim peace in our homes, in our community, and in our world

- together we can make a difference! Thank you for being part V-Day Santa Fe!

V-Day Events:March 3: Empowering Women Through Film: 2pm. At the Film Center, 1616 St.Michael’s Drive in Santa Fe. A panel will include 5 local women filmmakers dis-cussing how they express their commitment to empowering women through film,and will show 3 minute clips of each of their films. Information: 505-988-7414,curator@santafefilmfestival.com.

March 8: Local Stars in The Vagina Monologues, by Eve Ensler at the James LittleTheater at 8pm. Call the Lensic for tickets: 505-988-1234 or go to www.tick-etssantafe.com.

March 9: V-Day Cabaret, Teen event at the Wise Fool Studio: 2778 Agua Fria Suite Dat 8pm. Warehouse 21 & Wise Fool Santa Fe present a teen spoken-word event withbreak dancing, music and a dance party with a focus on overcoming violence. Info:Wise-Fool Productions, 505-992-2588, or e-mail v.dayempowering@yahoo.com.

V-day

southwest agricultural conference

Eyes Wide Open: The Human Cost of WarOver 400 pairs of empty combat boots, tagged with the names of National Guard sol-diers who have died in the current Iraq war, will be displayed together with a visual rep-resentation of Iraqi civilians who have died during the conflict. To read more, pleasego to: www.afsc.org/eyes. The Event is proposed to take place in the Old Town Plazaon March 18 and on the UNM campus in the Smith Plaza on March 19. Both from 10am-5pm. Please join us. Call (505) 843-6450 for more info.

Duende Poetry Series presents a reading, Sun., March 18th 3pm, at Anasazi Fields Winery inPlacitas, NM. Duende Poetry SeriesInvitational Poets include: Dale Harris accompanied by flautist Ingrid Burg, Levi Romero, Mitch Rayes, John Macker. Anasazi Fields wineswill be available for tasting and purchasing. Free admission. Suggested donation of $3. WINE BAR. TASTY SNACKS. Directions: take I-25 to the Placitas exit 242, drive 6 miles east to the Village, turn left at the sign just before the Presbyterian Church, follow Camino de losPueblitos through two stop signs to the Winery entrance. More info call 505-867-3062 anasazifieldswinery@att.net.

END THE VIOLENCE AGAINST

WOMEN AND GIRLS

SANTAFE

agarden party

Sat. March31, 2007 10-3 Valley Co-op