La Montanita Coop Connection May, 2006

co op May 2006

connection

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Agua es Vida

For the Love of a River

by Lisa Robert

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ditors note: Although Lisa Robert’s report, Middle Rio Grande Ecosystem Bosque Biological Management Plan, The First Decade: A Review and Update, prepared in cooperation with the Middle Rio Grande Bosque Initiative, Rio Grande Restoration and the Bosque Improvement Group came out last year, it is evident that much of the important information it contained has not yet made it into the public consciousness. The Update’s intent was “to place river restoration in an overall political context and provide crucial information on programs, policy and public attitude to achieve the goal of sustainable ecosystem health in the Middle Rio Grande.” With deepening drought, increasing scarcity, and changing water management programs, we must all be aware of how current decisions will affect both long and short term water quality and availability. To that end, over the next few months the Co-op Connection News is honored to be able to

Crawford and Manuel Molles offered a first-ever course in Bosque Biology, and launched a long-term study of the effects of flooding on the central Rio Grande’s unique riparian cottonwood forest. The study would document that the health of the bosque is inextricably connected to river management at every level.

By 1990, there were other indications that change was on the way: Water was being under-delivered to downstream users of the Pecos and the Rio Grande, and New Mexico was soon to lose a case before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Pecos River obligations to Texas. Not even a fifth of the state’s water rights had been adjudicated, including those guaranteed to Native American tribes. In the Middle Rio Grande, there appeared to be a widening discrepancy between irrigation allocations and how much water was actually being diverted. Metering was nearly nonexistent, developers and

With deepening drought, increasing scarcity and changing water management programs, we must all be aware of how current decisions will affect both long and short term water quality and availability. reprint sections of this important work. Special thanks to Lisa Robert for her help and support in this endeavor, and to Deb Hibbard for the inspiration that has made it happen.

A River’s Modern History There are turning points in the history of any place, and 1993 was such a time for the Middle Rio Grande, the roughly 160mile-long stretch between Cochiti Dam and Elephant Butte Reservoir where a majority of New Mexico’s population resides. In rapid succession, the inhabitants of the region learned that the Rio Grande had been declared the most endangered river in America by a national environmental organization; that a fish species that had evolved in concert with the Rio’s natural ebb and flow was now simply ebbing; and that the revered riparian forest known as the bosque was well on its way to what biologists termed ‘senescent decline.’

Equally sobering, the disarming myth of an accessible Lake Superior beneath thirsty, booming Albuquerque was superseded by a far more conservative picture drawn with a U.S. Geological Survey groundwater flow model (Kernodle, 1987).

The appearance of so many red flags at once suggested that all manner of practices and beliefs about water in the middle valley were in need of drastic reform. Of course, there had been intimations of coming shifts in the paradigm for some time.

Just a few years previously, in 1985, Elephant Butte Reservoir filled to capacity and ‘spilled’, canceling an almost perennial Rio Grande Compact debt to Texas by the upstream states of Colorado and New Mexico. Then in 1988 Congress authorized the storage of native Rio Grande water in Abiquiu Reservoir and designated 24.6 miles of the Rio Chama below El Vado Reservoir as a ‘Wild and Scenic River,’ with a brown trout fishery operation, rafting and other recreational interests.

That same year University of New Mexico professors Cliff

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lso that year, the University of New Mexico Faculty Scholars Program hosted a “Conference on Global Climate Change and the Rio Grande Basin.” Attendees from around the world advocated using the region as a “living laboratory” for studying the impacts of global climate change. New Mexico, they warned, is the meeting ground of several distinct climate zones, and where such zones overlap, the effects of climate change are likely to be greatest. Within a year, a unique interdisciplinary program was underway at UNM. Understanding the relationship between surface water and groundwater was at the heart of the work, and early on the research affirmed that unlike more water-rich regions, in the semi-arid southwest, streams are often the source of groundwater. Investigators also confirmed that certain reaches of high desert streams intermittently dry up when porous stratigraphy and riparian vegetation absorb all of the available surface moisture.

agua es vida

The “hydrogeoecology” program was also contributing significant discoveries about the effects of periodic flooding on the Rio Grande bosque. Biologists began to describe a ‘mosaic’ of native vegetation that had once waxed and

Sustainable Homes

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Everyone who takes the tour receives a copy of the Green Built Tour Book, which not only has pictures of the homes but contains articles useful for building or remodeling your own green home. Some of the homes are still under construction, allowing tour participants to see the hidden details. Homes are also featured on the website www.greenbuilttour.net.

In September of 1991, Senator Pete Domenici announced the formation of a Rio Grande Bosque Conservation Committee to study what might be done to assure the continued existence of the southwest’s largest riparian cottonwood forest. Eventually, the panel recommended that an interagency management plan be drawn up, and Congress appropriated funds to pay for it, along with related work including a five-year overbank flooding project at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, and studies of the river’s flow regime.

municipalities were being allowed to pump groundwater before retiring surface rights to offset effects on the river, and thousands of new domestic well permits were being issued each year. One by one, the issues that would make water headlines began to emerge.

The Green Built Tour: et your Tickets at La Montanita Co-op locations in Albuquerque or Santa Fe. Each year the New Mexico Chapter of the US Green Building Council hosts the Green Built Tour. Attended by almost 1000 residents of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, this two-day tour is being held May 20-21, 2006. The self-directed tour is designed to showcase buildings and homes which serve as examples of what can be done to incorporate the principles of “green” design and construction. This hands-on experience allows interested parties to see what other designers and home owners have done in the areas of material recycling, passive solar and active solar power, water harvesting, indoor environments, wind energy, ultra-efficient insulation, low impact construction and renewable products. This year’s tour will display 30 homes and commercial buildings in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Los Alamos and the Taos area.

waned across a wide floodplain, in tune with cycles of flood and drought. But half a century of flood control and water development had exacted a toll, and a now-static community of aging cottonwoods was giving way to invasive species that were taking advantage of the altered flow regime.

Two views of the Rio Grande

In early 1992, as part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s “Middle Rio Grande Water Assessment,” hydrologists began assembling data from drilling records, borehole cuttings, core samples, and geophysical logs that would be the first comprehensive reassessment of the region’s aquifers since the 1960s. Also that spring, the City of Albuquerque and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) signed a ten-year “Minimum Flow Agreement” under which 20,000 acre-feet of San Juan-Chama Project water owned by the city would be credited to the MRGCD annually and used to enhance river flows between Central Avenue in Albuquerque and Isleta Dam to enable the city to meet the requirements of its wastewater discharge permit. Below Isleta, the water would become available for use by MRGCD irrigators and any excess would enter Elephant Butte Reservoir as ‘natural flow’ to help meet New Mexico’s Rio Grande Compact delivery obligations. continued on page 2

Each year the Green Built organizers seek new homes to present on the tour. This year volunteers willing to give 4 hours on either day are needed to help as “home monitors,” watching homes while the owners and architects/designers are giving personal tours.

Volunteer home watchers get to attend the tour for free. It is a lot of fun for everyone involved and a great way to meet others within the green community.

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ickets for the tour are $10 and available from the Information Desk at La Montanita Co-op locations in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, beginning May 1. To volunteer send an email to greenbuilttour@yahoo.com or call James Wernicke at 505.688.0781.

La Montanita’s Co-op’s Santa Fe store is pleased to be able to provide reasonably priced, local and organic lunches at the Ecoversity stop on the Green Built Tour in Santa Fe. For more information or to reserve your lunch call Ecoversity at 424-9797 or go to www.ecoversity.org.

Just a few examples of

“Green”

Design and Construction

agua es vida A Community - Owned Natural Foods Grocery Store La Montanita Cooperative Albuquerque/ 7am-10pm M-F, 8am-10pm Sun. 3500 Central S.E. Albuq., NM 87106 265-4631 Albuquerque/ 7am-10pm M-F, 8am-10pm Sun. 2400 Rio Grande Blvd.

Albuq., NM 87104 242-8800 Gallup/ 10am-7pm M-F, 11am-7pm Sun. 105 E. Coal Gallup, NM 87301 863-5383 Santa Fe/ 7am-10pm M-F, 8am-10pm Sun. 913 West Alameda Santa Fe, NM 87501 984-2852 Administrative Staff: 505-217-2001 TOLL FREE: 877-775-2667 (COOP) • General Manager/C.E. Pugh x113 ce@lamontanitacoop.com • Comptroller/John Heckes 217-2026 johnh@lamontanitacoop.com • Accounting/Toni Fragua x102 tonif@lamontanitacoop.com • Business Development/Steve Watts x114 • Computers/Info Technology/Mark Bieri x108 computers@lamontanitacoop.com • Human Resources/Sharret Rose x107 hr@lamontanitacoop.com • Marketing/Edite Cates x104 editec@lamontanitacoop.com • Membership/Robyn Seydel x105 memb@lamontanitacoop.com Store Team Leaders: • Michelle Franklin/Nob Hill 265-4631 mf@lamontanitacoop.com • John Mulle/Valley 242-8800 jm@lamontanitacoop.com • William Prokopiack/Santa Fe 984-2852 willpro@lamontanitacoop.com • Tim Hankins/Gallup 863-5383 th@lamontanitacoop.com Co-op Board of Directors: email: bod@lamontanitacoop.com President: Martha Whitman Vice President: Marshall Kovitz Treasurer: Ken O’Brien Secretary: Roger Eldridge Susan Cizek Tom Hammer Tamara Saimons Jonathan Siegel Andrew Stone Membership Costs: $15 for 1 year $200 Lifetime Membership Co-op Connection Staff: Managing Editor: Robyn Seydel memb@lamontanitacoop.com Layout and Design: foxyrock inc Covers and Centerfold: Edite Cates Advertising: Robyn Seydel Printing: Vanguard Press Membership information is available at all four Co-op locations, or call 217-2027 email: memb@lamontanitacoop.com Membership response to the newsletter is appreciated.

Address typed, double-spaced copy to the Managing Editor, memb@lamontanitacoop.com website: www.lamontanitacoop.org Copyright © 2006 La Montanita Co-op Supermarket Reprints by prior permission.

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

CO-OP

YOU OWN IT

For the Love of a uring the summer of 1992, as part of the City of Albuquerque’s effort to assess its long-range water resources, an aerial survey of the Cochiti-to-San Acacia reach of the river was undertaken in conjunction with the Bureau of Reclamation and using aerial photography from 1935 and other key years produced the first definitive land use trend data. Soon, the City was mailing letters to the owners of large, mid-valley farms offering $1,200 per acre-foot for vested water rights. The proposition included a ten-year leaseback option to keep the rights in irrigation until they were needed by the city.

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155,000 acre-feet each year from the administratively-declared groundwater basin, and in nearby Rio Rancho, Intel Corporation had announced plans for a massive new fabrication unit that would require an additional 4,500 acre-feet of water per year. Now, armed with the new information on the basin’s groundwater, Albuquerque argued that offset requirements contained in its original groundwater permit were outdated, and that city-owned San Juan-Chama water intended for aquifer recharge had instead been ‘augmenting’ Rio Grande surface flows. In preparation for deciding the Albuquerque and Intel applications, State Engineer Eluid Martinez assembled a task force to look at possible changes to the administration of water in the Albuquerque basin. Public hearings on the issue were well attended indeed.

During that winter, UNM ichthyologists were studying a native fish called the Rio Grande silvery minnow. Once plentiful in 3,000 miles of river from the lower Rio Chama to the Gulf of Mexico, the minnow could now be

If the headaches that would haunt the Middle Rio Grande for the next decade had all surfaced in one prophetic year, some tools for dealing with so complex a picture were also at hand. The state was inching toward a water conservation program and the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Basin Coalition was formed with the goal of promoting resource sustainability and improving water management

One by one the issues that would make water headlines began to emerge. found only in the 170 miles from Cochiti Dam to Elephant Butte. It wasn’t a coincidence, researchers thought, that minnows and cottonwoods were both in trouble.

A Landmark Year Arrives In January 1993, the City of Albuquerque filed a complaint in Federal District Court against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approving water quality standards set by the Pueblo of Isleta without considering whether those criteria were “practically achievable.” The standards, which were more stringent than those employed by the federal government, were the first in the nation to be proposed by a tribal government under a provision of the Clean Water Act of 1987. Albuquerque, which had just applied for renewal of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, had the dubious distinction of becoming the first discharger of effluent to have to comply. In particular, the city feared it would not be able to meet Isleta’s requirement for arsenic, an element that occurs naturally in high concentrations in much of the West.

Over the course of the next several months, Albuquerque, the Pueblo of Isleta, the EPA, and the New Mexico Environment Department negotiated an agreement that included studies of the occurrence and distribution of trace elements in the Rio Grande, and the city consented to additional treatment processes to reduce the amount of nitrate and ammonia it released into the river.

Another federal environmental law was about to become a huge player in Middle Rio Grande water politics: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service was proposing to list the Rio Grande silvery minnow as an endangered species. Public meetings were held in both Albuquerque and Socorro to ready the MRG for what was to come.

August of ‘93 brought another bombshell. Information gleaned from the Bureau of Mines’ recent basin framework (Hawley, 1992) and from a USGS groundwater flow model of the Albuquerque aquifer (Kernodle et al., 1986) showed there was far less quality groundwater available than previously believed and, worse, that vigorous recharge was only occurring in the immediate vicinity of the river and not in those areas being heavily pumped by the city. The Albuquerque Journal reported on August 25th that the city’s wells were pumping four times as much groundwater as was being returned to the aquifer; that pumping had drawn down municipal wells in the valley more than 80 feet in the past 30 years; and that wells far from the river had been drawn down by as much as 140 feet.

That summer, the City of Albuquerque had filed an application with the Office of the State Engineer to increase its groundwater pumping from 135,000 to

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across state and international borders. The New Mexico Environmental Law Center issued a report, “Living Within Our Means: A Management Policy for New Mexico in the 21st Century,” which urged improvements to the state water code and to the processes of public notice, public input, and public welfare. And belatedly, New Mexico’s five-year-old regional water planning program was gaining ground as an arena where resource managers, technical experts, politicians, and citizens could have a hand in shaping future water policy.

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lan’ was, in fact, the word of the day. The Middle Rio Grande Council of Governments had published a four-volume set of policy guidelines in 1990, but the new groundwater flow model invalidated many of the work’s assumptions. Now there were advocates for creating a regional water plan. City and county officials and a group of citizen volunteers had spent three years on a groundwater policy and protection plan, which instituted changes regarding the permitting and construction of septic systems, prohibited businesses that handled hazardous materials and/or wastes in areas with vulnerable shallow groundwater, and provided for better regulation of a variety of under-ground storage tanks that were sources for groundwater pollution. Other germane programs were also being drafted and adopted including a management plan for twenty-two miles of bosque within Rio Grande Valley State Park, and a Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Water Policies Plan that proposed banking any surplus water so the rights could be “leased to municipalities to offset the effects of deep well pumping, allowing them to be left in the river to maintain minimum flows for diluting municipal wastewater, or used to create favorable habitat in the bosque and district drains” (DuMars and Nunn, 1993).

And then, in September of that signpost year, the Middle Rio Grande was given a primer for maintaining its considerable natural resource assets. Researched and written by an interagency team of biologists from UNM, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the document offered a holistic point of view and twenty-one recommendations aimed at achieving integrated management of the central Rio Grande and its floodplain. In recognition of the biologic, hydrologic, and geomorphologic linkages crucial to riparian health, the report’s authors added a cardinal word to the title of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque Biological Management Plan. That word was ‘ecosystem.’

Taking an Ecosystem Approach The Bosque Biological Management Plan would become a standard for putting the river ecosystem first, and for emphasizing collaboration across a multitude of institutional boundaries. State legislators, it seemed, were listening. They named a task force that met with the public, pertinent agencies, and governments throughout the region, and eventually recommended formation of a formal bosque coordinating council. The council was expected to adopt a set of bosque management principles, submit yearly reports on the state of the riparian forest, and serve as a public clearinghouse and agency liaison. But the proposed structure ran aground over issues of bosque ownership, the feasibility of so large a council, and its lack of real authority. continued on page 3

may 2006

agua es vida

Friends of the Wild Rivers Amigos Bravos

by Michael Jensen migos Bravos began in 1988 as a volunteer community-based organization created to restore the Red River and protect it from the destructive impact of the Molycorp mine and tailings sites around Questa. Early success led to formal organization and a first strategic planning session, involving not only legal and technical consultants, but more importantly, representatives of traditional landbased communities among the Pueblos and acequia associations of northern New Mexico.

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Since then, Amigos Bravos has become a well-established and nationally recognized state-wide river conservation organization guided by social justice principles and dedicated to preserving and restoring the ecological and cultural integrity of New Mexico’s rivers and watersheds. While rooted in science and the law, our work continues to be inspired by the values and traditional knowledge of New Mexico’s diverse Hispanic and Native American land-based populations, with whom we work. We have three long-standing goals: Restore Watershed Health, Hold Polluters Accountable, and Build a River Protection Movement.

Amigos Bravos staff and Board members, and our Advisory Council, have identified seven projects we consider critical: • Waters of the State (“Primacy”). To counter Bush administration roll back of the Clean Water Act, Amigos Bravos is helping define and defend the state of New Mexico’s right (primacy) to set water quality standards that are different from those of the federal government.

• Los Alamos National Laboratory. Amigos Bravos is working on several discharge permits and a report on LANL water issues focusing on the following: Chromium 6 (the same highly toxic pollutant as shown in the Erin Brockovitch movie); PCBs detected in high concentrations in soil samples from LANL, in canyons running from LANL to the Río Grande, and in fish in the Río Grande watershed; Perchlorate, which has already led to closure of one drinking well by Los Alamos County; Area G (LANL’s low-level radioactive waste dump); Environmental Budget Cuts proposed for FY07 that would reduce cleanup funding at LANL by 36%.

• Molycorp Mine. Recent evidence provided by EPA showed that Molycorp’s pollution is by-passing interception barriers and extraction wells at its tailings facility.

Amigos Bravos will advocate for Molycorp to recycle its water and build a water treatment facility.

• Outstanding Natural Resource Water Petitions & the Valle Vidal. Amigos Bravos won nomination of the Río Santa Barbara as New Mexico’s first Outstanding National Resource Water (ONRW), the highest level of protection available under the Clean Water Act and then worked with Governor Richardson’s office to use ONRW status to help protect the Valle Vidal, a pristine area of the Carson National Forest that the Bush administration has ordered the Forest Service to put on a “fast track” for coalbed methane drilling.

• Diversion of Río Grande Water. The Río Grande faces a serious threat from Albuquerque’s San Juan-Chama diversion. The city is not only diverting San Juan (Colorado River watershed) water set aside as drinking water, but also received permission to divert an equal amount of Río Grande water to recharge the aquifer, replacing diverted water with treated wastewater. However, use of river water will stop aquifer drawdown for only one generation. At stake is 16 miles of the Río Grande that will be dewatered through the heart of the city, the livelihood of farmers and wildlife downstream and the impact of wastewater replacing natural water in the Río Grande.

• Public Welfare. Amigos Bravos has been working with social and environmental justice organizations to develop consensus “Public Welfare” principles that would be applied to every water decision in the state. The use of Public Welfare principles could have a large impact on the efforts of pri-

Preserving and restoring the ecological and cultural integrity of New Mexico rivers and watersheds.

Valley

vate developers and local governments to divert water rights without fully considering the social, economic, and cultural impact of the diversion on local communities and without providing participation by all affected parties.

• Environmental Justice. We are working with residents in Albuquerque’s South Valley to revive the acequia associations that existed prior to the creation of the Middle Río Grande Conservancy District.

The new acequia associations will help mobilize residents living along the acequias and provide a mechanism to reclaim the water rights they lost, increase water for traditional family food and farming activities, and provide a focal point for efforts to restore water quality in Albuquerque’s polluted South Valley neighborhoods.

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Contact Amigos Bravos (in Taos) at: (505) 758.3874 or email: bravos@amigosbravos.org or visit our website: www.amigosbravos.org.

Thanks to Amigos Bravos for sharing their images.

For the Love of a continued from page 2

In the spring of 1994 State Engineer Eluid Martinez declared a 120-day moratorium on the longtime policy of ‘dedication,’ by which a developer could delay obtaining the surface water rights necessary to offset groundwater pumping in the Albuquerque basin. A State Engineer task force assembled the previous fall had recommended that land developers, corporations, and municipalities applying for permits to pump groundwater be required to purchase offset rights prior to pumping.

For years, such permits had been issued with little but a promise to acquire and retire surface rights in the future, a practice that had seriously aggravated the gap between paper rights and wet water in the fully appropriated basin.

At about the same time, Martinez also issued a ruling on Intel’s application to pump additional water. The giant corporation would be allowed to drill three 2,000-foot wells to pump 2.9 million gallons per day from the aquifer. Two conditions accompanied the permit: Intel was charged with monitoring its pumping so as not to adversely affect groundwater levels in shallow wells within a two-mile radius of the manufacturing plant; and surface rights would have to be acquired to offset any impacts on the flow of the Rio Grande.

As promised, the summer of 1994 also saw the official listing of the Rio Grande silvery minnow as an endangered species.

The Federal Register also announced that no longer would membership on endangered species recovery teams be limited to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service personnel, nor to those with biological expertise. The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow Recovery Team would be the first in the nation to involve actual ‘stakeholders.’ (Federal Register, 1994.)

To underscore the year’s momentous happenings relative to water in the Middle Rio Grande, the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) held its annual conference

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in November on “The Water Future of Albuquerque and the Middle Rio Grande Basin.” A quote from Cliff Crawford, principal author of the Bosque Biological Management Plan, sums up the thinking at that meeting: “Conservation of highly altered river systems such as the Rio Grande calls for a realistic look at management alternatives. Given the changes in the Middle Rio Grande Valley that were caused in this century by regulation and other forces (including colonization by introduced woody plant species), a return to the exact pre-settlement condition is clearly impractical. Under the circumstances, we therefore advocate the re-establishment of basic riverine-riparian functioning rather than the ‘saving’ of a bosque that is itself an artifact of civilization. We propose that sustaining ecosystem integrity, in the form of carefully planned partial restoration, is the only reasonable alternative to irreversible ecosystem change. The latter, we predict, will be the eventual outcome of ‘status quo management’ occurring with the unlimited growth of the basin’s human population and its continued high rates of water consumption...The essential elements of partial restoration are (1) carefully regulated seasonal overbank flooding or its simulated equivalent, (2) riparian forest management leading to improved habitat diversity, (3) creation of diverse wetlands inside and outside the present levee system, and (4) a sustained program of monitoring, research, and education.”

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n 1995, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service hired its first Bosque Coordinator to oversee Middle Rio Grande “preservation initiatives” derived from the Bosque Biological Management Plan. Also, as promised voting seats on the Silvery Minnow Recovery Team were granted to the New Mexico-based environmental group Amigos Bravos, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Corps of Engineers, the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Interstate Stream Commission, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, the New Mexico Department of Game continued on page 14

Co-op Values Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring 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 La Montanita Co-op Supermarket to provide information on La Montanita Co-op Supermarket, the cooperative movement, and the links between food, health, environment and community issues.

Opinions expressed herein are of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Co-op.

CO-OP

YOU OWN IT may 2006

3

consumer

news

Organic Labels: Periscope, Microscope or Telescope?

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ust when you thought the in’s and out’s of Organic Certification were dizzying enough… ask any farmer who’s had to go through the process – or someone like me who has the duty of decision-making and compliance. Regulatory law was not made by nor intended for mere mortals to comprehend.

The National Organic Standards Board is an advisory panel to the USDA/ National Organic Program that makes the organic “regulations” the US adheres to and has got an amazing amount on their plate to consider. Currently, “the scope” of the NOP rule only allows for certification of farms (food & raw fiber), livestock and processed/packaged products. There are no specific NOP reg’s for products outside of that scope: pet food, processed fiber & fabric, fish, honey, cosmetics, soaps and more.

But wait—then how come we see products like those with organic labels?

Fish: It’s true you’ll find some fish with organic labels in the EU and maybe from a renegade American or two but they’re not USDA Organic. Organic Certification of any product is based on absolute control by the producer along the entire production chain: soil to seed to fertilizer to pest control to harvest to processing to packaging to delivery to market. Or with livestock: gestation to birth to feed to slaughter to processing and so on. The wild environment of sea-going (or lakegoing...is that a word?) fish can’t be controlled, so they’re out right off the bat.

Fabric: Raw cotton and wool: no problem, comes right off the farm. Even ginning cotton is easy since it’s purely mechanical.

But to turn fiber into yarn, thread, warp and woof, it’s astounding how many input materials are used: soaps, detergents, bleaches, scourers, dyes, oils, waxes, lubricants.

Current NOP reg’s don’t allow for the organic product to contact these synthetic substances (the reg’s were written with food in mind after all), so Certified Organic fabric is non-existent. You can find shirts made with Certified Organic cotton or sweaters woven from Certified Organic wool, but the garment itself is not classifiable as Certified Organic. And how do you allow for buttons, snaps, elastic, labels, etc? I dunno about you but I ain’t never seen no organic zippers.

But how about farm-raised fish, you ask? Yes, that could work as long as those fish (like all other livestock) are fed only Certified Organic feed. But since most fish eat other fish, how do you produce organic fish that have been fed organic fish when you can’t certify organic fish without having organic fish to feed your organic fish in the first place?

HABA: Health and Beauty aids, cosmetics, soap, shampoo, etc. Its simple: none of this stuff can be produced and massmarketed without a bunch of scary stuff in it. NOP simply says these products are outside the scope of the reg’s, therefore, anybody can label any of these “organic” in any dang way they please (except USDA Organic) and get away with it.

No one is breaking any rules, but they’re sure not telling you the truth either. Consider: any shampoo bottle will identify the fact that many ingredients are derived from coconut oil.

All well and good but they neglect to tell you how many solvents, extractives and other synthetics are required in the process. It ain’t pure coconut oil in them squeezy bottles, folks. It’s conceivable that someone has come up with a product that could be Certified Organic under NOP rules: herbal extracts, olive oil, yucca for foaming, etc, but it’s not the shelf-stable product the HABA industry wants.

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Good question. If any of these products can be itchy green made under existing NOP reg’s, then they may be Certified Organic and carry the little green “USDA Organic” label. But all those non-organic categories listed above have specific issues that the NOSB hasn’t yet addressed that keeps them out of the organic running. Let’s take a look.

Pet food: Livestock feed can be Certified Organic, so why not pet food? Well, some pet food actually does meet existing NOP reg’s but only a few types.

The regulations say mammals can’t be fed mammals (one point for the antiMad Cow team!) so no beef for Fido. Chicken’s ok but fish isn’t yet eligible for Organic Certification so no tuna for Fluffy either. What this means is that some Certified Organic pet food is out there, just not in as many varieties as finicky pets (and finicky owners) would like.

In addition to the organic regulations, USDA has an entire department that regulates pet food, and one that regulates livestock feed. As we’ve seen lately in New Orleans and Washington DC, Federal agencies don’t always speak to each other, nevermind what wavelength they’re on. Not all of one agency’s rules agree with or even consider the other’s.

It’s worth noting that when the feds commandeered the word “organic” in 2002, they told us that, yes, we could certify pet food as long as it met the requirements but then a couple of years later retracted that statement, long after millions of dollars and thousands of hours were spent developing and certifying organic pet food. Then they retracted it again, under relentless pressure from the pet food industry who in turn are under a heap of pressure from their customers: pet owners can be more rabid than their little furry playmates.

L IANNE S T. R EMY, A . B . T. therapist & instructor s h i a t s u & reiki meridian stretches

In the EU and elsewhere, there are allowances for ocean fish but the USDA/ NOP reg’s says (rightly so) that control of the marine environment cannot address all the variables and contaminants. Err..not that our air- and soil-based existence here on dry land is totally under control, but that’s where they draw the line. How in the heck there’s any Certified Organic seaweed on the market puzzles me but we’ll skip it this go-round.

SCRATCH WHERE IT ITCHES I’m only scratching the surface here but you get the idea.If you come away with any idea from this, here’s the best one: Control is an arbitrary human creation and conceit. Whatever your belief, there’s a lot of things out there bigger than us. All we can do is to agree on how much chaos we’re willing to comfortably accept while still behaving under the illusion we’re in control. To put it mildly, things happen.

by Brett Bakker

Honey: Quick and easy explanation. Bees forage far and wide for feed. All livestock (and yes here we consider them as such) must only be fed Certified Organic, including pastures and forage. So the question is, how many miles of Certified Organic open range in every direction do you need to ensure bees don’t go past the borders to non-organic nectar sources?

Locally Grown Produce Returns!

Beneficial Farms: Signs of Spring

by Jim Cummings and Calliope Shank resh, local, chemical-free food produced on small family farms and ranches in the Rocky Mountain bioregion—what could be better? The Beneficial Farm label is your guarantee of all these qualities, offering premium products with a farmer signature.

The Beneficial Farm and Ranch Collaborative (BFRC) is a trade association made up of family farmers and ranchers, retail stores, and other buyers in Colorado and New Mexico.

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mobile: 1.508.479.2675 home: 505.898.0531 Corrales, New Mexico

L o s Po b l a n o s Organics

Ironically, the booming market for organic food has put small farmers, many of whom have been organic pioneers, at a serious disadvantage. Large-scale farming and huge sales to nationwide chain stores drive down the price farmers receive for produce, while costs have not decreased at all. Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental costs of shipping their food long distances, and are seeking out local and regional suppliers. But surprisingly it often costs small farmers more per unit of food to get their produce to nearby markets than it does to have a similar product delivered from across the country.

6 81-406 0 The best produce from the field to you.

Always fresh. Always organic 4

Beneficial Farms eco-label gives consumers an opportunity to buy fresh, high-quality produce, eggs and meat at prices that reflect the true costs of small-scale, sustainable farming. By delivering locally, we reduce fossil fuel use and emissions and guarantee the shortest possible time between our fields and your table.

fresh, local

produce

BFRC defines and practices a uniquely western form of chemical-free agriculture with a strong emphasis on soil, ecology, crop rotation, good irrigation management, and humane livestock treatment and nutrition.

BFRC producers use no pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones or synthetic fertilizers.

sign up online www.NMOrganics.com or call

Each licensed BFRC producer has made a commitment to good environmental stewardship while working to produce the most wholesome and nutritious plant and animal products possible. Some members choose to maintain organic certification, but it is not a requirement.

Participating farms and ranches are located in the Arkansas, Rio Grande, and Colorado River watersheds of both New Mexico and Colorado. Produce and other farm products are gathered under one label in a cooperative effort to further the development of a healthy and secure future for our local food system.

You may already be familiar with Beneficial Farm eggs, available at Co-op locations. Look for the Beneficial label in the produce department. Starting in mid-May, you can expect to find salad mix, arugula, baby bok choi, baby carrots, baby beets and spinach. Beneficial CSA subscriptions are available. Find more information at the their website: www.beneficialfood.org.

SUSTAINABLE FARMING OPPORTUNITY IN NEW MEXICO Farm land available for lease in the Manzano Mountains of New Mexico under sustainable agriculture practices.

Approximately 40 acres of pasture/rangeland and 15 acres of juniper/pinon woodlot (6800 ft elevation) with good water, barn, and vegetable garden. Farm is part of alternative building subdivision. Tirehouse/earthship with greenhouse available as part of package. This is a great low-risk opportunity for someone just starting out with farming/livestock or retiring. One hour from Albuquerque. Shared land with one other couple. Call Ann or Ellen at: 505/384-5442 or email: ann@sustaining art.com. For pictures of the property go to: www.sustainingart. com/land.html

may 2006

co-op

news

Crooked Crane Healing: Life Changing Medicine member profile

by Ivy Edmondson eborah Wozniak is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine offering individual and family healthcare in Albuquerque’s North Valley. She is a long-time member of La Montanita Co-op and is currently a volunteer healthcare provider on the Co-op Staff Wellness Program. I am speaking for many staff members in saying that we are deeply grateful for the care she has given us, and our lives have been transformed by her practice.

Deborah and I sat in her perennial herb garden in back of her home in the Old Town area recently to discuss traditional Chinese medicine.

D

IE: Could you describe your practice and the patients you treat?

DW: I work with a whole spectrum of issues, pain management, allergies, emotion, nutrition, addiction, women’s health. I really love working with women’s issues, from menopause to supporting women during their pregnancy and post-partum. It’s really wonderful working with children, too.

yin in the body, the menses are starting to slow down or stop. It’s important to try to keep that yin intact, and to build it as much as possible. You do this through proper diet, exercise, the herbal component, and acupuncture. It’s a full spectrum medicine. There are 8 limbs of Chinese medicine: diet, exercise, meditation, massage, feng shui, astrology, acupuncture, and herbs. Herbs and acupuncture are seen as the most extreme forms of treatment, and you only need to go there after the other 6 limbs have been addressed. There’s the sense of integrating the whole person. It’s not just taking something to relieve a symptom. It’s also addressing the emotional part; if the woman is in a high stress situation, yin gets depleted, and there are all kinds of effects to look at. Chinese medicine is very comprehensive.

IE: Do you work with women’s issues?

DW: It feels like many of my clients are women. I think that women are very open to alternative medicine, in general.

Women tend to search for things that work. With something that’s as pragmatic as Chinese medicine, people feel real results, without the side effects associated with western drugs. It’s just more gentle and yet effective.

IE: Could you say more about the distinctions between the Eastern and Western approaches to medicine?

DW: I don’t want to say that one medicine is better than the other. I do think that Western medicine is really great for working with traumatic injuries. I think we could have greater synthesis between these two approaches to medicine, and really learn from both. For example, in the hospitals in China you have people being treated with both allopathic and traditional Chinese practitioners. So instead of medications that may have adverse side effects, you’re given herbs, but you also get x-rays or MRI’s to do the evaluation, or you may get surgery. There’s a place for both approaches within the field of medicine. They need to bridge and overlap more than they do currently. I think one of the beauties of Chinese medicine is that we also view things in terms of the 5 elements, and each element is connected to a particular season and a particular energetic. It’s important to be aware of the changes that happen in our bodies in relation to the seasons, and optimizing transitions that occur during those times, through diet (seasonal foods), exercise, and even slowing down and sleeping more in winter. Now spring has arrived, and you need less sleep. It is a time to rise early and feel the energy coursing through our bodies in a different way.

IE: Are there ways that you think Chinese medicine addresses women’s issues in particular?

DW: Well, let’s say in menopause there’s a deficiency of

IE: If we could shift now, I was wondering if you could talk about your involvement with the Co-op?

DW: Purchasing food from a co-op and community involve-

IE: Do you treat children with herbs and acupuncture?

DW: With children, acupuncture is usually very short and quick, with just one needle for fever, for example. It’s done while the child is nursing or distracted in some way. And it’s amazing how you see the change almost right away because their energy is so mobile and isn’t as stuck as our adult energy. I think the youngest child that I’ve used acupuncture with is 2, and she loves the needles. She actually tells me where she wants them. Or she’ll ask for a seed.

I often use mustard seeds on points. Sometimes I will use Tuina or Chinese massage along meridians, teach parents how to work specific points, or use herbs or cupping.

ment are basic values in my life. So when I moved to Albuquerque, it was automatic to look for the Co-op. While I was in school [for acupuncture], I was working at the Co-op, baking and cooking. I really love the Co-op and want to support it in any way I can. I especially want to support the staff.

That’s why I decided to participate in the Co-op Wellness Program. I feel really blessed that I’m in the position to offer a service that Co-op employees can benefit from.

IE: What caused you to decide to change the name of your business to Crooked Crane Healing?

DW: I bike a lot to work. It’s an eight mile bike ride, part of it through open space on the ditch trail, and I spend a lot of time watching the cranes. What I observed about them is that they are very elegant creatures, Deborah but there is also a sense of crookedness about them, in their stance and posture. In some ways we’re all working with some kind of imbalance or disharmony, and that is our crookedness. I want to honor and embrace that crookedness. You have to accept what’s there before you can make any kind of real change, you know. Within that crookedness there’s the potential for transformation.

Wozniak

Dr. Wozniak is a National Board Certified Acupuncturist and Herbologist, offering compassionate, affordable healthcare. Her practice is located at 6501 4th St. NW, Suite E, in Albuquerque. Crooked Crane Healing is a Great West provider and offers Co-op members a generous 20% off an initial office visit (includes: initial intake, diagnosis, acupuncture treatment and herbal consultation). Call 505-250-7173 for an appointment.

Personal Growth Childhood Trauma • Illness Drugs/Alcohol • Loss Women’s Issues

Louise Miller, MA LPCC NCC Psychotherapy louise@louisemiller.org www.louisemiller.org

Phone (505) 385-0562 Albuquerque, NM

Meat Department Spotlight:

Seafood Watch

T

he seas may be rising (and warming) due to global climate change and there is no doubt that many fisheries are in decline. Sea populations are struggling to survive and scientists are studying ways to prevent a food chain crash in the oceans.

Sustainable harvesting of seafood and fish is of great importance.

In February, 2005 we printed the Seafood Watch’s Sustainable Choices Pocket Guide in the Co-op Connection News and announced our first partnership. To view their guide and background information on this program go to www.lamontan itacoop.com, (click on newsletter archive, February 2005).

Their program recommends which seafood to buy or avoid.

We are pleased to have renewed our affiliation with Sea Food Watch and will carry only those ocean products recommended as a sustainable choice on their buy list. Pick up your Seafood Watch Sustainable Choices Pocket Guide at any Co-op meat and fish department.

Sea Food Watch is a program of Monterey Bay Aquarium designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources. In 1997-99 the Monterey Bay Aquarium developed a list of sustainable seafood as part of their "Fishing for Solutions" exhibit anticipating visitor questions about making better seafood choices. The list evolved into the Seafood Watch pocket guide for consumers.

Our shared purchasing power can make a difference, by supporting those fisheries and fish farms that are better for the environment, while at the same time relieving pressure on others that are not doing as well. Some of the key problems that help the Seafood Watch staff evaluate whether a fishery is sustainable include the level of by-catch observed, the fishing methods and their impact, if it is farmed, how it is farmed, and how well the fishery or aquaculture operation is managed. With nearly 75% of the world's fisheries either fully fished or over-fished, these issues are more important than ever. By using the Seafood Watch Pocket Guide, you are making choices based on the best available information and supporting environmentally friendly fisheries and aquaculture operations.

What they deem "sustainable seafood" comes from sources, either fished or farmed, that can exist over the long-term without compromising species' survival or the health of the surrounding ecosystem.

Seafood Watch favors conservation of the resource in the face of scientific uncertainty.

Once again the Co-op is a proud Affiliate of Seafood Watch. Pick up your Pocket Guide at all Co-op locations and know that we will only carry the fish and seafood products that Seafood Watch determines to be sustainably harvested or farmed.

sustainable seafood at the CO-OP may 2006

5

co-op news

may 2006 6

The ENDS: Not a Co-op Garage Band! by the Board of Directors avvy Co-op shoppers know from reading the Quiz Cards on the store shopping carts, that what we call "Ends" are not the Co-op's garage band but a series of statements that describe various destinations envisioned by the Board of Directors. Sure, the Directors care about what's stocked on the shelves — we're member/owners too — but our work on the Board isn't that. Our mission is to ensure that La Montanita makes a footprint in our community and in the world that benefits the broadest swath possible, from customers to producers to non-human life affected by our actions. As a Board, we want to create policy that commits the entire organization to cooperative principles and to a real result, that is an "End" that defines how our beneficial actions will actually look. With "Ends," we state where we want to be in various groups of activity, like "Community," "Financial Health" and "Education."

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LOCAL SALE ITEMS SHOP LOCAL & SAVE

So now that the "where we want to be" is mapped out, how do we get there? The Board of Directors follows a system of governance that keeps us cordoned off from the day-to-day operations of the Co-op. La Montanita's general manager C. E. Pugh has what it takes to figure out how La Montanita arrives at the Ends the Board has created. He'll do so under certain constraints called Executive Limitations, which prohibit him from unethical, illegal or imprudent actions. C.E. will report to the Board about his progress on a regular schedule and members can check out that progress on the Co-op's website under the Board's monthly meeting minutes. Come to one of the "Coffee with the Board" events and check out how we're getting to "Ends" by talking to us in person.

Los Chileros de Nuevo Mexico Santa Fe, NM All New Mexican Food Products 15% off!

El Pico de Santa Fe Santa Fe, NM Fresh Salsas, 14 oz, Assorted Varieties, Sale $2.99 505 Organics Albuquerque, NM Organic Chile Sauces or Salsas, 16 oz, Assorted Varieties, Sale 2/$7. Other 505 Organics products are also on sale.

Hatch Deming, NM Red or Green Enchilada Sauces, 15-16 oz, Assorted Varieties, Sale $2.69. Other Hatch products are also on sale.

VALID IN-STORE ONLY from 5/3-5/30, 2006:

Not all items available at all stores.

CELEBRATE CINCO DE MAYO! WANT TO SEE YOUR LOCAL PRODUCT ADVERTISED HERE? Contact Angela at angela@lamontanitacoop.com.

N EW DIR E C T I O N

C H IR O PR AC T I C Chiropractic with an Ayurvedic Influence K elly Coogan D.C. 3216 Monte Vista Blvd. NE, Suite A Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 chiroveda9@yahoo.com ph 505.247.HEAL fx 505.247.4326

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Stitching Time Together The Pinhole Theater Project by Jyl Kelley May 8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 31 Reception: Friday May 19, 5 to 8:30 PM

Our primary Ends policy is: A thriving member-owned cooperative that results in an increasing number of people having and making more informed and sustainable choices at costs that do not exceed the revenues of the cooperative.

The Sub Ends we recently created are: 1. Growth of Business: Business growth that benefits the community at large, based on com-

CENTER

1114 7th Street NW at Mountain Road. For more information, call 505-242-6367

2. Community: Within cooperative values, an ever-widening circle of community members with healthier and more environmentally restorative lives.

3. Products: A selection of least harmful, quality food and products that is responsive to the needs of shoppers and producers.

4. Financial Health: A transparent and ethical enterprise, with equity growth, patronage refund and community investment.

5. Education: A community increasingly informed regarding the cooperative model as well as producer/consumer impacts on local and global health and environment.

6. Staff Environment: A respectful and responsive work environment in which a fairly compensated staff has a strong sense of ownership in the success of the Co-op.

7. Services: Service relationships with fairness and value for all.

Letters to the Editor To the Managing Editor, During a cursory review of your April issue, I discovered two glaring errors that put your staff's credibility at risk. First, on p 3 in "Climate Change Impact" it says, "Each gallon of gas [gasoline] you use releases 25 pounds of heat-trapping carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere." I know that a gallon of gasoline does not weigh that much, so one of its constituents can't possibly weigh that. Furthermore, CO2 is a gas, so it takes a lot of it to even weigh a pound.

Even if some is emitted during refining, I doubt it is 25 pounds; you imply my use alone releases that much. I have a degree in physics, but I am not a chemist, so I can't give you the correct number.

On the same page in "Climate Change: New Reasons..." you say, "Making chemical fertilizers takes huge amounts of energy. Every Unit (kilogram) of Nitrogen fertilizer takes 18,000 kilograms to produce."

18,000 kilograms of what? Kilograms is not a measure of energy, as this implies.

Please try to be more scientifically correct in your articles. There is already enough "bad science" and doubts about science in general without you adding to the problem.

Otherwise, thanks for your good work, a Co-op Member Dear Concerned Member, Thanks so much for reading the Co-op Connection News and thanks too for letting us know your concerns. In regards to your first comment, the source of the information you question in the article, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ten Steps to Reduce Your Climate Change Impact,â&#x20AC;&#x153; was the Union of Concerned Scientists. As a general explanation, there are over 5 pounds of carbon in a gallon of gasoline, and when the carbon burns with O2 to produce CO2, the weight increases by about 4 times. I am not a chemist either, but perhaps you could contact someone at the Union of Concerned Scientists if you need a more definitive answer. Their web site is www.ucs.org.

When queried on this issue a local chemistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s response is as follows: â&#x20AC;&#x153;A way to think this through is that 1 gallon of gasoline weighs about 6.2 lbs. There are 0.866 lbs of carbon per lb of gasoline (i.e gasoline is 86.6% C by weight); therefore, there are 5.37 lbs of carbon per gallon of gasoline. When C burns, it combines with O2 to produce C02. So 12 lbs of carbon produce 44 lbs of CO2 or 3.666 lb CO2 per lb carbon. Therefore, 5.37 lbs of carbon will produce 19.7 lbs of CO2. This estimate is a bit lower than the 25 lbs stated, but it is close.â&#x20AC;?

HARWOOD

ART

munity needs, financial viability, cooperative principles, and environmental stewardship.

As for your second comment, you are right that Kg is not a measure of energy. Again the chemist working on the issue of carbon emissions responded, and he calcu-

lates that a reasonable number is 33,600 BTU/lb required to produce, transport and apply a pound of nitrogen fertilizer. Thank you for your sharp observation.

In cooperation, Robyn To Robyn, Thanks for the explanations. Oxygen is such a light molecule; I still find these numbers hard to believe, because 20 pounds of anything in a gaseous phase is huge volumetrically at atmospheric pressure. Perhaps that is exactly why fossil fuel emissions are causing such an impact on our climate!

Dear Editor, I would like to respond to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Energy Solutions: Ethanol,â&#x20AC;?

April 2006 Co-op newsletter article. I drive a Toyota Prius (one of those hybrid vehicles). People love to criticize this technology and I cannot understand why. I consistently average 50mpg (better when I alter my driving habits). This car also has a near impeccable repair and reliability record, and is as affordable now as any car on the market. The federal government even gives you a $3,000.00 tax credit to buy them. So, why is this vehicle so â&#x20AC;&#x153;difficult to justify by purely economicsâ&#x20AC;? [according to Ethanol article]!

The author of the Ethanol article is, in my opinion, looking out the wrong window. We need to support technology that is increasing fuel efficiency rather than looking at alternative fuels, be they biodiesel, ethanol, methane, or chicken feathers.

Detroit has had years to develop fuel efficient vehicles but has refused because the people didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t support and/or demand this. So, today we have Hummers and Ford Rangers getting worse gas mileage than Henry Fordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original model T!!

The most important voting we do is with our wallets.

Forget going to the polls and having to choose between Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumber. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s money that walks and talks and gets the job done in America.

That is why we shop exclusively at the CO-OP (La Montanita) because it supports with their dollars (and human resources) community programs that are the real value. This, my friends, is true economy (value) and not the phony, fuzzy economics (values) that big business and their lap dog, the media, want you to believe.

Changing to a different brand of oats to feed the old plow horse isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t going to help him win the derby, neither is alternative fuels a solution, at this time. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just supporting the problem which is pathetic fuel efficiency.

Only by â&#x20AC;&#x153;putting our money where our mouth isâ&#x20AC;? can we as a community realize this goal.

Thomas Mark Kujat Aragon, New Mexico

co-op news

may 2006 7

the inside scoop

W

e are currently enjoying our strongest sales growth in many years at each of our locations. Our locations now contribute to our total sales as follows: Nob Hill: 37%, Santa Fe: 33%, Valley: 28%, and Gallup: 2%. We are adding about 300 new members per month and we have recorded purchases this year from 11,440 members as of March 31st.

Our percentage of sales to Co-op members also continues to grow with Albuquerque averaging about 80%, Santa Fe 60% and Gallup at 65%. Please accept our sincere appreciation for this strong support of our Co-op.

While all of our stores are experiencing strong sales growth over last year, our Gallup location is currently under budget for the year. Our produce department is under-performing in Gallup and we have now installed a walk-in cooler at the store to better care for the produce, and our produce department manager in Santa Fe is working with our Gallup staff to improve our work in this department. I am sure we can do a better job with produce in Gallup as this is one of our strengths in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

by C.E. PUGH We should now have available the fabulous Pollo Real organic chickens raised by Tom and Tracey Delehanty in Socorro. We anticipate a short supply of these chickens as Pollo Real has reduced their production for this year. We have also received a price increase from Pollo Real to cover their increased production and transportation costs. Check our meat cases for the best chicken in New Mexico.

We are now working on our annual member survey and you should receive this in early June. We have only received about 15% of these back in the past. I hope you will take time to complete this and drop it off at the store.

We do offer a discount on your purchases at the time you return the survey. I also appreciate any suggestions for survey questions or topics you might have. Please send these to me at ce@lamontanitacoop.com or 303 San Mateo, NE, Suite 201, Albuquerque, NM 87108, or 505-217-2020. I know these surveys take a bit of time, but please do fill one out as we need your feedback.

Thank you for supporting La Montanita, C.E. Pugh, General Manager

Calendar of Events 5/1 5/16 5/20 5/20-21 5/23 5/24

Foundations Committee, Valley Co-op 5:30pm Board of Directors Meeting, Immanuel Church 5:30pm Coffee with the Board, Gallup Co-op 11am-1pm Green Built Tour, Co-op Lunch at Ecoversity Finance Committee Meeting, 303 San Mateo NE 5pm Member Linkage, Immanuel Church 5:30pm

Get Your

GREEN BUILT TOUR BOOKS AND TICKETS AT CO-OP LOCATIONS IN SANTA FE AND ALBUQUERQUE AFTER MAY 1ST

Boar d Brief:

Meeting of March 21, 2006

by Shirley Coe, Administrative Assistant Produce: In response to a member’s concern about labeling the origin of produce, store management said that produce from a different country (not from a different state) is marked with its country of origin.

Ends Committee: The Ends Committee has completed Ends statements for the Board’s policy manual. This collaborative process included a lot of input, including from the Social Responsibility Committee, with a successful result.

Finance Committee: After discussing the possibility of equity membership instead of dues membership, the committee agreed that La Montanita should remain a dues membership form of cooperative.

Member Linkage Committee: Shopping Cart Quiz Cards are now on store shopping carts. Be sure to fill one out!

Social Responsibility Committee: The committee’s charter has expired. Thank you to all involved for their participation and especially for their part in helping the Board finalizing Ends statements.

Advisory Board Member: Michael Collins joins the Board as an advisory member in Santa Fe. Board Meeting: Members are invited to attend monthly board meetings. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, at 5:30 p.m. at the Immanuel Church, across from the Nob Hill Co-op on Carlisle Ave.

Produce Product Spotlight: Co-op Flowers Go Organic! or years the Co-op members have enjoyed getting beautiful and affordable cut flowers at our locations. Now we are pleased to announce that we will be selling organic and sustainably raised flowers from two suppliersOrganic Bouquet and California Organic Flowers. Around 70% of all conventionally produced cut flowers sold in the United States come from South America. This international trade program began in the late 1980’s to mid 90’s as the WTO, GATT and other international so-called “free-trade agreements” and programs grew out of corporate globalization efforts.

age and that more than 60 percent of all workers suffered headaches, nausea, blurred vision, rashes or fatigue from chemical exposures.

The “non-traditional agricultural export” market was pushed by many entities including some national cooperative business associations as “economic development” for poor and rural communities throughout Central and South America. In the process, lands that could have been tilled to provide local foods for local people were used to grow mainly cut flowers for export to the U.S. and Europe.

Flowers from our other supplier, California Organic Flowers, are grown by a network of family farmers in California, who are certified organic, and by conventional growers who are transitioning to organic methods (Cal/Eco Select). Organic flower growing is in its infancy, and by encouraging conventional farmers to improve their environmental practices, the California Organic Flowers Network is helping move toward a more sustainable future. All growers of ‘California Grown’ flowers have been screened for their commitment to sustainable growing practices, social justice and worker rights.

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International companies capitalizing the effort do not have to adhere to workers’ rights, wages or environmental standards required here, and abuses of all proliferated along with corporate profit. Large growers in Ecuador and other nations have been accused of misusing a toxic mixture of pesticides, fungicides and fumigants to grow and export unblemished pest-free flowers. A Common Dreams report quotes studies that the International Labor Organization published in 1999 and a 2005 Catholic University report shows that women, who make up 70% of the industry’s work force, had more miscarriages than aver-

The Co-op is pleased to have found fresh-cut, organic, U.S. grown flowers. Organic Bouquet offers the finest floral products sourced from growers that are committed to the highest social and environmental standards. Their flowers are grown and harvested using practices that aim to improve the quality of farm working conditions, minimize damage to ecosystems, conserve biodiversity, and enhance environmental quality for future generations.

Meditative Ways Retreat with Steven Ridley Qigong and Meditation Practice for Personal Enrichment and Spritual Growth May 12-14, 2006 Dominican Sprititual Renewal Center Albuquerque, NM "Each of us is fully enlightened at the core of our being. This is our essential, enduring nature. Meditation, Qigong and other practices can help restore our awareness to this innate state.”

Steven Ridley Come to the Co-op and choose flowers that are as socially responsible as they are beautiful. For more information contact Becky in produce at 265-4631.

This program will include in-depth practice of Harmony Qigong, Eighteen Forms Qigong and a variety of seated Meditation methods. Everyone is welcome to enter in, regardless of experience. Qigong movements are enjoyable to perform, wonderfully vitalizing and may be adapted for individual comfort.

Meditation techniques are easy to apply and fruitful.

www.stevenridleymeditationqigong.com ABQqigong@comcast.net 505-681-1924

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7 1 The Earth as an attractive accesory. 2 A flamencita shows us her moves. 3 Hawkwatch brought along their feathered friends to enjoy the day. 4 Latifah prepares some organic weiner samples! 5 Biodiesel from soy, coming soon to your home pump? 6 Alternative Transport widely used by eco-friendly attendants to the festival. 7 Alma Flamenca fills our little stage. 8 Nia- dance for everyone having fun and getting funky. 9 Max and many other non-human animals came out looking for companionship. 10 Ife from the Santa Fe Co-op brought us some Nigerian Indigo fabrics and clothing. 11 Straw hats, the preferred sunblock of the day, look very chic on these two. 12 Nothing beats an organic Shish-ka-bob! 13 The future’s so bright this little one’s got to wear shades. 14 Andy stays cool with his hat on his head and a bag of ice on his shoulder. 15 Rhythmfish provided some hot licks on stage. 16 Holly’s Ceramics show that it doesn’t need a frame to be art. 17 Walking softly behind the semi-truck. 18 Silver street, closed to car traffic, but open for fun! 19 Colin grills some burgers. 20 Lucy in Disguise’s ties! 21 Peacecraft carries on their commitment to fair trade. 22 We all got some color on our faces out in the sun today.

23 Taking a break from the action to show us his pearly whites. 24 Laurie Weahkee of the Sage Council being thanked for her important work by our own Robin Seydel. 25 Veterans for Peace displayed some facts and figures, and discussed some less quantifiable aspects of war. 26/27 Beautiful families reassured us that the next generation will be ready to continue to strive for a peaceful and healthy beneficial environment for all beings.

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Valley Garden Party 7th annual

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1 Common Shamanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earth-friendly garden products. 2 Co-o op Board Member Tam Saimons is very cool. 3 A Basket of Organic Goodness! 4 Tom Keene (right) of Bethany Gardens dismade doggy treats and soaps! 6 Chris from the Co-op Deli with his cusses the starts. 5 Home-m daughter. 7 VeggieGrowers showed us how microgardens are done! 8 Alan & Wendy Lackey, our organic beef ranchers. 9 erda Gardensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; corn was blue, but everyone else was overjoyed!

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picnic season Easy & Nutritious

dishes Looking for some light and delicious cuisine to pack for the mountains, take to the park, or eat out on the patio?

Here are some great raw-food recipes together with decadent summer salads and some yummy spreads and snacks.

Try some of these easy and nutritious summer dishes.

Reprinted and adapted from the following sources: La Montanita Co-op Deli (c/o Ivy) www.living-foods.com/recipes www.vegweb.com/recipes www.recipezaar.com www.pcrm.org/health/recipes (t = teaspoon/ T = tablespoon/ C = cup) Sabrosa Ceasar Salad Tasty and colorful, this salad rocks! If you’d rather not make your own dressing, try Annie’s Caesar or Lemon Chive dressing, with a twist of lime.

1 head of romaine lettuce 1/2 medium jicama, diced (about 1 C) 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch strips 1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup) 1 red or gold bell pepper, cut into 1-inch strips 1 large or 2 small avocados, cubed 2 tangerines, peeled and separated into wedges

may 2006 10

1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, thin circular slices (optional) half a bag of corn chips (either blue or yellow corn) 1/3 C grated Sardo (or Parm or Romano) cheese 2 T finely chopped cilantro Dressing: 3/4 C olive oil 1/4 C safflower or other vegetable oil Juice of 1 lemon and 1-2 limes (to make 1/3 C juice) 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced 3 T soft goat cheese 2 T stone-ground mustard 1 t Worcestershire sauce 1/2 t each salt and pepper (or more to taste) Crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste Separate the romaine leaves, rinse, and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the dressing. Peel the garlic cloves and either mash with a mortar and pestel or with a garlic press into a large bowl (preferably wooden), or mince very fine and press repeatedly with a wooden spoon against the side of the bowl.

Pour vegetable oil into bowl and blend.

Add the goat cheese, mustard, and yeast and mash, then whisk in the remaining ingredients and blend well. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking until a creamy dressing forms. Pour half the dressing into a separate container.

If your bowl is large enough, you can toss the chopped lettuce into the dressing in the same bowl with sliced onion, and 2/3 of the jicama, carrot, tomatoes, peppers, avocado, and tangerines, and half of the grated Sardo. Add more

dressing if needed and the remaining 1/3 of the sliced fruit/veggies, arranging in circular patterns on top. Arrange corn chips around the perimeter of the bowl (immediately before serving, as the chips can get soggy after a short time). Top with remaining Sardo cheese and fresh cilantro and serve.

with diced tomatoes. Now be creative!

Add some organic, raw milk cheese, fried tofu, jalapeno or other chilies, bell peppers, sunflower sprouts, or whatever your taste buds would like.

Roll in washed lettuce leaves.

Oriental Lettuce Wraps

This dressing is great on veggie wraps, grains and greens, and all kinds of veggies, whether raw or stir-fried. Blend equal parts live miso and sesame tahini with fresh lemon or lime juice to taste and finely chopped or pressed garlic.

Thin with water to desired consistency.

Dice small or grate: carrots, celery, broccoli stalks, cauliflower, mushrooms, or any variety of veggies that you prefer. Toss with oyster sauce or organic tamari and sesame oil. Add fresh bean sprouts and toss. Spoon veggies into fresh, washed lettuce leaves of your choice, roll and enjoy.

Greek Lettuce Wraps Use traditional goat feta cheese, or for vegan, marinate a pound of firm tofu slices in olive oil, tamari, nutritional yeast, and a dash of vegetarian Worcestershire sauce for an hour or more. Dice small: tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion. Toss with extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice, and add fresh basil or any herbs that you prefer.

Spoon veggies into fresh, washed lettuce leaves. Grate the marinated tofu or feta and sprinkle over the veggie filling, and then add a few Greek olives. Roll it all up in the lettuce leaf.

Keffi's Pate'

Mexican Lettuce Wraps Like a burrito in a leaf! Smash cooked beans of your choice (pinto, red, black – you may also use bean sprouts if you want to stay raw). Add a little cumin, coriander, chili flakes, paprika, garlic, and mineral salt to the beans, along

This delectable pate' is uncooked and comes from Restaurant Keffi in Santa Cruz. Put the pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a medium bowl and cover with water. Allow to soak for 6 to 12 hours.

Drain, rinse thoroughly, and drain

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888-8920 • www.nmefcu.org

If you want to make your grains especially tasty, rinse and strain them, and before cooking, heat a quality oil or ghee in the pot and season with onion and garlic or ginger, turmeric, and a seasoning blend that you like. (I use coriander and mustaerd seeds.) Stir for a few minutes, then add the grain and continue stirring for a few minutes more before adding water. Bring to a boil and simmer. When done, add greens and this dressing!

1 C raw pumpkin seeds 1 C raw sunflower seeds 1/2 medium red onion 2 T tamari 1/2 C coarsely chopped fresh basil 1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

Money when you need it most.

™

Tahini Miso Dressing

picnic season again. Put the soaked seeds and all the remaining ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and process until smooth. Mound the pate' in the center of a serving dish, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Spread over a tortilla, top with lettuce and tomato, and roll up. The pate' keeps up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Raw Hummus 1 C chick peas, sprouted (soaked 24ish hours, rinsing 3 times a day) 2 T lemon juice 2 T olive oil 2 T raw tahini 2 cloves garlic 1 t cumin 1 t paprika 1/2 t cayenne pepper Blend all ingredients until smooth. Add water to thin to desired consistency and salt to taste.

Avocado, Tomato & Corn Salad/Salsa Refreshing, quick and easy. Use as a salad or salsa, fill a wrap, top a plate of greens or grilled fish or chicken. You can go mild or kick it up with a jalapeno or chipotle!

2 garlic cloves, minced 1 jalapeno, minced or 1 chipotle chile in adobo (optional) 1 lime, both juice and zest 1 T olive oil 1 T chopped fresh cilantro 1 avocado, diced 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 1 1/2 C frozen corn, rinsed 1 1/2 C diced tomatoes or grape tomatoes cut in half Salt and pepper to taste 2 T cilantro to garnish Mix the first 5 ingredients together. Add avocado, onions, corn and tomatoes. Toss into dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Chill for 30 minutes, toss and enjoy! Serves 6-8.

Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers This is a good chicken dish to enjoy when you are in a hurry and just have a few minutes to grab a quick meal and go. The recipe also works with tofu: use an egg replacement with a little water and marinate the tofu in the other ingredients for an hour before baking.

1/2 C sliced almonds 1/4 C whole-wheat flour 1 1/2 t paprika 1/2 t garlic powder 1/2 t dry mustard 1/4 t salt 1/8 t fresh ground black pepper 1 1/2 t extra virgin olive oil 4 egg whites

1 # chicken tenders canola oil cooking spray, as required Preheat oven to 450°F. Put a foil-lined baking sheet on a wire rack. Coat it with cooking spray.

In your food processor, process together almonds, flour, paprika, dry mustard, garlic powder, salt and pepper until the almonds are finely chopped and the paprika is mixed thoroughly (takes about a minute). Drizzle in the oil and process until combined.

Transfer to a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, whisk the egg whites, one at a time. Add chicken tenders and turn them over in the egg whites to coat well. Transfer each chicken tender to the almond mixture. Toss well to coat.

Discard immediately any remaining egg white and almond mixture. Place the tenders on the prepared rack. Coat with cooking spray, turn, and spray the other side. Bake until golden brown, crispy and no longer pink in the middle.

This takes about 25 minutes. Enjoy! Serves 4.

Classical Homeopathy Visceral Manipulation Craniosacral Therapy

MARY ALICE COOPER, MD St. Raphael Medical Center 204 Carlisle NE Albuquerque, NM 87106

505-266-6522

The Rainbow Dagwood 1 lg. bell pepper, cored, de-stemmed and sliced horizontally near the top 1/2 C celery, diced 1 sm. avocado, mashed handful of whole dulse leaf, rinsed and hand squeeze-dried 1 slice of Bermuda onion 1 yellow beet, sliced into thin strips or processed in a veggie spiralizer 1 cucumber, sliced 1 lg. tomato, sliced handful of sunflower sprouts

Paul Barlow

M A S S A G E T H E R A P I S T

242-1795

Polarity Somato-Emotional Release Cranio -Sacral Swedish RPP LMT #2663

in the Old Town Area

Process the celery and avocado together to make a creamy slaw mixture. Fill the bottom of the bell pepper sandwich with the slaw. Add the remaining ingredients in layers. Top with the upper part of the bell pepper and enjoy!

Options: substitute your choice of nut/seed butter, raw milk cheese, or cheese substitute in place of the avocado

organic lettuce makes tasty wraps!

This year feed your soil the best! 877-0220 Premium Compost ~ Approved for Organic growers & gardeners ~ Composted over 12 months & low in salts Mulch ~ for beauty, cooler soil, weed reduction, and Water Conservation Organic Recycling ~ Respect our resources Bring your yard waste to us!

Visit us on the web at www.soilutions.net

I mportant New s!

ilt GreenBu

uar To le at kets on s tic p your Co-o

Pollo Real – Pollo Real will be available exclusively for our CSA (consumer supported agriculture) customers, Santa Fe Farmers Market customers and La Montanita Co-ops beginning May, 2006.

• We have re-organized our production model and will only produce a limited amount of Pollo Real. Production this season will include varieties of the French La Belle Rouge meat chickens. These birds are considered the world’s most flavorful meat chickens.

• You will find us at the Santa Fe Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7am-1pm, and Tuesdays from 7am-12pm starting May 6th.

• Please look for Pollo Real gracing the shelves of your La Montanita Co-op. For more information about our CSA please contact us as membership is limited.

Pollo Real, Tom, Tracey and Family

Get them at Albuquerqu the Santa Fe and e stores!

polloreal@zianet.com 108 Hope Farms Rd. 505-838-0345 Socorro, NM 87802

mother’s day

special

Women’s Health Services: a Community Treasure

W

omen’s Health Services has served the women, children and men of Santa Fe and surrounding counties for over 30 years.

A non-profit that operates without federal funding for direct patient services, WHS accepts and contracts with most major medical insurance companies. WHS also serves uninsured, underinsured and medically indigent patients. In 2001 Women’s Health Services was designated as a National Community Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, one of only 12 in the United States and the only such designee in New Mexico.

Women’s Health Services’ patients come from a variety of backgrounds, and in 2003–2004 there were 18,000 visits from more than 5,500 individuals to our physicians, nurse practitioners, counselors and alternative healthcare providers. With a woman-centered focus, WHS provides quality and accessible healthcare that is accomplished with an excellent staff, affordable services, creative programming, community linkages, and an attitude of caring.

Women’s Health Services integrates care across specialties through a 5-component model: direct services, leadership, professional education, outreach, and research.

WHS incorporates the five components into each patient visit, as well as the structure of the organization and extends the model into the community by working with partners, including Santa Fe’s La Montañita Co-op.

The first component of care is direct services, a one-stop shopping for prevention, diagnosis, and the care of acute and chronic conditions. Included in this is not just an individual’s visit to the doctor, but screenings, group visits and integrated behavioral health.

Women’s Health Services believes that a woman’s reproductive organs are not separate from the rest of her body, but integral to her overall health. Because of this belief, most practitioners provide gynecological care along with primary care practices. Acupuncture and massage are both offered on-site at WHS to complement conventional therapies.

The leadership component is designed to allow all women to become leaders in their lives and in the community, including at their place of employment.

Women’s Health Services provides peer mentoring groups, coaching and leadership workshops. When women become leaders in other parts of their lives, they are better able to effectively care for the health of themselves and their families.

H

The cycle of the seasons is a strong undercurrent affecting our health and state of mind. The cold and monotonous winter creates an air of stagnation in the body. Phlegm, toxins, and detritus can build up due to the lack of activity, lack of sweating, and from cold. Our minds also experience darker days in the winter.

Spring has the nature of bursting forth with new life, a surging of fresh energy. We can use this process of nature to our advantage. Spring is the time to eat cleansing foods regularly and eat what is in season as much

Heart disease risk factors are different for women?

she knows.

Women’s Health Services is now accepting new patients and most major insurance plans.

Dr. Deborah Thompson has joined Women’s Health Services as a Primary Care Physician.

Dr. Thompson received her M.D. from the State University of New York Health Science Center, where she participated in the renowned Rural Medical Education Program. She completed her family practice residency at Fort Collins Family Medicine Residency Program and her general preventive residency at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver.

Dr. Thompson is currently accepting new patients.

A National Community Center of Excellence in Women’s Health

The five-component model reflects the core values of Women’s Health Services in its relationship with patients, partners, the community and the organization. These values include a woman-centered approach and focus, respect for all diversities, activism, organizational and individual well being, the recognition of the importance of social roles and

A non-profit “Center of Excellence“ that, without federal funding, gives medically indigent women in North Central New Mexico the care they need.

Through free public seminars, conferences and health fairs WHS provides outreach and education not only to patients, but also to the community at large.

In addition, WHS advocates for the improvement of women’s healthcare statewide through its work with the Commission on the Status of Women to implement a State Office of Women’s Health.

Women’s Health Services provides professional education through residency training, in-services and conferences that reach over 275 community physicians, medical students and residents.

T

he last component of the model is research. Women’s Health Services partners with the University of New Mexico to research women’s health issues, collect data, and research patient and staff satisfaction within the organization. Ad-

Spring Cleaning: Season to Release

by Ashwin Sun, Valley Produce ave you ever felt too tense to open up to a change in your life? Too full to make available any room for something new? Well, now is your chance, for it is spring again! With the passing of allergy season near, late spring is the ultimate time to release, cleanse, and regenerate by cleansing body and mind of accumulated toxins.

ditionally, WHS is leading a study on the effectiveness of a topical treatment of cold sores and is currently looking for participants.

as possible, as the season produces what the body needs most. Foods that are in season and cleansing include all kinds of greens and lettuces, asparagus, and sprouts, all excellent for purifying the blood and liver and other organs.

The liver is vital for this season. The nature of spring and that of the liver walk hand in hand, under the same elemental phase of Wood.

The breaking of the ground via sprouts and stalks (wood) is the primary symbol of this phase and season of life. Thus we want to break through inertia, toxic accumulations, and mental sluggishness with fresh energy for the upcoming year.

the environment in healthcare, the inclusion of a full range of healing practices and philosophy, and the respectful use of power.

A

s a non-profit charitable organization, Women’s Health Services continues to raise funds that will allow indigent patients to be served, since federal funding is not available to the organization, making WHS one of the very few practices seeing a large proportion of Medicaid and Medicare patients without federal support. Other goals of fundraising include continuing to provide free health education and preventive care, continuing the partnership with RIOS Net at University of New Mexico to research important women’s health issues, and the recertification of Women’s Health Services as a National Community Center of Excellence in Women’s Health upon review in 2006.

Most of the staff of Doctors and Certified Nurse Practitioners, including Dr. Deborah Thompson, who joined the staff this year, are currently accepting new patients. Contact them at 505-988-8869.

a daily cleansing drink. Chlorophyll, wheat grass, kelp, and burdock root also speed the process of purification.

Exercise that brings on a sweat can dramatically aid in opening the body, getting the lymph moving and releasing toxins from deep within the core of the body. Massage therapy is another excellent aid in getting the blood moving and releasing toxins.

Acupuncture treatments move energy through the meridians, thoroughly addressing both the biological and emotional body on a deep level.

Consider the state of your home, and how energy may get stuck in some places. Clear pathways and areas under the bed or other furniture of clutter and dust, and consider freeing your home of what is seldom used as part of the cleansing process.

By checking the pH level of your body, you can also insure Greens: the effectiveness of your digesa cleansing tion, skin health, and bone Daily walks synchronize the food density. If our physical bodies movement of your body with run in the acidic side of the pH the movement of spring, but scale for too long, we lose our watch out for the New Mexico ability to compensate in face of disease-causing winds. Try early morning walks, before the winds agents and our health suffers. A cleansing spring diet kick up, or walk in the bosque when possible, shelhappens to correspond to the foods that would also tered by trees. Wind is the ‘external pathogen’ of make your blood and body alkaline, and thus safer the Wood phase and of spring and can aggravate from disease. the ‘smooth and even flow’ of our lives.

There are several avenues for cleansing, such as juice fasting, minimal eating combined with herbal supplements or teas that aid the organs in releasing toxins, and detoxifying baths, to name a few. Try a bath with one tablespoon each of powdered ginger and baking soda. There are also bath salts available at the Co-op, along with herbal combinations that assist the body in detoxifying. These combinations work well in conjunction with an organic diet that includes cooked whole grains and greens, salads, fruit, raw or lightly steamed veggies. (Check the recipe section in this issue for some great ways to prepare raw food and light cuisine).

Eat small meals more frequently. Add fresh-squeezed lemon and/or lime juice, a dash of salt, and a pinch of stevia or organic sugar to a liter of purified water for

We tend to avoid these windy experiences, much as we shy away from volatile and chaotic situations in other parts of life. Now is an excellent time to contemplate where energy is chaotic and where it is stuck within your body. Note where there is tension or disease and breathe into that place. Take time to sit quietly at some point every day, even if just for a few minutes, and allow the breath to calm your body and clear your mind for making good choices in your life. Open and bring forth what is residing in your heart. Refreshing the physical, emotional, and spiritual body bestows the bounty back to life.

This enables us to drop the burden of toxins and unnecessary thoughts and emotions, and release our dependence on stress as a motivator, so we can be present in life and follow our own unique path.

Let spring set you free!

901 West Alameda, Suite 25 Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 988-8869 www.WomensHealthSantaFe.org

12

may 2006

mother’s day

special

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Women Around the World! his month we celebrate mothers far and wide.

To honor the women of the world it seems only natural to help us do what we all love to do; pamper ourselves. To do just that here are some healthy, natural, easy to prepare beauty treatments gathered from around the world. Take some time to indulge yourself and Happy Mother’s Day to all the women of the world—mothers or not.

T

From Morocco: Rosemary-Orange Exfoliate

From Europe: For Sparkling Eyes

Suggestions: Grind well in a blender, bottle and store. To use, mix a little with milk or water to form a paste, apply to face. Rinse with water or milk.

For relaxation of eyes & lightening the darkened area around eyes: Grate 1/2 cucumber, strain it and store it in the refrigerator. Mix it with an equal quantity of rose water. Use a cotton ball dipped in the lotion, place it on your eyes at least twice a day.

For reducing puffiness of eyes: Dip cotton-wool in the solution of witch-hazel and use as eye pads.

For diffusion of lines along the eyes: Almond, apricot and coconut oils help lubricate the delicate skin around the eyes. Gentle and frequent massage will help.

For removal of flaky swelling, puffiness and irritation: A drop of perfectly fresh castor oil dotted along the eyelids.

For reducing swelling: Strain the juice of grated potato and saturate cotton wool pads with it or lay the grated vegetable on the eye between the muslin.

Slices of raw potato will soothe swollen eyelids and reduce swelling.

From Bulgaria: Mousse for Dry Hair

3 3 1 1 1 1

parts steel cut or whole oats parts organic dried milk or goat milk part sea salt part rosemary part orange peel part: fennel seed

From India: Get Rid of Acne Scars Blend sandalwood paste and rose water and apply on the scars. Keep it on overnight and then wash it off with cold water the next day. This does wonders for your skin! Dried orange peels mixed with milk help reduce blemishes and scarsas well. Wash off after 15 minutes with cold water.

From Pakistan: Remedy for Wrinkles Mash 1/4 banana until very creamy. Spread all over face and leave for 15-20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water followed by a dash of cold. Gently pat dry.

From Egypt: Face Mask 1 egg, beaten 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 1 tablespoon ground oatmeal 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon whole milk

2 tablespoon coconut oil 1 tablespoon jojoba oil 1 drop rose essential oil

Mix everything together until creamy and wellblended. Spread the mixture over your face and neck. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse well with cool water. Pat dry. Enjoy the results!

Stir together all the ingredients to form a nice thick mixture. Apply from roots to end of hair. Cover your hair with a shower cap, the heat will help the oil to penetrate better. Wash and condition your hair as usual.

Thanks to my sisters from around the world for the use of these recipes. For more natural recipes and health resources see my website www.apothe caryschest.com.

by Nalini Goordial

Keshet, Kids and Camp Keshet Dance Company is offering La Montanita Co-op customers a coupon for one FREE community dance class* or $10 off Summer Camp registration. Just come into either Albuquerque Co-op location to receive your coupon.

Keshet Summer Camp: Keshet is offering three one-week sessions from July 17-August 4 for boys and girls, ages 6 and up. Each week focuses on two movement styles, including Hip Hop, Capoeira, African Dance and Drumming, Swing, Breakdance/ Improv, and Modern.

ALSO THIS SUMMER: Evening and weekend classes June 5August 4. Call 224-9808 for more info. *One free community class is valued at $10 when applied to session registration.

Body-Centered Counseling

Integrated Counseling, Therapeutic Bodywork and Movement

Penny Holland M.A., L.P.C.C, L.M.T.

505-265-2256 LPCC Lic. 0494, LMT Lic. 1074

may 2006

13

mother’s day

special

Women’s Health Services: a Community Treasure

W

omen’s Health Services has served the women, children and men of Santa Fe and surrounding counties for over 30 years.

A non-profit that operates without federal funding for direct patient services, WHS accepts and contracts with most major medical insurance companies. WHS also serves uninsured, underinsured and medically indigent patients. In 2001 Women’s Health Services was designated as a National Community Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, one of only 12 in the United States and the only such designee in New Mexico.

Women’s Health Services’ patients come from a variety of backgrounds, and in 2003–2004 there were 18,000 visits from more than 5,500 individuals to our physicians, nurse practitioners, counselors and alternative healthcare providers. With a woman-centered focus, WHS provides quality and accessible healthcare that is accomplished with an excellent staff, affordable services, creative programming, community linkages, and an attitude of caring.

Women’s Health Services integrates care across specialties through a 5-component model: direct services, leadership, professional education, outreach, and research.

WHS incorporates the five components into each patient visit, as well as the structure of the organization and extends the model into the community by working with partners, including Santa Fe’s La Montañita Co-op.

The first component of care is direct services, a one-stop shopping for prevention, diagnosis, and the care of acute and chronic conditions. Included in this is not just an individual’s visit to the doctor, but screenings, group visits and integrated behavioral health.

Women’s Health Services believes that a woman’s reproductive organs are not separate from the rest of her body, but integral to her overall health. Because of this belief, most practitioners provide gynecological care along with primary care practices. Acupuncture and massage are both offered on-site at WHS to complement conventional therapies.

The leadership component is designed to allow all women to become leaders in their lives and in the community, including at their place of employment.

Women’s Health Services provides peer mentoring groups, coaching and leadership workshops. When women become leaders in other parts of their lives, they are better able to effectively care for the health of themselves and their families.

H

The cycle of the seasons is a strong undercurrent affecting our health and state of mind. The cold and monotonous winter creates an air of stagnation in the body. Phlegm, toxins, and detritus can build up due to the lack of activity, lack of sweating, and from cold. Our minds also experience darker days in the winter.

Spring has the nature of bursting forth with new life, a surging of fresh energy. We can use this process of nature to our advantage. Spring is the time to eat cleansing foods regularly and eat what is in season as much

Heart disease risk factors are different for women?

she knows.

Women’s Health Services is now accepting new patients and most major insurance plans.

Dr. Deborah Thompson has joined Women’s Health Services as a Primary Care Physician.

Dr. Thompson received her M.D. from the State University of New York Health Science Center, where she participated in the renowned Rural Medical Education Program. She completed her family practice residency at Fort Collins Family Medicine Residency Program and her general preventive residency at the University of Colorado Health Science Center in Denver.

Dr. Thompson is currently accepting new patients.

A National Community Center of Excellence in Women’s Health

The five-component model reflects the core values of Women’s Health Services in its relationship with patients, partners, the community and the organization. These values include a woman-centered approach and focus, respect for all diversities, activism, organizational and individual well being, the recognition of the importance of social roles and

A non-profit “Center of Excellence“ that, without federal funding, gives medically indigent women in North Central New Mexico the care they need.

Through free public seminars, conferences and health fairs WHS provides outreach and education not only to patients, but also to the community at large.

In addition, WHS advocates for the improvement of women’s healthcare statewide through its work with the Commission on the Status of Women to implement a State Office of Women’s Health.

Women’s Health Services provides professional education through residency training, in-services and conferences that reach over 275 community physicians, medical students and residents.

T

he last component of the model is research. Women’s Health Services partners with the University of New Mexico to research women’s health issues, collect data, and research patient and staff satisfaction within the organization. Ad-

Spring Cleaning: Season to Release

by Ashwin Sun, Valley Produce ave you ever felt too tense to open up to a change in your life? Too full to make available any room for something new? Well, now is your chance, for it is spring again! With the passing of allergy season near, late spring is the ultimate time to release, cleanse, and regenerate by cleansing body and mind of accumulated toxins.

ditionally, WHS is leading a study on the effectiveness of a topical treatment of cold sores and is currently looking for participants.

as possible, as the season produces what the body needs most. Foods that are in season and cleansing include all kinds of greens and lettuces, asparagus, and sprouts, all excellent for purifying the blood and liver and other organs.

The liver is vital for this season. The nature of spring and that of the liver walk hand in hand, under the same elemental phase of Wood.

The breaking of the ground via sprouts and stalks (wood) is the primary symbol of this phase and season of life. Thus we want to break through inertia, toxic accumulations, and mental sluggishness with fresh energy for the upcoming year.

the environment in healthcare, the inclusion of a full range of healing practices and philosophy, and the respectful use of power.

A

s a non-profit charitable organization, Women’s Health Services continues to raise funds that will allow indigent patients to be served, since federal funding is not available to the organization, making WHS one of the very few practices seeing a large proportion of Medicaid and Medicare patients without federal support. Other goals of fundraising include continuing to provide free health education and preventive care, continuing the partnership with RIOS Net at University of New Mexico to research important women’s health issues, and the recertification of Women’s Health Services as a National Community Center of Excellence in Women’s Health upon review in 2006.

Most of the staff of Doctors and Certified Nurse Practitioners, including Dr. Deborah Thompson, who joined the staff this year, are currently accepting new patients. Contact them at 505-988-8869.

a daily cleansing drink. Chlorophyll, wheat grass, kelp, and burdock root also speed the process of purification.

Exercise that brings on a sweat can dramatically aid in opening the body, getting the lymph moving and releasing toxins from deep within the core of the body. Massage therapy is another excellent aid in getting the blood moving and releasing toxins.

Acupuncture treatments move energy through the meridians, thoroughly addressing both the biological and emotional body on a deep level.

Consider the state of your home, and how energy may get stuck in some places. Clear pathways and areas under the bed or other furniture of clutter and dust, and consider freeing your home of what is seldom used as part of the cleansing process.

By checking the pH level of your body, you can also insure Greens: the effectiveness of your digesa cleansing tion, skin health, and bone Daily walks synchronize the food density. If our physical bodies movement of your body with run in the acidic side of the pH the movement of spring, but scale for too long, we lose our watch out for the New Mexico ability to compensate in face of disease-causing winds. Try early morning walks, before the winds agents and our health suffers. A cleansing spring diet kick up, or walk in the bosque when possible, shelhappens to correspond to the foods that would also tered by trees. Wind is the ‘external pathogen’ of make your blood and body alkaline, and thus safer the Wood phase and of spring and can aggravate from disease. the ‘smooth and even flow’ of our lives.

There are several avenues for cleansing, such as juice fasting, minimal eating combined with herbal supplements or teas that aid the organs in releasing toxins, and detoxifying baths, to name a few. Try a bath with one tablespoon each of powdered ginger and baking soda. There are also bath salts available at the Co-op, along with herbal combinations that assist the body in detoxifying. These combinations work well in conjunction with an organic diet that includes cooked whole grains and greens, salads, fruit, raw or lightly steamed veggies. (Check the recipe section in this issue for some great ways to prepare raw food and light cuisine).

Eat small meals more frequently. Add fresh-squeezed lemon and/or lime juice, a dash of salt, and a pinch of stevia or organic sugar to a liter of purified water for

We tend to avoid these windy experiences, much as we shy away from volatile and chaotic situations in other parts of life. Now is an excellent time to contemplate where energy is chaotic and where it is stuck within your body. Note where there is tension or disease and breathe into that place. Take time to sit quietly at some point every day, even if just for a few minutes, and allow the breath to calm your body and clear your mind for making good choices in your life. Open and bring forth what is residing in your heart. Refreshing the physical, emotional, and spiritual body bestows the bounty back to life.

This enables us to drop the burden of toxins and unnecessary thoughts and emotions, and release our dependence on stress as a motivator, so we can be present in life and follow our own unique path.

Let spring set you free!

901 West Alameda, Suite 25 Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 988-8869 www.WomensHealthSantaFe.org

12

may 2006

mother’s day

special

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Women Around the World! his month we celebrate mothers far and wide.

To honor the women of the world it seems only natural to help us do what we all love to do; pamper ourselves. To do just that here are some healthy, natural, easy to prepare beauty treatments gathered from around the world. Take some time to indulge yourself and Happy Mother’s Day to all the women of the world—mothers or not.

T

From Morocco: Rosemary-Orange Exfoliate

From Europe: For Sparkling Eyes

Suggestions: Grind well in a blender, bottle and store. To use, mix a little with milk or water to form a paste, apply to face. Rinse with water or milk.

For relaxation of eyes & lightening the darkened area around eyes: Grate 1/2 cucumber, strain it and store it in the refrigerator. Mix it with an equal quantity of rose water. Use a cotton ball dipped in the lotion, place it on your eyes at least twice a day.

For reducing puffiness of eyes: Dip cotton-wool in the solution of witch-hazel and use as eye pads.

For diffusion of lines along the eyes: Almond, apricot and coconut oils help lubricate the delicate skin around the eyes. Gentle and frequent massage will help.

For removal of flaky swelling, puffiness and irritation: A drop of perfectly fresh castor oil dotted along the eyelids.

For reducing swelling: Strain the juice of grated potato and saturate cotton wool pads with it or lay the grated vegetable on the eye between the muslin.

Slices of raw potato will soothe swollen eyelids and reduce swelling.

From Bulgaria: Mousse for Dry Hair

3 3 1 1 1 1

parts steel cut or whole oats parts organic dried milk or goat milk part sea salt part rosemary part orange peel part: fennel seed

From India: Get Rid of Acne Scars Blend sandalwood paste and rose water and apply on the scars. Keep it on overnight and then wash it off with cold water the next day. This does wonders for your skin! Dried orange peels mixed with milk help reduce blemishes and scarsas well. Wash off after 15 minutes with cold water.

From Pakistan: Remedy for Wrinkles Mash 1/4 banana until very creamy. Spread all over face and leave for 15-20 minutes before rinsing off with warm water followed by a dash of cold. Gently pat dry.

From Egypt: Face Mask 1 egg, beaten 1/2 teaspoon olive oil 1 tablespoon ground oatmeal 1/4 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon whole milk

2 tablespoon coconut oil 1 tablespoon jojoba oil 1 drop rose essential oil

Mix everything together until creamy and wellblended. Spread the mixture over your face and neck. Leave it on for 15 minutes. Rinse well with cool water. Pat dry. Enjoy the results!

Stir together all the ingredients to form a nice thick mixture. Apply from roots to end of hair. Cover your hair with a shower cap, the heat will help the oil to penetrate better. Wash and condition your hair as usual.

Thanks to my sisters from around the world for the use of these recipes. For more natural recipes and health resources see my website www.apothe caryschest.com.

by Nalini Goordial

Keshet, Kids and Camp Keshet Dance Company is offering La Montanita Co-op customers a coupon for one FREE community dance class* or $10 off Summer Camp registration. Just come into either Albuquerque Co-op location to receive your coupon.

Keshet Summer Camp: Keshet is offering three one-week sessions from July 17-August 4 for boys and girls, ages 6 and up. Each week focuses on two movement styles, including Hip Hop, Capoeira, African Dance and Drumming, Swing, Breakdance/ Improv, and Modern.

ALSO THIS SUMMER: Evening and weekend classes June 5August 4. Call 224-9808 for more info. *One free community class is valued at $10 when applied to session registration.

Body-Centered Counseling

Integrated Counseling, Therapeutic Bodywork and Movement

Penny Holland M.A., L.P.C.C, L.M.T.

505-265-2256 LPCC Lic. 0494, LMT Lic. 1074

may 2006

13

community

forum

may 2006 14

agua es vida

For the Love of a River Member of International Society of Arboriculture and Society of Commercial Arboriculture ISA Certified, Licensed & Insured

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continued from page 3 Rio Grande Compact Commission, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Texas Water Commission (now the Texas Water Development Board).

I

n May of that year, Jeff Whitney, the new MRG Bosque Coordinator invited researchers, water managers, and bosque advocates to Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge for a two-day brainstorming session. Contrary to the casual perception that work on the Rio Grande was standing still, a startling number of activities meeting the intent of the Bosque Biological Management Plan were underway. The Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, USGS, the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, the City of Albuquerque, the MRGCD, the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost universities, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research Center, Sandia National Labs, and a host of non-governmental groups were collaborating in scores of combinations.

Attendees at the Sevilleta retreat assessed the management planâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s twenty-one recommendations and singled out priorities for the near future. These included establishing an overall bosque monitoring program and a central repository for the data; supporting local interest groups involved in riparian restoration; updating vegetation classification and mapping done in the early 1980s and identifying sites for revegetation; studying the potential for relocating the levee and Low Flow Conveyance Channel south of Bosque del Apache to expand the floodplain; and finding a means of participating in the allocation of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discretionary funds for the bosque.

The ideas that surfaced at the Sevilleta retreat were a remarkable augury of things to come, but the symposiumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real accomplishment was the formation of the Bosque Improvement Group (BIG). Conceived as an inclusive think tank open to anyone who wanted to show up, BIG quickly became a workhorse for the bosque, and its ad hoc membership still meets annually to review prospective proposals and to distribute federal funds to an impressive array of habitat enhancement, research, monitoring, and public outreach projects.

One thing that was needed was a unified water operations model into which the Bureau of Reclamation, the Corps of

Engineers, and other entities could all enter data. By the following year, a Memorandum of Understanding would be signed by the Bureau of Reclamation, the Corps, U.S. Fish & Wildlife, USGS, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs agreeing to cooperate in creating such an instrument. The International Boundary and Water Commission soon joined the project as well, and work on the Upper Rio Grande Water Operations Model (URGWOM) began. Amid the anxiety engendered by the minnow and river restoration, URGWOM represented a patch of safe ground on which those involved in stickier issues could meet and agree. Ultimately, it would account for inflows and outflows to the system; storage levels at Heron, Abiquiu, Cochiti, Jemez Canyon, Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs; floodwater; irrigation diversions and return flows; San Juan-Chama diversions; and interstate compact and treaty flows on their way to downstream users. Aside from providing a testing ground for a variety of management approaches and scenarios, the model had the potential for becoming the common language among a myriad of agencies with missions on the Rio Grande. oon after the New Year of 1996, the City of Albuquerque released a report called, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Value of Waterâ&#x20AC;? (Brown et al., 1996) to point the way toward prudent resource management and to help determine the tradeoffs involved in adopting one strategy over another.

The report offered the following key observations:

S

â&#x20AC;˘ Albuquerque citizens need to make a fundamental change in how they see groundwater underlying the city.

The aquifer cannot be, perpetually, the sole source of water supply. It can, however, be a reserve for the present and for the future. â&#x20AC;˘ An inclusive public process is needed to determine acceptable tradeoffs among urban, agricultural and riparian water users. â&#x20AC;˘ Albuquerque and other Middle Valley water providers should send accurate price signals to water users about the economic value of water that reflect those tradeoffs.

That report came none too soon: 1996 would be the first drought year in nearly twenty.

Watch for Aqua es Vida: For the Love of a River Part II: Flowing into the 21st Century, in the June Issue of the Coop Connection News.

Bosque Education Guide

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n enduring product of the Bosque Initiative is a loose-leaf workbook called the Bosque Education Guide (Morris et al., 1995 and 2003), a treasury of information, experiments, activities, and thought-provoking questions aimed at expanding citizen understanding of and appreciation for the riparian forest of the Middle Rio Grande. Created by several educators and bosque advocates in 1995, with a second edition in 2003, the Guide serves as a basis for classroom and field studies from kindergarten to high school, and has gently widened the horizons of numerous adults as well, through programs at the Rio Grande Nature Center and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. Through its pages and accompanying training workshops, local teachers are given grounding in geology, hydrology, biology and history, which together define the Rio Grande bosque.

To utilize the Guide in your classroom or organization contact Rebecca at the Rio Grande Nature Center at 344-7240.

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SHOP COOP AND SAVE SHOP COOP AND SAVE

community

forum

may 2006 15

Statewide

NEW Nob Hill Growers Market at the wonderful fruits of this beautiful middle Rio Grande Morningside Park and Valley. Share your passion for the tastiest, freshest, healthiA new farmer’s market is scheduled to open in the Nob Hill Neighborhood. Every Thursday afternoon from May through November, 3pm-7pm, your favorite local growers and producers will come together in Morningside park (between Lead and Central) to offer their finest fruits, vegetables, jams, salsas, flowers and much more for sale at Albuquerque’s newest farmer’s market.

est local produce around, straight from the farm to your table -without a 3000 mile journey in between! Shop alongside the premier chef’s of the city as they search for the finest ingredients to bring back to their kitchens. La Montanita Co-op will be offering delectable sweet treats, Fair Trade Coffee, sandwiches and other great locally prepared and organic goodies.

We are looking forward to having produce from Amyo Farms, Chispas Farms, Los Poblanos Organics, as well as jams and raspberries from Heidi’s Raspberry Farm, just to name a few.

Join friends and neighbors to celebrate local farms, farmers

MARK YOUR CALENDAR for the opening day of this newest Grower’s Market, May 18, 3pm-7pm. Enjoy the fine company, the sunny summer weather and the most beautiful produce in town. For more info please contact Eli Berg at 247-4088.

Opening Day: May 18

SEED Conference: Back to an Ancient Future

GREEN BUILT TOUR

GET YOUR TICKETS AT THE CO-OP SEE PAGE 1

by Frances McCain and Robin Globus o Native American languages and cosmologies hold the keys to the mysteries of quantum physics and the nature of reality? The late professor and consciousness linguist Dan ‘Moonhawk’ Alford’s studies of Native languages in the early part of the 20th century revealed a language structure quite dissimilar from Indo-European languages, but strikingly capable of describing the dynamic world of quantum physics, at a time when physicists were lamenting their inability to describe the same realm in conventional language.

such gathering, called Language of Spirit Conference, to be held August 12-15 here in Albuquerque at the new Embassy Suites Hotel.

Rediscover the Natural World!

This year, speakers include Institute of Noetic Sciences founder and Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, former Navajo Nation Supreme Court Justice Robert Yazzie, Laguna poet and author Linda Hogan, and the philosopher Ashok Gangadean (to name a few). Blackfoot elder Leroy Little Bear, former Director of Native Studies at Harvard University, will moderate the dialogue.

Nature’s oldest, safest and most effective method of insect control

Picking up from where Moonhawk’s work left off, this summer SEED Graduate Institute will sponsor a unique gathering where Native American scholars, educators and spiritual elders sit in dialogue with Western scientists, linguists and the general public. In these dialogues, participants bring their knowledge and presence to inquire into subjects such as the relationships between language, meaning, worldviews, consciousness and science. This summer will mark the eighth

Conference dialogues are structured around an “inner circle” consisting of an invited group of scientists, native elders, linguists and other distinguished guests, and an “outer circle” of audience members, who both listen and participate.

D

For more information about this event, visit SEED’s website at www.seedgraduateinstitute.org or contact SEED at 505792-2900.

Peacecraft Celebrates International Fair Trade Day On May 13th, Peacecraft will have children’s activities in recognition of International Fair Trade Day. The first 50 children to visit Peacecraft will receive a Fair Trade Gift Bag! International Fair Trade Day is a global recognition of the role of Fair Trade in alleviating poverty, promoting social justice and creating economic and ecological sustainability for artists, craftspeople, and their families around the world. Many of Peacecraft’s coops initiate reforestation projects, offer healthcare and education to their communities, and promote eco-

nomic stability which in turn, promotes peace in their community and beyond. Peacecraft is one of those very special places in Albuquerque where you can shop with a conscience, promoting an equitable and just economic exchange between people all over the world through Fair Trade.

DEHYDRATION…

Control Bugs In Your Garden & Field Crops Protects Stored Grain From Bugs Kills Fleas And Ticks On Animals & In Living Areas The Alternative to Conventional Insecticides

505-203-7779 www.Perma-Guard.com

For the finest Fair Trade hand-made gifts, clothing, books and more go to the Peacecraft store at 3215 Central Ave. For more information on International Fair Trade Day contact Dawni Bennett at 255-5229.

ORGANIC PRODUCTS FOR ORGANIC LIFE

Gorilla Theater: Kids Comedy Camp Wondering what to do with the kids now that school is out? Gorilla Theater is pleased to offer their Kids Theater Comedy Camp.

Focused on developing theater-oriented skills, campers will work to enhance listening, concentration, teamwork, and creative problem solving through easy to understand, fun improv and theater exercises. They will also learn the fine art of sketch comedy writing. The final product will be a combination of staged read-

ings and performances of students' sketches performed by camp participants.

The Gorilla Theater camps run for one week in June from the 5th-9th, and one week in July from the 10th-14th. Classes will be taught by Doug Montoya and Jason Witter. For more info, fee schedules and registration contact: Kelly Williams 245-8600, or kelly @gorillatango.com

La Tierra Torture Mountain Bike Race The La Tierra Torture Mountain Bike Race will be held on June 4th 2006, in conjunction with National Trails Day. The race will be held at La Tierra Open Space, west of Route 599 in Santa Fe. The race, an event for mountain bikers of all levels, will consist of beginner, intermediate and expert/Pro classes. The race will be part of the New Mexico off-road series.

All funds donated or collected in entrance fees in excess of what is needed to stage the event will be donated to non-profit organizations through the Santa Fe Conservation Trust. The race is limited to the first 250 people who register. To register, make a donation or for more information please contact Jan Bear 505-670-4665.

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Provides the on-going nutritional calories necessary for the Soil Food Web! TO FIND A DEALER NEAR YOU, PLEASE CALL 505.907.9070 OR 505.321.3717 OR E-MAIL US AT environmentalenhancers@hotmail.com OR webehumus@hotmail.com NM Organic Commodities Commission (NMOCC) approved.

Meets or exceeds the USDA’s National Organic Program (NOP) regulations

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Green Built Tours

La Montanita Co-op Food Market 303 san Mateo NE Suite 201 Alb NM 87108

May 20-21 get tickets at the

Co-ops in

Albuquerque and

Santa Fe Enjoy a Co-op Lunch at Ecoversity in Santa Fe

Shop your Co-op !

12 GREAT REASONS TO BE A CO-OP MEMBER: 1. YOUR CHANCE TO SUPPORT ASTORE that is committed to bringing you the highest quality organic produce, antibiotic and hormone -free meats, rBGH- free dairy products, imported and domestic chesses, healthiest grocery, bulk foods, fresh deli and juices, natural body care cosmetics, vitamins, herbs and more!

2. Member Refund Program: At the end of each fiscal year, if earnings are sufficient, refunds are returned to members based on purchases.

3. Pick-Up Our Monthly Newsletter full of information on food, health, environment and your Co-op.

4. Weekly Member-Only Coupon Specials as featured in our Weekly Sales Flyer. Pick it up every week at either location to save more than your annual membership fee each week.

5. Easy Check Writing AND CASH ($40) over purchase amount. We also accept ATM cards, VISA and MasterCard.

6. Banking Membership at New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, with many Albuquerque branches to serve you.

7. Insurance and Financial Counseling: Call Robin Chall 823-9537 8. Free delivery for seniors, housebound and differently-abled people.

9. MEMBER- ONLY DISCOUNT DAYS: Take advantage of our special discount events for members only â&#x20AC;&#x201D; throughout the year!

10. Special Orders: You can special order large quantities or hard-to-find items, at a 10% discount for members.

11. General Membership Meetings, Board positions and voting. Co-ops are democratic organizations; your participation is encouraged.

12. Membership Participation Program: Members can earn discount credit through our community outreach committees or skilled member participation program. Please ask at the Info Desk for details.

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Nob Hill: Central & Carlisle, 505-265-4631 Valley: Rio Grande & Matthew, 505-242-8800 Wild Sage: Gallup, 505-863-5383 Market Place: Santa Fe, 505-984-2852