La Montanita Coop Connection February, 2007 by La Montanita Coop

The New Mexico Or ganic Far ming

Conference by Joanie Quinn, New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission

gain this year, Farm to Table, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission and the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service have joined forces to organize the upcoming New Mexico Organic Farming Conference. The conference brings together farmers, ranchers, market gardeners, ag professionals and others interested in organic and sustainable agriculture. The gathering will be held at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid, February 16-17, 2007. La Montanita Co-op Natural Foods Market and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture are sponsoring the gathering. The conference opens Friday, February 16th, with a welcome by Dr. I. Miley Gonzalez, New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture. Secretary Gonzalez’s opening remarks will be followed by 16 workshops including: Saving Seeds for Local Adaptation; What We’re Doing to Buy Local—A Panel of Retail Buyers (which will include a presentation by CE Pugh, La Montanita Co-op’s General Manager, speaking on the new Co-op distribution network for local products); Top Vegetable Varieties for New Mexico Organic Production; and AgroEco Health Check for Your Farm (with Miguel Altieri).

knowledge of indigenous peoples, protects the environment, and promotes social equity. Following the keynote address, Saturday’s 16 workshop sessions will include: Enhancing Biodiversity to Ecologically Manage Insects On Your Farm; Cover or Smother — Weeds, Cover Cropping and Panel Production; Help for Southwest Soils; Grafting Fruit Trees; Wrigglers: Adding Vermiculture to the Mix; and Incorporating Bees on Your Organic Farm. Registration for the conference, including Saturday’s lunch is $100. To download a copy of the conference brochure go to http://nmdaweb.nmsu.edu/pdf/Org% 20farming%20conf.pdf. For more information call 841-

Miguel Altieri, Associate Professor of AgroEcology in the College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley, will deliver the conference keynote address. Altieri has a world-wide reputation for developing the concept of “AgroEcology,” which respects the

9067, email joan.quinn@state.nm.us, or look for conference brochures at the Co-op. To make hotel reservations, call (800) 262-2043 and say you are part of the Organic Conference to get the special room rate.

Love Your River Day

Feb. 10

Join the Santa Fe Watershed Association and the Adopt-theRiver Stewards for a day of river clean-up. Co-op Volunteers interested in helping to clean-up the reach of the Santa Fe River adopted by the Co-op on Feb. 10th at 10am please contact Robyn at 877-775-2667. Volunteers working on this stretch will receive 18% discount shopping credit for each hour worked. Call the Santa Fe Watershed Association 820-1696 for more information.

Food-shed Pr oject Update: Co-op Hosts Hospitality Room at Conference by Robyn Seydel s part of our regional food-shed project the Co-op will host a Hospitality Room for farmers, ranchers and processors that are attending the New Mexico Organic Farming Conference on February 16th and 17th. We invite all interested producers to visit with us in the Aztec Room at the conference to find out how they can participate in this food shed project. The Co-op foodshed project seeks to provide benefits for producers by providing access to stable markets and help with both trucking and marketing. For consumers the project seeks to provide as much fresh, local food as possible while building a sustainable local and rural economic base.

While we have wonderful, ongoing relationships with over 350 regional producers, we are looking forward to expanding our set of connections to provide the necessary diversity for year round local eating. We hope this hospitality room opportunity will help jump start our work of building the food–shed network necessary for the project’s success. Last year over 500 farmers, ranchers and producers from all over the southwest attended the conference. This year we hope to meet as many farmers as possible to discuss both what they are passionate about growing, what is needed in the local market that is not yet being grown and how we can work together to

increase the diversity of local production and expand markets for local producers and products. Speaking on the “What We are Doing to Buy Local” panel on Fri. Feb, 16th at 10am is CE Pugh, our General Manager. We hope this will allow local producers to get a good introduction to our Food-shed Project and want to thank conference organizers for this opportunity. Also on hand to meet with local growers will be our new Development Coordinator Steve Warshawer, and our Cooperative Distribution Center(CDC, i.e. the warehouse) manager Michelle Franklin as well as other members of our Senior leadership team and department purchasers.

he Hospitality Room and Co-op staff will be available for farmers interested in finding our more or getting involved with the Co-op Food-shed project on both days of the Conference from about 9:30am to 5pm. The conference has been getting bigger and better (and more crowded) every year. If you have any trouble finding the Co-op Hospitality Room at the Conference, please look for our La Montanita information booth with the other exhibits in the general exhibit area and we’ll be

CO-OP Spring Festivals

COMING SOON! SAVE THE

DATES Valley Co-op’s 8th Annual Garden Party Sat. March 31 10am-3pm Nob Hill Co-op’s 18th Annual Celebrate the Earth Festival Sun. April 22 10:30am-6pm Space fills quickly so farmers, gardeners, artists, and environmental and social justice organizations please reserve your FREE space early. To reserve your space contact Robyn at 217-2027. Or call toll free 877-775-2667

happy to walk you over. Join us for a cup of coffee/tea, light snacks and great conversation on building a regional food-shed and how it can benefit your farm. If you would like to schedule a special time to meet with our Co-op staff at the Conference, please call Robyn at 217-2027 or toll free at 877-775-2667 so we can accommodate your schedule.

the more you

February is Member Appreciation

volume discount

Shopping Month Watch your home mailbox for your volume discount shopping coupon. Bring it to any Co-op location during the month of October and get up to 20% off one shopping trip at the

Bigger, Better Discount Scale! The more you spend the more you save! Up to 20%!!! $0.00-$74.99: get 10% off • $75-$149.99: get 15% off • $150 +: get 20% off!

spend

the more you

save

biotech news A Community - Owned Natural Foods Grocery Store La Montanita Cooperative Albuquerque/ 7am-10pm M-S, 8am-10pm Sun. 3500 Central SE Albuq., NM 87106 265-4631

Clones

Dinner come to

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

Editor’s Note: The below information has been edited together from sources at the Center for Food Safety and the Cornucopia Institute.

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

Santa Fe/ 7am-10pm M-S, 8am-10pm Sun. 913 West Alameda Santa Fe, NM 87501 984-2852 Cooperative Distribution Center 3361 Columbia NE, Albuq., NM 87107 217-2001 Administrative Staff: 505-217-2001 TOLL FREE: 877-775-2667 (COOP) • General Manager/C.E. Pugh 217-2020 ce@lamontanitacoop.com • Controller/John Heckes 217-2026 johnh@lamontanitacoop.com • Computers/Info Technology/ Mark Bieri 217-2011 computers@lamontanitacoop.com • Human Resources/Sharret Rose 217-2023 hr@lamontanitacoop.com • Marketing/Edite Cates 217-2024 editec@lamontanitacoop.com • Membership/Robyn Seydel 217-2027 robins@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 • Tracy Thomasson/Gallup 863-5383 tracyt@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 Lonn Calanca 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 robins@lamontanitacoop.com Layout and Design: foxyrock inc Covers and Centerfold: Edite Cates Advertising: Robyn Seydel Editorial Assistant: Stephanie Clayton stephaniec@lamontanitacoop.com 217-2016 Printing: Vanguard Press Membership information is available at all four Co-op locations, or call 217-2027 or 877-775-2667 email: memb@lamontanitacoop.com Membership response to the newsletter is appreciated. Address typed, double-spaced copy to the Managing Editor, robins@lamontanitacoop.com website: www.lamontanitacoop.com Copyright © 2007 La Montanita Co-op Supermarket Reprints by prior permission. The Co-op Connection is printed on 65% post consumer recycled paper. It is recyclable.

n December 26, 2006, just as most of us were enjoying the leftovers from our holiday meal, the Bush Administration’s FDA Chief released a preliminary safety assessment, “The Draft Animal Cloning Risk Assessment Report” that clears the way for the commercialization and marketing of meat and dairy products from cloned animals for human consumption. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) writes “The Assessment and the agency’s expected endorsement of cloned food comes despite widespread concern among

scientists and food safety advocates over the safety of such products. The move to market cloned milk and meat also flies in the face of dairy and food industry concern and recent consumer opinion polls showing that most Americans do not want these experimental foods.” A November 2006 food industry poll conducted by the International Food Information Council showed that 58% of Americans surveyed would be unlikely to buy meat or milk from animal clones even if FDA found such products to be safe. In the same poll, only 16% of Americans had a favorable opinion of animal cloning. A December 2006 poll by the Pew Initiative found that 64% of those polled were uncomfortable with animal cloning, with 43% saying that cloned food is unsafe, while another 36% felt unsure about cloned food safety. The cloning process is accomplished through the implanting of an adult somatic cell from the preferred donor animal into the uterus of the female. An electric current is run through the somatic cell to spark cell division prior to its placement in the female. The animals birthed by the process carry the hopes of scientists and industry seeking replication and perpetuation of high-production dairy cows, superior breeding stock, and other prized genetic traits. The FDA’s action also follows growing opposition to the use of clones and their progeny for food products on Capitol Hill. In November, Senator Barbara Mikulski sent a letter to the FDA requesting a complete overview of how the agency came to its decision of using clones in food. In early December, a bi-partisan group of seven senators led by Senator Patrick Leahy asked FDA to reconsider its assessment of cloned animals. The International Dairy Foods Association, representing major dairies and food makers including Kraft and Nestle also have opposed allowing products from cloned animals into the food supply at this time.

FDA Clears the way for Human Consumption Cloning scientists have acknowledged that genetic abnormalities are common in clones, yet FDA failed to address how food safety and animal welfare concerns could be managed if cloning is widely adopted by the livestock industry. Some of the health and safety problems in animal cloning include: • Surrogate mothers are treated with high doses of hormones; clones are often born with severely compromised immune systems and frequently receive massive doses of antibiotics. This opens an avenue for large amounts of veterinary pharmaceuticals to enter the human food supply; • Imbalances in clones’ hormone, protein, and/or fat levels could compromise the quality and safety of meat and milk; • The National Academy of Sciences warned that commercialization of cloned livestock for food production could increase the incidence of food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli infections; • Cloning commonly results in high failure rates and defects such as intestinal blockages; diabetes; shortened tendons; deformed feet; weakened immune systems; dysfunctional hearts, brains, livers, and kidneys; respiratory distress; and circulatory problems. Other information on animal cloning gathered by the Center for Food safety includes: • 64% of cattle, 40% of sheep, and 93% of cloned mice exhibit some form of abnormality, with a large percentage of the animals dying There is during gestation or shortly after widespread birth concern about • High rates of late abortion and early prenatal death, with failure the safety of rates of 95% to 97% in most eating cloned mammal cloning attempts foods. • Defects such as grossly oversized calves, enlarged tongues, squashed faces, intestinal blockages, immune deficiencies, and diabetes are common • When cloning does not produce a normal animal, many of the difficult pregnancies cause physical suffering or death to the surrogat mothers It is questionable whether engaging this technology, with its collateral damage to both mothers and offspring, could ever meet the definition of humane animal husbandry.

here are other concerns as well. Cloning may lead to the dramatic loss of genetic diversity in livestock, with farmers and our nation’s food supply left susceptible to devastating epidemics due to a shrunken gene pool. Cloning is also dependent on the heavy use of artificial hormones to enable the reproductive process and to induce labor in the mother. Calling cloned foods “virtually indistinguishable,” the FDA has no announced intention of requiring an identifying label on cloned food products. Just because the FDA calls the animals “virtually indistinguishable” does not mean that there may not be subtle sub-clinical physiological or biochemical anomalies. Scientists suggest such anomalies could include alterations in key proteins and other molecules, affecting the nutritional content of food and leading to dietary imbalances. FDA also is not proposing a tracking system for cloned foods that would allow for tracing back to the source should any problems develop. This is particularly troubling in that they assume that only healthy cloned animals and food will enter the food stream. Lastly, there is no guarantee that some aspects of cloning will not creep into organic food. For example, a cloned bull could potentially be used to impregnate dairy cows as high-production operations seek ways to further maximize their facility’s milk production, and those offspring could, under the USDA’s present lax enforcement standards, find their way into organic production.

cloning: not compatible with humane animal welfare

more biotech news

Franken Wines

According to Dr. Joseph Cummins, emeritus genetics Professor at the University of Western Ontario, wine yeasts are unstable, and genetically altering them can lead to unexpected toxicity in the final product.

to hit US this year

CONSUMERS BEWARE: the Frankenwines are coming. As with other genetically engineered food, there will be no labeling required on wines that, for the first time, will contain gene-altered yeast. The FDA has carried out no studies of its own on the experimental yeast, and yet has approved it as “safe,” based completely on data provided by the company selling the product.

Genetically engineered yeast is banned in every nation in the world, other than in North America, so the use of the controversial yeast by a few large domestic wineries will likely damage the entire U.S. wine industry, as concerned wine consumers move to avoid GE-tainted wines. More info: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/arti cle_3682.cfm.

Drawing: by Cirrelda Snider-Bryan

February 2007

biotech news Tell FDA

NO to Cloned Animals in Food and Food Production

take

Action! Public Comment Period Ends April 2, 2007 The Food and Drug Administration has given preliminary approval to the use of cloned animals for food. According to the agency’s chief of veterinary medicine, milk and meat from cloned cows, pigs, and goats, and from their offspring, are as safe to eat as the food we eat every day. Consumers and the public now have until April 2, 2007, to send comments to the FDA concerning their Draft Animal Cloning Risk Assessment report. Email comments may be sent to clones@cvm.fda. gov. Written comments can be sent to: Docket No. 2003N-0573 Division of Dockets Management (HFA-

a sample

Letter

Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D Commissioner Food and Drug Administration Dear Dr. Eschenbach, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced its approval of meat and dairy products from cloned animals amid widespread concern among scientists and food safety advocates. Despite recent consumer opinion polls showing that most Americans do not want food from cloned animals, cloned milk may soon be sold, unlabeled, in grocery stores across the country, and cloned meat will be next. Scientists say that clones may be inherently unhealthy, with potentially harmful consequences for animal foods derived from clones. Moreover, animal cloning is a cruel technology that results in needless animal suffering. The first cloned mammal was the famed sheep Dolly. But after the hype, few followed the story of Dolly’s demise. Just six years old when euthanized (sheep of Dolly’s breed generally live to 11 or 12), Dolly suffered from arthritis and lung disease usually seen in much older animals. Sadly, Dolly is not unique among clones. Leading cloning scientists say clones are likely to carry genetic abnormalities, and the lead scientist responsible for creating Dolly has warned that even small imbalances in a clone’s hormone, protein or fat levels could compromise the safety of its milk or meat.

305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Be sure to reference Docket No. 2003N-0573 in either your written or e-mail comments. The FDA will also accept telephone messages of up to 3 minutes on the draft cloning report at this number: 240-453-6842. Look for letter writing tables at the Co-op nearest you. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Go to the Center for Food Safety’s web page at www.centerforfoodsafety.org, www.organicconsumers.org, or www.cornucopia.org or call 608-625-2042. Other information and sources for cloning information on these pages can be found at the following sites: Letter from Senator Patrick Leahy, et al to Dept of Health and Human Services at http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200612/ Leahy% 20Letter%20to% The International Food Information Council poll report and results are at http://ific.org/research/upload/2006%20Biotech%20 Consumer The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology poll and results are at http://pewagbiotech.org/research/2006update/

It appears that once again the FDA has seemingly ignored scientific and public concerns and fast-tracked a decision for the benefit of a handful of cloning companies. It’s time for FDA to put the health and welfare of Americans over corporate profits.

Valley

The realities of cloning include some disturbing phenomena: • 64% of cattle, 40% of sheep, and 93% of cloned mice exhibit some form of abnormality, with a large percentage of the animals dying during gestation or shortly after birth • High rates of late abortion and early prenatal death, with failure rates of 95% to 97% in most mammal cloning attempts • Defects such as grossly oversized calves, enlarged tongues, squashed faces, intestinal blockages, immune deficiencies, and diabetes • When cloning does not produce a normal animal, many of the difficult pregnancies cause physical suffering or death to the surrogate mothers

Gallup

Dolly

There are other concerns, as well. Cloning may lead to the dramatic loss of genetic diversity in livestock, leaving farmers and our nation’s food supply susceptible to devastating epidemics due to a monoculture gene pool. Cloning is also dependent on the heavy use of artificial hormones to enable the reproductive process and to induce labor in the mother.

Santa Fe

Do not approve the commercialization of cloned animals for human or other consumption. Cloning is inhumane and incompatible with basic animal welfare, and the health and safety issues of this relatively new animal breeding technology put all consumers at risk. I will not knowingly purchase or eat meat or milk from animals that have been cloned. Respectfully submitted, your name and address

volunteers

needed ... mad cow

Interested in personing a table at any of your Co-ops to help generate letters to the FDA on this issue. Please contact Robin at 217-2027 or outside of ABQ toll free at 877-7752667.

FOR CO-OP LETTER WRITING TABLES

Solution?

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.

genetically engineered cannibal cows

GENETICALLY ENGINEERED CANNIBAL COWS xperts have long agreed that the fatal brainwasting disease called Mad Cow is spread by the routine practice on industrial farms of feeding cows to cows—essentially turning natural herbivores into cannibals. (This practice of course is banned on organic farms.) Now a group of industry-friendly scientists have come up with a “solution” to the problem. Instead of discontinuing the practice of force-feeding bovine herbivores blood, manure, and slaughterhouse waste, scientists claim they have successfully genetically engineered a new cow that will not contract Mad Cow Disease, even when fed infected meat from Mad cows.

Scientists have genetically engineered the cows to be born without normal nervous system prions, which go awry when an animal catches the disease. Prion-protein-negative cattle could be a

preferred source of a wide variety of bovine-derived products that have been extensively used in biotechnology, such as milk, gelatin, collagen, serum and plasma.. Yoshimi Kuroiwa, of Kirin Brewery Company in Tokyo, and colleagues made the cattle, known as “knockouts” because a specific gene has been “knocked” out of them, using a method they call gene targeting. Writing in the journal Nature Biotechnology, the researchers said their cattle were healthy at nearly two years old and sperm from the males made normal embryos that were used to impregnate cows, although it is not certain yet that they could breed normally. For more information go to http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_ 3750.cfm.

Reality is Often Stranger then Fiction February 2007

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 3

sustainable

agriculture

February 2007 4

Beneficial Farms Eco Label: Co-op Food-shed Partner

markets were few and small. CSAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even exist. Now there are many more opportunities and much greater competition. Building the Food-shed eanwhile there is a growing demand for clean food produced â&#x20AC;&#x153;close to homeâ&#x20AC;? on family farms, farms whose commitment to quality and stewardship is known and trusted. My job is to help all involved, farmers, growers, processors, and customers, to participate in this process to the fullest, and to gain the rewards that are due them for their efforts. I find great joy in visiting farms and helping to make â&#x20AC;&#x153;dealsâ&#x20AC;? that get local products into markets that serve local communities while doing the greatest good possible for the farmers and producers. I am grateful to La Montanita for the opportunity to do this work within the framework of the Co-op. As the person who originated Beneficial, I am honored that the Coop sees its value and is willing to continue its support of the Beneficial mission. I look forward to bringing into the La Montanita family many more farmers and their products, and enriching all of our lives and our experiences of the foods of our land.

by Steve Warshawer

it possible for La Montanita to work with farmers or the past few years Co-op members and shoppers have come and producers to improve their stewardship practo know the Beneficial Farm and Ranch Collaborative as a tices, develop and improve their products, and regional eco-label found on fresh produce and eggs in all our Co- bring those products to the Co-op and other marop stores. The Beneficial label grew out of work on my fami- kets through the Cooperative Distribution Center. This, in a nutshell lyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm, recently renamed Mesa Top Farm, 286 Arroyo Salado Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Founded in 1994 as Beneficial Farm it is the oldest community supported agriLa Montanita culture farm (CSA) in New Mexico. We have also worked to Co-op has been provide high quality fresh local produce to the Marketplace Beneficial Farm Grocery, now a La Montanita Co-op location in Santa Fe, as and Ranch well as providing food for people in need through a collaboration with Kitchen Angels, a non-profit organization that Collaborativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s provides hot meals to homebound Santa Feans. most important

STRATEGIC Benefiting Farmers: A Brief History PARTNER. Beneficial became an eco-label when demand for our high quality eggs began to outstrip the size of the operation we wanted to run. So we â&#x20AC;&#x153;sharedâ&#x20AC;? the name along with production practices with several other farms, and Beneficial Eggs grew into a cooperative production and pooled marketing system regional eco-label. Some farmers asked to use the Beneficial name for other is my new job with the Co-op. A job that despite its products, and the Beneficial Farm and Ranch Collaborative began. many challenges I am tremendously excited about. Its goal was to create an eco-label as a mechanism to develop a market for local, high quality food distributed through retail stores such My own background in Co-ops goes back to the as La Montanita. The main impulse of Beneficial is that organic late 1970s when I did similar work at the New Life alone is not enough, and that national standards miss a lot of the Cooperative in Santa Fe. New Life Co-op closed in nuances of local agriculture, especially in a semi-arid landscape. the mid 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, as did many co-ops nationally. But Beneficial developed baseline standards with the goal of creating a before they did they had a warehouse, ran refrigertiered system, where producers, whose practices continually improve ated trucks, and covered much the same region that the quality and sustainability of their farm operation (often exceed- the new CDC will cover. Things are a lot different ing the one size fits all of the national organic standards) can be rec- now. Back then there was no Whole Foods, Wild Oats or Trader Joes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Organicâ&#x20AC;? was tiny. Farmers ognized in the market place. For a little while the Beneficial Collaborative received grant money to develop the organization, and using that grant money we developed some good marketing resources and strategic partnerships. La Montanita has been Beneficialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important strategic partner.

One more thing! As I spend more and more of my time working with other farmers, the question remains, what should become of good old Mesa Top Farm, the original Beneficial Farm? We are looking for a young farm family to take on this original pioneering farm and take it in whatever direction it is meant to go next. If you know anyone that might want to live off the grid, 20 miles from Santa Fe, on 600 acres of amazing, diverse forest and grasslands, within a valley that has fed and housed human beings for the last 7,000 years, please have them contact me, Steve Warshawer at stevew@plateautel.net.

Healthy Land, Healthy Food

The Collaboration Grows a Montanita members expect the Co-op to provide clean food. Not all local vendors are certified organic and the Beneficial label offers another path that is less invasive than USDA organic, a path that could be a transition into organic certification while offering fair incentives from the marketplace for higher land stewardship values. Beneficial provides the Co-op a tool for verification of clean production methods for non-certified local production. Co-op members and farmers will all benefit from incremental, steady and voluntary implementation of the goals of the Beneficial eco-label among producers who supply the Co-op.

A Sustainable Food System

This past year when Beneficialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third party trucking partner closed its doors in May 2006, just as the fresh produce season was about to get under way, a new set of opportunities emerged. The Co-op had planned to put a refrigerated truck on the road and it did so, contracting with Beneficial to manage the emerging distribution system.

"Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen dramatic turnaround in land health and sustainable practices when people, whether they are land managers, consumers, or community leaders, really understand how Nature functions and how their actions and decisions can actually help land regenerate," says Peter Holter, Chief Operating Officer of Holistic Management International (HMI). The 23-year-old Albuquerque-based, non-profit organization works internationally to improve the health and productivity of land, animals and people.

The emergence of La Montanitaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cooperative Distribution Center (CDC), and the integration of Beneficial into its operation, will make

/540/34 +;H<EHC7D9; .F79; 9ALE 3% WWW OUTPOSTSPACE ORG

3%!3/. ()'(,)'(43

3ATURDAY PM

-ARCH

#LAUDIA !CUĂ&#x2014;A .ATIONAL (ISPANIC #ULTURAL #ENTER

%DDIE 0ALMIERI #LAUDIA !CUĂ&#x2014;A 2ALPH !LESSI 1UARTET WITH 2AVI #OLTRANE ,E 1UAN .INH &REDERIC "LONDY -ICHAEL 6LATKOVICH 'ANGBE "RASS "AND !MJAD !LI +HAN 3ONS -IKE 3EEGER -ATT 7ILSON S !RTS #RAFTS 4AKSIM WITH 3OUREN "ARONIAN (AIG -ANOUKIAN 3HIVKUMAR 3HARMA :AKIR (USSAIN *OEL (ARRISON S #ONVERGENCE !NTHONY 7ILSON "RAZILIAN 0ROJECT WITH #HICO 0INHEIRO #REATIVE 3OUNDSPACE &ESTIVAL ND !NNUAL .EW -EXICO *AZZ &ESTIVAL 7D: .E (K9> (EH;

%80%2)%.#% *!:: ). .%7 -%8)#/ ,!.$ /& %.#(!.4-%.4

sustainable food system begins with healthy land and land stewards who work in partnership with Nature. The challenge is to help agricultural producers and consumers learn how to make decisions that support sustainable values and practices when so many aspects of the current food system see natural resources as only commodities to be used.

Holter says land managers are often overwhelmed by the complexity of the problems that arise from fewer agricultural producers feeding an even greater pool of consumers wanting not only healthy food, but production systems that improve the health of the land. These challenges include soil health; sufficient acreage for pastured livestock used to produce meat, milk, and fiber; and worries that manure, methane, and carbon dioxide will pollute air and water. With these pressures, large numbers of farmers are deciding to leave their land due to poor economic returns and anti-agriculture attitudes. Holter says there are solutions to these challenges and HMI is working with large organic dairies, stewards of large landscapes, and environmental groups to reverse negative trends. "Through our consulting programs and introductory workshops, we are helping consumers and peo-

ple in the agricultural world look at a new paradigm", he added, offering the following strategies: 1. Convert all agricultural production to organic and biologically compatible methods â&#x20AC;&#x201C; eliminating the use of chemicals that hurt land, animal and human health while building soil health naturally. 2. Shift our paradigm to view land as a partner instead of a resource â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is possible to achieve great yield from land by working with natural processes that keep the land healthy. 3. Change our mindset â&#x20AC;&#x201C; recognize that the problem is not with cows or livestock, per se, but with our industrialized feeding systems and animal management methods, which can be changed 4. Eliminate feedlots and the factory farming mentality. Allow animals to graze on pastures and croplands in a controlled manner â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thereby reducing manure, methane, and carbon dioxide build up â&#x20AC;&#x201C; controlled grazing can allow animal manure to be distributed more evenly, building the soilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organic matter and actually improving its health and productivity with limited external inputs. Global issues of poverty, hunger, disease, and desertification are creating additional pressures for producing healthy foods and restoring land health. Holter concludes, "We may have reached a tipping point of recognizing that it is possible to go back to the land, and partner with it in ways that benefit the environment; actually improve the health of the land, animals, and people; and also generate a good economic return for those land stewards so they keep regenerating the land." by Ann Adams HMI is based in Albuquerque, NM and operates internationally. For more information about HMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programs and projects, call 842-5252 or visit their website: www.holisticmanagement.org.

Holistic Management International

DRINKING THE RIVER???

The City of Albuquerque is planning to add treated Rio Grande water to our city drinking water in 2008. If you are interested in educational or outreach gatherings on water quality issues, please call 266-2663.

ALBUQUERQUE WATER COALITION

love sweet

love

February 2007 5

Heart

Give Yourself a Valentine: Chocolate for a Healthy You’ve probably heard of flavonoids, plant-based chemical compounds often referred to more generally as polyphenols and used to promote the health benefits of red wine. This class of compounds can be found in chocolate as well. Their anti-oxidant effects have been shown to help protect against heart disease and to strengthen the immune system. They do it by attaching to free radi-

by Stephanie Clayton his month ruby red and pink hearts will be everywhere, and whether they make you think of a special someone or jump-starting a possible romance, at the Co-op we hope you will show yourself a little love too. Your heart is essential to your health. Without it oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and wastes couldn’t get transported where they need to go throughout the body. And what better way to improve your health than having some of the season’s most ubiquitous substance, chocolate. “Wait a second, chocolate?” you say, “What about fruits, vegetables, and whole grains?” For years we have been told about the health benefits of healthy food; that’s a no-brainer! When it comes to chocolate, a lot of which fits into the junk food category with insane amounts of sugar, extenders, and unnatural processed flavorings, it takes a bit more effort. But I guarantee any effort spent on making chocolate a healthy option is deliciously rewarded.

truffles at your CO-OP!

o what is the right kind? Look on the label for percentage cocoa content; the higher that percentage, the better. The Co-op carries a variety of brands that, as well as having impressive cocoa percentages, taste great, and some are even organic. Green and Black, Endangered Species, and Newman’s Own are a good place to start, but a quick perusal of the varieties and flavors we have will undoubtedly lead to a decadent search for your absolute favorite. And if chocolate isn’t for you, there are plenty of non-chocolate sources for flavonoids like apples, red wine, tea, onions and cranberries. A mouthful can keep your heart healthy and your taste buds satisfied. What’s not to love?

cals preventing them from interfering in the production of healthy cellular growth. The darker the chocolate the more anti-oxidants it contains, therefore the more heart-healthy benefits it has for you to reap. The plant-based saturated fats found in cocoa beans, unlike saturated animal fats, can also help lower bad blood cholesterol and actually raise ‘good’ cholesterol levels, another plus from a heart-healthy perspective.

hocolate, or more specifically the cocoa in chocolate, is derived from the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao) which produces over 150 different chemicals in its leaves, fruit, seeds and bark. Various parts of the cocoa plant have been used over the centuries for their medical properties.

If flavonoids are so healthy and more highly concentrated in pure cocoa, why not consume it straight

Local Product Spotlight: Dulces

Sweet Treats!

ant to give your sweetheart something that’s both deliciously decadent and as healthy as a candy can be? This year the Co-op has Dulces’s home made, hand made torrone, truffles and toffee. Made in Albuquerque by long time Co-op member Wayne Decker, all Dulces products are made from local and organic ingredients whenever possible including Heidi and Doug’s raspberries from a Corrales (of Heidi’s Organic Raspberry Jam fame), organic egg whites, and local Beechama honey from Socorro. Wayne says he’s “wanted to make candy ever since I was a kid.”

Torrone is a nougat that was first called ‘Turron.’ It was brought to Spain by the Moors about a millennia ago. Originally almonds and honey, it became almonds, honey, and egg whites and then moved to France and Italy where over the centuries some variations in name, texture, and ingredients occurred. It’s a traditional gift for Christmas, Easter, and weddings. Here at La Montanita Co-op we think it should become a Valentines Day tradition as well. Wayne says, “I’m working on new variations and flavors of torreal treat rone as well as producing the traditional ones.”

torrone

“While pursuing graduate studies in economics at the New School for Social Research in NYC, I decided to take a course on chocolate in the undergraduate division, with Lisa Montenegro, whose cakes were sold through Dean & DeLuca at the time. From her I learned numerous technical skills such as tempering chocolate. I stared making torrone because I grew up eating the boxes of Ferrara Torrone and could no longer get them. I started experimenting with it and 6 months later I had something that was commercially viable. While I went to school, I made confections for a few coffee bars, a restaurant, Grace’s Marketplace and for the staff at the New York Metropolitan Museum, where during the holidays my toffee was in great demand. “I met Carey Smoot in 2005, at which time she was looking for a location in downtown Albuquerque where she could open a gourmet food shop. Six months later, out of the blue, she called and generously offered me the use of her commercial kitchen to make confections for her store, Downtown Gourmet on Central & 9th Street. I’d been experimenting with my own recipes and decided to start making torrone and truffles there.”

As I was sitting with Wayne at the Valley Co-op talking about his candy making adventures, a Co-op staff member came over to give an unsolicited testimonial that went something like this: “yours is the only torrone that tastes like real torrone—like the stuff my family used to eat back when I was a kid—and I’m Italian, so I know real torrone. You just can’t get it anymore, but yours tastes like the real thing.” The Co-op currently carries Vanilla Almond, Almond Cherry and Chocolate Cherry torrone. Dulces’ truffles are as special as their torrone. Wayne makes a raspberry truffle with dark chocolate (73.5 percent), a hazelnut/milk chocolate with dark chocolate coating, and a spice/walnut combination. They’re all made using no preservatives, added colors, or artificial anything. “I like to keep the ingredient list short,” says Wayne. Another Dulce plus: the acetate boxes are recyclable as are the jute string and pineapple fiber ribbon that tie them up. by Robyn Seydel Look for Dulces sweet treats at your local Co-op or special order them in time for Valentines Day if your local Co-op does not have them on hand.

CO-OP FLOWERS

BEAUTY WITH HEART

all flowers are from fairtrade organizations!

from the cocoa plant? Many of the health cocktails of the ancient MezoAmerican civilizations used a much higher cocoa content, but the main drawback is it tastes awful! Cocoa is a very pungent, bitter taste, and to make it palatable butter, sugar, and a variety of nuts, fruits, and fillings are added to get the end product, irresistible chocolate. Unfortunately, it is exactly all those added ingredients that give chocolate a bad name. Often attacked as a fatty, calorie-packed indulgence devoid of nutritional value, chocolate has really had a bad wrap. But if you unwrap the right kind you’ll find a sweet and simple way to boost your body’s defenses.

AT YOUR

CO-OP!

THE COOP DELI HAS

SOUP

FRESH, HOT, DELICIOUS EVERY DAY

co-op news

February 2007 6

Cookwar e fr om the Hear t Member Profile: Brian Grossnickle by Stephanie Clayton t the Co-op we are always looking for ways to be more sustainable and carry out a more holistic and environmently concious lifestyle. From organic bulk foods to recycling, co-op shoppers and staff know that replacing the smallest habits with their healthier counterparts can yield significant results. “If you cook all organic food, why aren’t your pots and pans organic too?” This question is often posed by Brian Grossnickle who owns and operates Micaceous Cookware. He challenges people to stop using metal pots for one week and in their place try his handcrafted micaceous clay cookware, then switch back and note the difference in taste.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Brian and asking him a few questions about his cookware and how exactly he came to create clay cookware as a profession. He explained that “micaceous clay is handdug clay from Northern New Mexico. We add nothing to the clay; the clay is created by Mother Earth.” He adds that man-made alternatives have been attempted, but have not been successful. Micaceous pottery is an 800-year-old southwestern tradition. Apache potters soon noticed the virtues of micaceous clay. Its high mica content made it better able to withstand the thermal shock of being used as cookware when compared to other kinds of clay. To them it meant durability in storing, transporting, and cooking foods over an open flame; for us it’s a sustainable and healthy alternative to steal and aluminum that can safely travel between the stovetop, microwave, and oven.

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

A ceramics devotee since college, Brian has focused on handbuilding micaceous clay cookware for the past 6 years. He moved with his dog, Nero, to New Mexico shortly before completing his college degree and began an apprenticeship under his mentor, Jacarilla Apache master potter Felipe Ortega. He made the move after being approached with an offer to teach pottery and says quite candidly, “prior to this I had no idea I could make a living with something that I loved spending time doing.” The decision has paid off. Brian works in a 20

SHOP LOCAL & SAVE

Herbs, Etc. Santa Fe, NM Deep Sleep, 1 oz, Sale $9.99, Singer’s Saving Grace, 1 oz, Assorted Varieties, Sale $8.99, Additional Herbs, Etc. products also on sale Tijeras Organic Alchemy Albuquerque, NM Body Wash, 12 oz, Assorted Varieties, Sale $9.99 Additional Tijeras products also on sale

Hatch Deming, NM Red or Green Enchilada Sauce, 15 oz, Assorted Varieties, Sale 2/$6 Additional Hatch products also on sale

Brian also swears by the sweetness and earthy quality that only comes from cooking food in clay. And he’s not the only one. Katherine Kagel of Cafe Pasqual’s in Santa Fe agrees. Not only have they been selling Brian’s work for 5 years, but they cook their over-90%-organic fare in clay as well. With one 3 quart bean pot taking a day to make start to finish, Brian keeps busy seven days a week shaping, water-scraping, and firing the micaceous cookware he sells. When asked about it, he simply says he loves it. He

Micaceous pottery is an 800 year-old southwestern tradition and a healthy, sustainble alternative to steel and aluminum. foot yurt home/studio on his land. He hopes to expand his operations and build a larger straw bale studio, where he would also be able to teach classes on a variety of pottery methods. As well as making pottery and teaching, Brian loves to cook. “Being able to truly use my pottery every day in my kitchen is still unbelievable to me. My family is nourished by healthy foods cooked in clay pots created with my own hands. I want more and more people to be able to experience it.” Brian cooks absolutely everything in clay cookware: rice, beans, whole grains, stews,

states his admiration of the simplicity inherent in this kind of work and adds, “As cliche as it sounds, I just really like getting my hands dirty.” You don’t have to get your hands dirty to make even more healthful, simple, nourishing food, just consider Brian’s challenge. Micaceous clay is a truly rewarding alternative to metal cookware, but don’t take Brian’s word for it, try it yourself.

To see the Brian’s Micaceous Coookware contact him at 505-281-1853, micaceouscookware.com.

Letter to the Editor: Drinking the Rio!

Dear Editor: I want to thank the Co-op news editor and writers who supplied such good information on the upcoming water changes to our city drinking water. The people in the Nob Hill area are going to be the greatest losers in the switch to drinking river water (really surface runoff from everywhere north of here). The yearly City water report shows our Nob Hill area to have the best water in the system, perhaps the whole country. Our water is so ancient and from so deep that it contains no organic pollutants, which is what the new river water system will be loaded with. The arsenic can be diluted to safe levels.

LOCAL SALE ITEMS

soups, enchiladas, tea, lasagna, oatmeal, and anything baked. He values local ingredients and recognizes the importance of shopping at the Coop to provide the best fresh, local food for his family ever since they moved to Albuquerque.

The river water we will start drinking will be a soup of radionuclides, medications, fertilizers, human and animal waste all treated with more chemicals and more chemicals to offset those chemicals creating a new toxic soup. This is going backward, not forward. I am especially concerned because new science shows that lower levels of plutonium are more dangerous than thought before and we will have that in the water we drink and bathe with. The City thinks they can get it out, but tests by the Department of Energy at Handford show that plutonium cannot be totally removed from water. Plutonium inside the body in small amounts lodges in the cell at the DNA level. It does not flush out and hangs around to cause mutations and cancers.

And if the present situation is not bad enough, Los Alamos Lab upstream is planning to expand operations with plutonium (to make new nukes), and to expand their bio-warfare research. They are starting experiments with the nano-particles which have gotten out of the labs before and which we know very little about in terms of effects. Cochiti Lake, between us and Los Alamos, is now so contaminated the fish cannot be eaten. And the City wants us to drink this stuff. All the cities downstream are considered, in the view of the military industrial complex, to be expendable to the necessity of their war industry. The developers need the river water system to support west side sprawl. Our public water system has been privatized for the benefit of the stockholder corporations who benefit from our water, leaving us to drink the waste water. We could have a two pipe system, one for private sector industry like Intel, war bases like Kirtland AFB and Sandia NL, and the UNM landscaping to use the river water while the aquifer water is used by and preserved for the public. By all means we must not allow the toxic river water to be reinjected into the aquifer, an idea that is part of the plan from time to time. Sincerely, Bob Anderson 505-858-0882 citizen@comcast.net

La Montanita Co-op

Albuquerque, NM\ Tree-Free Kenaf Co-op Greeting Cards, Assorted Designs, Sale 99¢ each VALID IN-STORE ONLY from 1/31-2/27, 2007:

Not all items available at all stores.

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

Top CO-OP picks for a healthy heart Choose from a wide variety of supplements including: Fish oil, and other Omega 3 supplements • All of the B vitamins, especially B6, B12, niacin, folic acid • Fiber (such as psyllium, oat bran, apple pectin, flax meal, etc) • Garlic • Hawthorn • Red yeast rice • Guggul • Policosonol • Pomegranate • Sytrinol • Soy protein • L-carnitine • Dark chocolate

co-op news

February 2007 7

the inside scoop by C.E. PUGH

Calendar of Events

Co-op Staff Compensation Overview

a Montanita began paying a staff living wage in January of 2005. We reviewed several living wage calculation methods and selected the "Co-op Living Wage Model" developed by a panel of sixteen natural food cooperatives. This model uses the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fair market rent calculation for specific cities and the U.S. Department of Agricultureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moderate food plan. Of the models we reviewed, it is by far the most comprehensive and the calculation includes the following monthly living costs for a single individual in Albuquerque: Albuquerque fair market rent: USDA moderate food plan: Co-op staff health and dental care plan: Transportation: Telephone: Miscellaneous: Savings: Sales tax: Income tax: Total:

$373.00 $262.74 $303.00 $203.96 $30.00 $153.11 $56.00 $27.60 $315.05 $1,724.46

The model then deducts the portion that La Montanita pays for the health and dental plan and the staff discount on co-op purchases. These benefits total $294.73 per month leaving a total monthly living cost of $1,429.73. We annualize this and convert to an hourly rate based on working forty hours per week and we arrive at $8.48 per hour for 2007. This same model produces a living wage in Gallup of $7.79 and $9.06 in Santa Fe, although the City of Santa Fe has set a living wage of $9.50. Our new staff members begin earning the living wage within 120 days of their employment after completing several orientation segments. La Montanita has approximately 200 staff members who provide the high quality food and service that we have all enjoyed and supported for over 30 years. We have many long-term staff members and our average staff tenure is currently over four years with three of our staff over twenty years. We currently have about 100 full time and 100 part time staff members, but as is detailed below, all staff members who work at least twenty hours per week receive the same level of benefits. Our part time staff consists of many students, parents, and artists who find advantage in the flexibility that part time employment provides. We have written job descriptions and pay grades for each of our staff positions, and we compare our pay grades annually with the New Mexico Department of Laborâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual wage survey. Our current average hourly rate for the entire staff including the administrative salary positions is $12.07 and our current average for the store staff is $11.10. The wage disparity that exists between the living wage rates and the average location team leadersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pay is 2.82 and the disparity between the living wage rates and the general managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pay is 6.30. We have published a complete wage listing for each staff position as of January 1, 2007 and this listing is available for co-op staff and member review at each storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s information desk. Our staff benefit package consists of the following and all of our staff benefits and policies are detailed in our staff manual. A copy of this is also available at each storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s information desk for co-op member review.

â&#x20AC;˘ 401k plan available to all regular staff members after one year of service who average at least twelve hours per week. On 9/01/06 the co-op began matching staff contributions to the plan at $0.50 on the dollar up to 2% of the staff memberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s salary. â&#x20AC;˘ Monetary service awards for all regular staff members of $10 per year awarded at three year anniversary dates. (3 years: $30, 6 years: $60, 9 years: $90, etc.) â&#x20AC;˘ Paid bereavement leave for all regular staff members for the death of a member of their immediate family: Full time staff: 24 hours and Part time staff: 12 hours. â&#x20AC;˘ Staff discount on co-op purchases of 18%. â&#x20AC;˘ Free employee assistance program providing information and counseling by Assurant New Directions on a variety of work-life balance issues. â&#x20AC;˘ Staff medical insurance is currently provided through Great West and is a comprehensive PPO plan. La Montanita pays 80% of the cost of this plan for the staff member and 50% of the cost of dependent coverage. Staff members currently pay $55.56 per month for single coverage and $309.22 per month for family coverage. â&#x20AC;˘ Staff dental insurance is currently provided through Delta Dental and La Montanita pays 80% of the cost of this plan for the staff member and 50% of the cost of dependent coverage. Staff members currently pay $6.30 per month for single coverage and $44.68 per month for family coverage. â&#x20AC;˘ Modest life insurance coverage is currently provided through Great West and is provided at no cost to all staff members who work at least twenty hours per week. â&#x20AC;˘ Hourly staff members who work on Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, and New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day receive time and one half pay. â&#x20AC;˘ Sick pay is earned quarterly by all regular staff members based on the hours worked during the previous quarter at the following rates: 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 19.99 average hours worked = 2.5 hours of sick time 20 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 27.99 average hours worked = 5 hours of sick time 28 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 34.99 average hours worked = 7.5 hours of sick time 35 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 40 average hours worked = 10 hours of sick time â&#x20AC;˘ Vacation pay is provided to all staff members who work at least twenty hours per week and is earned based on the number of hours worked. The plan provides staff members averaging forty hours per week the following paid time off: First two years of employment: 1 week â&#x20AC;˘Years three and four: 2 weeks â&#x20AC;˘Years five through nine: 3 weeks â&#x20AC;˘Ten years and more: 4 weeks All of our storesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; services are provided on behalf of our membership by our staff. We have a highly talented, dedicated, and productive staff at La Montanita, but as a consumer owned cooperative, we only exist to serve you, our members. The relationship between our staff and our members is one of our greatest assets, yet there also exists a natural tension in this relationship as we attempt to provide high levels of service at competitive prices and provide our staff with good wages and benefits. We gratefully acknowledge that it is your support of La Montanita that makes this possible and we fully understand that it is your patronage and membership that has created and sustains our cooperative. Please donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hesitate to let us know how we can be of greater service to you. C.E. Pugh General Manager

Our current wage grid is as follows for all regular staff members: La Montanita Co-op Staff Wage Grid

Santa Fe Albuquerque Gallup

Min. $9.50 $8.56 $7.79

Max. $12.00 $11.00 $10.00

Average $9.74 $9.01 N/A

Santa Fe Albuquerque Gallup

$9.75 $9.00 $8.00

$12.50 $11.50 $10.50

$10.30 $8.65 N/A

Santa Fe Albuquerque Gallup

$10.00 $9.50 $8.50

$13.50 $12.50 $11.50

$12.64 $11.90 N/A

Front End Coordinator Santa Fe Albuquerque Gallup

$10.50 $10.00 $9.00

$15.50 $14.50 $13.50

$12.85 $12.14 N/A

Clerk

Cook

Lead Clerk

Board

Brie f: Meeting of December 19, 2006 Martha Whitman, Board President Regular Board Meeting Held by Teleconferencing. Due to the snowstorm and the subsequent poor road conditions, the regular board meeting was cancelled. The Board met for a brief session through teleconferencing.

Min. Asst. Department Team Leader Santa Fe $11.00 Albuquerque $10.50 Gallup $9.50

Max.

Average

$16.50 $15.50 $14.50

$14.55 $13.73 N/A

Department Team Leader Santa Fe Albuquerque Gallup

$13.00 $12.00 $11.00

$22.00 $21.00 $20.00

$18.90 $18.46 N/A

Store Team Leaders/All

$20.00

$40.00

$36.99

Admin. Team Leader/ All

$15.00

$30.00

$28.86

General Manager/All

$30.00

$60.00

$51.45

New Board Member Is Seated. The board Committee report. Martha Whitman, Marshall Kovitz, and Ken Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien continue their service on the board, and Lonn Calanca, who was on the board previously, was seated. February Event. The board discussed its February event, The Futurist Feast. A January newsletter article explained the feast, and the article put out a call for Co-op members interested in participating. Board Meeting. Members are invited to attend monthly board meetings. The next meeting will be held on the Feb. 20, 2007, at 5:30pm at the Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque.

2/4 World Cafe, Futurist Feast, Immanuel Church 5-8pm 2/10 Santa Fe River Clean-up, Santa Fe Co-op 10am 2/16-17 Hopitality Room at NM Organic Farming Conference 2/20 Board of Directors Meeting, Immanuel Church 5:30pm 2/21 Member Linkage, Immanuel Church 5:30pm 2/24 Coffee with the Board, Valley Co-op 10am-12pm TBA Finance Committee Meeting, 3361 Columbia NE 5pm

HFR 5HDO (VWDWH

KHDOWK\ KRPHV EHWWHU HQYLURQPHQW

D ORFDOO\ RZQHG DQG RSHUDWHG FRPSDQ\ GHGLFDWHG WR LPSURYLQJ RXU HQYLURQPHQW DQG SDVVLRQDWH DERXW HGXFDWLQJ EX\HUV LQ WKH SXUFKDVH RI H[LVWLQJ HQHUJ\ HIILFLHQW DQG *UHHQ KRPHV

'HERUDK 6DSXQDU 2ZQHU (FREURNHU Â&#x160; ZZZ HFRUHDOHVWDWH EL]

Member of International Society of Arboriculture and Society of Commercial Arboriculture ISA Certified, Licensed & Insured

232-2358 EricsTreeCare.com ericstreecare@earthlink.net

Dormant Season Pruning is Upon Us Call us about pruning pines, conifers and fruit trees November-February

Services â&#x20AC;˘ Fruit and Shade Tree Pruning â&#x20AC;˘ Technical Removal â&#x20AC;˘ Planting â&#x20AC;˘ Cabling & Bracing

HELP WANTED Groundsman trainee, crew leader serious inquiries only

heart

healthy

Feed your

Heart! Take the time to cook up some hearty and heart-healthy dishes and desserts to honor the spirit of Valentine’s day in a whole new way. Omega acids, garlic, flavonoids, and fiber are key to heart-health and in these recipes you’ll find delicious ways to keep your ticker beating strong throughout the frenzy of romancerelated plots. Remember to save some of that love and luxury for yourself and spoon it on thick. (Key: C = cup, T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, lb. = pound, oz. = ounce) Flourless Chocolate Decadence 6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped 5 T butter, room temperature 2 eggs, room temperature 1/2 t vanilla extract 1/4 t salt Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Butter six ramekins or custard cups. Melt chocolate and butter slowly: You can do this in a double boiler, over, not in, simmering water, or in microwave, stirring to prevent scorching. Stir until completely smooth. In a medium bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer until frothy, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir vanilla and salt gently into beaten eggs. Fold half of egg mixture into chocolate mixture, mix well. Then fold remainder of egg mixture into chocolate mixture.

Pour chocolate and egg mixture into prepared ramekins. Line a roasting pan with a damp kitchen towel. Place ramekins on towel, inside roasting pan. Butter a piece of foil big enough to cover entire pan, and cover the ramekins, buttered side down. Place roasting pan on oven rack. Fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake 5 minutes, then remove foil and bake 10 minutes more. Remove ramekins from water carefully. Let cool on wire rack for at least 3 hours. Cakes will firm up as they cool. Unmold each room-temperature ramekin onto a dessert plate, garnish and serve. Refrigerate unused portions. (Serves 6) Old Fashioned Apple Walnut Oatmeal 2 C old-fashioned oatmeal (not instant) 1 C low-fat milk 2 medium apples - cored and peeled and diced 1/2 C crushed walnuts 2 T maple syrup 1/4 C toasted wheat germ 1 t cinnamon In medium saucepan, bring milk to a gentle boil (watch carefully.) Stir in oats, apple pieces, 3/4 of the nuts, cinnamon and maple syrup. Return to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Cook 5 minutes or until most of milk is absorbed, stirring occasionally. Let stand until desired consistency. Stir in wheat germ.Distribute oats among four bowls. Top with milk and remaining walnuts. (Serves 4)

February 2007 10

Pepper Steak or Tofu 3 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 large bell peppers, sliced into thin strips 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 C soy sauce 1/3 C honey 1/3C red wine vinegar 1 1/2 lbs grass-fed flank steak, cut into thin strips OR 2 packages firm tofu cut into cubes Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, bell peppers, and garlic in oil until tender-crisp, stirring frequently. Transfer cooked vegetables onto plate. In the meantime keep the skillet warm. Pour soy sauce, honey, and red wine vinegar in pan, then add grass-fed beef or tofu. Cook beef, stirring frequently, until done, about 10 to 15 minutes. For tofu reduce time to 4-7 minutes and check for desired consistency. Stir in cooked vegetables, and cook until vegetables are easily pieced with a fork. (Serves 4-6) Spicy Tomato Sauce over Polenta Hearts (Appetizer) 1 small onion, finely chopped 4 shallots, finely chopped 1/4 C fresh lime juice (or 3 medium limes) 8 oz can no-salt-added tomato sauce 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 t black pepper 1 package prepared polenta 2 t olive oil

To prepare sauce, combine the onion, shallots, and lime juice in a medium mixing bowl. Let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Add the remaining sauce ingredients. Stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use. Cut polenta into ? inch slices and using a heart-shaped cookie-cutter, cut out polenta hearts. In a hot sauté pan gently heat oil and quickly brown polenta hearts until heated through. Pour spicy tomato sauce over the individual polenta hearts and serve. (Serves 8) Hot-and-Sour Soup 8 C low-sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth) 1/4 C cornstarch 3 T water 1 C thinly sliced green cabbage or bok choy (about 3 ounces) 1 C sliced fresh shiitake, cloud ear, or other mushrooms 1/2 C sliced green onions (about 6 green onions) 2 T reduced-sodium soy sauce 2 T minced fresh gingerroot 1/2 lb firm reduced-fat tofu, cut into strips 1 C white vinegar or to taste 1 T black pepper or to taste (freshly ground preferred) Egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs, or 2 eggs lightly beaten 1 t fragrant toasted sesame oil Bring the broth to a boil in a large stockpot over high heat. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with the water in a small bowl; set aside. Add the cabbage, mushrooms, green onions, soy sauce, and gingerroot to the boiling broth. When the broth mixture returns to a

heart

healthy

boil, stir in the cornstarch mixture. Let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes. Add the tofu strips, vinegar, and pepper. Taste and add more pepper or vinegar if desired. Reduce heat to a simmer. Slowly drizzle the egg substitute into the simmering soup, stirring gently. Remove from the heat, stir in the sesame oil, and serve. (Serves 8)

February 2007 11

Pour in the stock and tomato salsa, mixing well to combine. Transfer to a 4 quart baking dish or casserole. Cover with foil and bake until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir and serve hot. (Serves 6-8) Spicy Garlic Soup

Apple Tea 8 oz dried apple slices 2 sticks cinnamon 4 cloves 1 1/2 quarts cold water Honey or sugar Place the apple slices, cinnamon, cloves and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes. Sweeten with honey or sugar, and strain into tea glasses, pushing gently on the apples to remove all the liquid. (Serves 4-6). Endive Salad with Fresh OrangeBeet Compote 4 small beets 1 navel orange 1 T lemon juice about 2 to 3 T hazelnut or walnut oil 3 heads endive chopped walnuts for garnish Bake the beets until tender, cool and peel. Cut them into 1/4-inch dice or very fine julienne. Zest the orange and segment the pulp. Cut the pulp into 1/4-inch dice. Mix beets, zest and oranges together and season to taste with lemon juice and nut oil. (If you want to do work in advance, cook, and cut the beets and combine with oil and lemon juice only; do oranges at last minute so they don't turn bitter.) To serve, cut of a small portion of the bottom of each endive so that the leaves separate without tearing. Spoon a small amount of beets and oranges onto large part of endive leaves and garnish with walnuts. Raginâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Red Rice 1/3 C vegetable oil 3 C long grain rice, rinsed 1 medium onion, chopped 5 serrano chiles, or to taste, stemmed, seeded if desired 2 garlic cloves, chopped 3/4 C chicken stock (or veggie stock) 3 C Red Tomato Salsa, see recipe Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the oil in a medium heavy saucepan or skillet over medium low heat. Saute the rice, stirring constantly, until golden brown and crackling, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and serranos and cook until the onions just soften, then add the garlic and saute until the aroma is released.

3 whole heads of garlic 2 T vegetable oil, preferably peanut 1 medium onion, sliced thin 8 C vegetable stock 1 to 2 dried or canned chipotle chilies 1/2 t salt, or more to taste 1/2 t cumin seeds, toasted and ground Juice of 1 lime Toasted thin flour tortilla strips and sliced avocado, for garnish (optional) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Coat garlic with a thin film of the oil, reserving the remaining oil. Place garlic in a shallow pan and bake it until very soft, about 45 minutes. When garlic is cool enough to handle, peel all the cloves and reserve them. Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a large saucepan or Dutch oven and warm over medium heat. Add the onion to the oil and sautĂŠ until it is softened and lightly colored. Transfer the mixture to a blender and add the reserved garlic; puree, adding a little stock if necessary to blend the mixture.

The recipes above have been adapted and reprinted from the following sources: www.food.com www.aha.com/recipes www.thegarlicstore.com www.allrecipes.com La Montanita Co-op Deli Staff

HEART!

SHOP

CO-OP!

3FI;JKI<8D .<8;@E> /<I@<J GI<J<EKJ

28C<EK@E< POETRY READING

#LASSIC MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY POEMS BY !LBUQUERQUE POETS :HGQHVGD\ )HEUXDU\ SP 'RZQWRZQ )O\LQJ 6WDU &DIÂŠ 6LOYHU $YHQXH 6:

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

Chiropractic with an Ayurvedic Influence Kelly 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

fresh fair

&LOCAL

food to warm your

! VERY SPECIAL

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

CHIROPRACTIC

Add remaining oil to the saucepan and warm it over medium-high heat. Pour in the blender mixture, being careful of any splatters, and sautĂŠ it until it just begins to dry out and color. Add the rest of the stock, the chipotle, salt, and cumin, and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer the soup for 25 to 30 minutes, remove it from the heat, and add the lime juice. Divide the tortilla strips and avocado between the bowls and pour the hot soup over them. Serve immediately. (Serves 6 to 8)

Body-Centered Counseling

Integrated Counseling, Therapeutic Bodywork and Movement

NEW DIRECTION

)RU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ FDOO ÄĽ ÄĽ

AT YOUR

CO-OP!

environment &

health

The Saga of the

February 2007 12 paper and inks. What factories made the dyes and inks at what environmental cost? What factory made the machinery and what steel mill made the parts for that machinery? How much paper and digital technology did they use? You can see how maddening this gets.

Spoon D

OK, the plastic bag and later spoon itself is thrown away. Millions of tons of the stuff and things like it every week choke landfills, just sitting around waiting many years to decompose. The spoon factory— like the paper and steel mills— also needs energy, machinery and inputs like plastics, polymers, dyes and stuff you and I have never heard of. All these factories and mills emit pollutants and produce waste for the

id you ever notice that the things we use for the shortest time take the longest to decompose? For example, plastic spoons or “to go” food containers. What else do these things have in common? Plastic. Which means petroleum. Which means oil. Which means a dwindling nonrenewal resource that is a proven toxin whether in its raw or highly processed form. A resource for which we will stop at nothing to get. Before I spiral off into a tangential The impact of rant (who me?), the global economic and conflict equation that one throw for oil is not my issue here (not today anyway) but help away spoon complete the big picture: what is implied in the demand you used today for a seemingly simple thing like a fast food coffee stirrer may be that’s used for five seconds and thrown away? Pick anything —-a cup lid, a straw, a tiny container of dipping sauce for buffalo wings—and follow it backward. Be prepared for lots of side trips. I’m picking a spoon. Plastic utensils arrive packed in a plastic bag, which is promptly thrown away once opened. This package comes on a truck that needs fuel and motor oil to complete the delivery.

insignificant, but not the impact of MILLIONS

of them.

These days it’s likely the delivery was dispatched, confirmed and the original order made electronically, requiring energy (power plants) to run the phone and data lines. But it’s just as likely paper copies accompanied the driver and reside in someone’s file someplace. Don’t forget the spoon pack’s label. What’s the environmental impact of logged timber for the paper pulp? Logging means loss of habitat plus other environmental impacts like erosion from clear cuts, sediment flowing into streams below, loss of C02 generated by the now missing trees as well as fuel and oil to run the logging trucks, saws, cranes, etc. The power plant emits pollution but provides energy to the paper mill for grinders, rollers, cutters and other machinery. The mill also uses numerous synthetics for bleaching, sanitizing, separating impurities or what have you as well dyes for colored receipt

itchy green

thumb landfill. Don’t forget the plastic bag factory! And the factories that made the ingredients for the bags and spoons. And the factories that make the ingredients for the ingredients… Oil or petroleum is the basis for the spoon. Where did it come from? Was it from an offshore rig or a seagoing

Garlic food for a healthy heart

Garlic is considered the world’s second oldest medicine (Ephedra is the first). All the ancients loved garlic, but the Egyptians specially so. Clay models of garlic were found in tombs dating back to 3750 B.C.

FEB. IS VOLUME DISCOUNT MONTH THE MORE YOU SPEND, THE MORE YOU SAVE

Hippocrates recommended it for infections, wounds and cancer and the ancient Chinese prescribed it for infections, respiratory ailments and heart problems. Ayurvedic healers used it to treat leprosy. Garlic was recommended by the college of Physicians in 1665 for the prevention of plague and appeared in over 40 medical texts for various uses as late as 1812. How and why garlic works has been widely studied. The basis of its strength and potency are its reactive sulfur compounds. Cysteine is a sulfur-rich amino acid contained in garlic. When it combines with alliin, an amino acid that is unique to garlic, with the help of allinase (a biological enzyme formed from proteins), the pungent and highly medicinal compound allcin is formed. It is the action of cutting, chopping or chewing that causes this chemical reaction to occur and is the basis of garlic’s abilities to fight infection and provide its health giving properties. It has been estimated that 10 cloves of garlic pack the same antibiotic wallop as the standard dose of penicillin. Garlic’s role in the reduction of cholesterol has also been studied worldwide. In animal studies researchers in both Bulgaria and India have shown that animals fed a high fat diet but given garlic had blood cholesterol levels increase by only five times. Animals fed the same diet but without the garlic showed a blood cholesterol level twenty–five times higher. Studies at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia point to the liver as a prime player in cholesterol production. The liver both makes its own cholesterol and gathers the cholesterol absorbed in digestion. Their studies show that garlic acts in two ways. First, it increases the dumping of fat and cholesterol by the bile gland, thus helping with fat/waste elimination, and second it actually prevents the liver from producing more cholesterol.

tanker that impacts the marine environment? Or an overland pipeline that displaced and disrupted wild flora and fauna? Oil spills? Toxic emissions? How much energy does it take to extract the oil that makes the plastic for the spoon’s raw ingredients? What were the global and political consequences of securing those oil fields? Yikes, just what does it take to make the darn spoon anyway? The impact of that one tiny little spoon you used today may be insignificant but not the impact of the millions of them nationwide. You may counter that the infrastructure is already in place but it doesn’t take actually doing the math to figure out that every little thing we use briefly and throw away, be it paper or plastic, has an environmental impact and adds to the demand for power plants, factories, landfills, oil drilling, diesel trucking, logging, paper and steel mills and raw material extraction on a global scale. You can apply this to anything: birthday balloons or that can of organic soup you just bought. A newspaper or a guitar. Even a real metal spoon. The biggest impact, however, is on us, on our outlook. Whenever we decide we can afford to throw something away, we are saying that our desires outweigh our needs and the needs of the planet. Just one little plastic spoon… by Brett Bakker

It is the reactive sulfur compounds in garlic that interfere with the sulfur-based catalysts in the liver, preventing cholesterol manufacture. A study done with human subjects and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition used 40 adult American males with slightly raised cholesterol levels. (233mg./dl). Twenty of those subjects were given garlic oil equivalent to a head of garlic each day for six months. At the end of the test period, cholesterol levels went down to an average of 200. The control group who had received placebos showed no discernable change in cholesterol levels. Interestingly, when the garlic taking group ended the study and stopped taking their daily garlic, cholesterol levels returned. Garlic can also affect the blood’s ability to form clots. Blood platelets and small structures that circulate continuously in the blood have a stickiness about them that aids in repair when they come across an obstruction or tear in a given vessel or organ. While this process is necessary for healing, in some people this stickiness goes beyond normal and tiny webs of the protein fibrin builds up on artery walls. Small clots may also form which when dislodged can become dangerous, causing stroke or coronary thrombosis. Garlic’s fibrinotyic or clot dissolving power has been shown in many studies, including ones at George Washington University and in Germany and India. Regular use of garlic can lower blood stickiness and clotting by 16%-80%. In a German study garlic also helped reduce blood pressure by a modest 7%. Garlic affects many of the factors that produce heart health or disease. Although garlic may be good for your heart it may affect your social life. The same properties that produce garlic’s medicinal properties produce its odor. If taking large amounts of garlic, try the odorless supplements. Regularly adding a modest amount, 3-7 cloves of fresh garlic to your diet in soups, stews, beans, stir-frys or other dishes can enhance a meal’s flavor as it aids your heart. by Robin Seydel

environmental

health

Think GLOBAL, Act LOCAL

New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

Protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Dear Senator Bingaman,

by Steve Capra and Christianne Hinks e are a group of New Mexico residents working to protect America’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. If you own or operate a business or organization in New Mexico, please join us in signing the letter below which asks New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman to help promote legislation that would permanently protect the threatened coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge as a designated Wilderness, ensuring that this special place that belongs to all Americans is protected for all Americans for all time.

The letter was prepared by the Alaska Wilderness League’s (www.alaskawild.org) national field staff in conjunction with its NM Steering Committee. Protecting Our intention is to present the letter in person to Senator this priceless piece of Bingaman during an in-state heritage meeting in February. To sign on, please just reply to sandhill @swcp.com with your organization or business’s name and location, along with a contact person’s name and title. We hope you will join us in this important conservation effort. We also hope you will consider sending this request to others in New Mexico for their signature. It is our hope to have 200 signatures on this letter by February16th, but to do so we will need your help. For more information and to sign on to this letter please contact Christianne M Hinks or Chuck Houston at 270-8878 or e-mail to sandhill@swcp.com.

THINK GLOBAL

drink local FIRST OF A MULTIPART SERIES “… here we are, a deeply backward country peering at modernity from the threshold. It is a fact of the human condition that we can achieve none of our goals without water… People often speak as if that were not a serious problem, or that this is one of those things we have to accept because, after all, this is India. But if we accept it we can’t possibly survive… One day – and it won’t be long – we are going to wake up and it is just going to be too late.” – Mahesh Chaturvedi, hydrologist; in Michael Specter, “The Last Drop”, The New Yorker, 11-06 The global water crisis! I know what some of you are thinking: not another global crisis, please… isn’t climate change or the war on terror enough? “Water, water everywhere,” right? But then comes the rest: “Nor any drop to drink.” Here is a thought experiment: If a bucket (a really big one) represents all the seawater on the planet, and a coffee cup represents freshwater locked in glaciers (the ones not already melted by climate change), only a teaspoon would remain for human use.

“Blue

Gold” access to clean water

But here is a little twist in that calculation: For every gallon in rivers or lakes (surface water), fifty more are beneath the surface as groundwater, and a lot of that is brackish or in rock formations or very deep aquifers that make it difficult to get to. Then add this to the global water budget: scientists believe the amount of freshwater has not changed for millions of years (“you’re drinking water the dinosaurs drank” is an expression you run into a lot), but the way that water cycles through the environment has changed – as it is now through climate change. And the human population consuming that fresh water is expected to grow by another 50% or so by mid-21st century… to 9 billion. 2050: Same freshwater supply; Fifty percent more people In 2006, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) issued its annual Development Report. It’s title: “Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty, and the Global Water Crisis” (http://hdr.undp.org). It’s central point: “The word crisis is sometimes overused in development. But

February 2007

As deeply concerned citizens and members of business, hunting, conservation, labor and faith communities in New Mexico, we are writing to ask for your support for the permanent protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As you are aware, over the past six years there have been yearly battles over whether or not this area should be opened for the purposes of oil and gas exploration. Despite record gas prices, instability and war in the Mideast, we have managed to protect this priceless piece of heritage with support from Senators such as yourself. With control of the Senate now having switched, we believe we have a unique opportunity to advance the cause of permanent protection for the Coastal Plain of America’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. For too many years now, the debate over drilling in the Arctic Refuge has been a distraction from the larger energy issues that confront our nation. Designating the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge as a Wilderness area would not only protect the area in perpetuity, but it would end the distraction that the Arctic Refuge seems to provide to those who think we can drill our way to energy independence. Wilderness for the Coastal Plain would not only provide a lasting legacy to all Americans, but it would help ensure the continuity of an ecosystem that has never felt the harsh impact of development. The sensitive Coastal Plain of the Refuge, where drilling is proposed, is a convergence area for 135 migratory bird species, from every state in the lower 48 —including snow geese, harlequin ducks, spectacled eiders, teals, snowy owls, and tundra swans. This is the ancient calving area for the Porcupine Caribou Herd. Polar bears, grizzlies, musk oxen, and wolves live here as they have for tens of thousands of years, unchanged from the dawn of human history and before.

SAMPLE LETTER when it comes to water, there is a growing recognition that the world faces a crisis that, left unchecked, will… hold back human development.” And while the UNDP report rejects the idea that there is an absolute shortage of water for human use, it points to reasons that are at least as daunting and certainly more complex: poverty, social and economic inequality, unequal power relationships, and “flawed water management policies that exacerbate scarcity.” The result is deeply destructive of public health and communities: more than 1 billion people lack access to clean water and nearly 3 billion lack access to sanitation; almost 2 million children die each year from diseases caused by unclean water; and “the deficits in water and sanitation undermine productivity and economic growth, reinforcing the deep inequalities that characterize current patterns of globalization that trap vulnerable households in cycles of poverty.” There are other impacts: rivers drying up, water tables falling, making wells inoperable and disrupting the surface-ground water nexus, degrading ecosystems at a frightening scale and rate. The struggle for access to water is as old as recorded history in the greater Middle East. We see it now across the globe. In India, Pakistan, Israel, Mexico, Bolivia, China, southern Africa, central and southern Europe, Canada and the United States, causing disputes, riots and civil wars. In 2006, Britain’s Defense Secretary announced that his agency is preparing plans for dealing with wars and civil wars fought over water resources, over “blue gold.”

Oil development would turn this last vestige of protected Arctic wilderness into an industrial drift net of roads, pipelines, gravel mines, and other facilities. Drilling operations would affect the birds, caribou, and other wildlife, and in turn threaten the Gwich’in Indian way of life. Regardless of how much oil may lie beneath this fragile strip of tundra, drilling would not improve our energy security or lower prices at the pump. The Arctic Wildlife Refuge is America’s last great wilderness area. Americans decided many years ago, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was President, that this area must be preserved in its pristine state — for its wilderness values, wildlife, and traditional ways of life. We cannot break faith with those who passed this legacy on to us and to the generations to come. Like Yosemite and the Grand Canyon, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has become — in this time of trial for our country — a key symbol of the broad and magnificent American natural landscape. The Refuge stands forever and undisturbed as an exemplar of the rugged northern rim of our great nation. Let’s not turn our national treasure into an industrial site. It is worth noting that in Alaska itself, there are over 200 businesses that also “support the continued use of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for eco-tourism, recreation and hunting (http://www.therealalaska.net/)”. Only congressional Wilderness designation can accomplish this goal. We believe that the Arctic Refuge should be preserved for all time and we ask for your co-sponsorship and active support for any legislation in the 110th Congress that grants wilderness status to the Arctic Refuge’s Coastal Plain. Sincerely, Steve Capra, Executive Director New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NMWA) Christianne M Hinks, NMWA Volunteers for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, NM Steering Committee, Alaska Wilderness League

Across Europe there are increasingly severe water shortages during summer droughts. Drought in New Mexico, despite record snows, is something we all are—or should be—keenly aware of. In the US, but especially in the arid West, availability of water is a growing concern: surface-water supplies have long been fully appropriated – even over-allocated – and ground water pumping is unsustainable. The hardwon Colorado River water compact is being redrawn this year (that is the great hope of Las Vegas and Southern California). And there are all sorts of plans – “pipe dreams”? – for schemes like piping water from the Great Lakes to the Southwest or seeding rain clouds in New Mexico. Most of the world’s early civilizations (“hydraulic civilizations” they used to be called) were based on control of water resources, usually large river systems. Rivers supported large-scale agriculture, longdistance communication and commerce, water (and sanitation) for large urban centers, and – eventually – energy for cities and rural areas alike. Yet another global crisis? You bet. And just like the other ones, it is way past time that we find the vision and the resolve to confront the water crisis both globally and locally. What we do now will be another big part of the legacy we pass on to our children and to future generations across this planet. by Michael Jensen, Amigos Bravos

Contact Amigos Bravos to be part of the solution Amigos Bravos at 610 Gold Ave. SW, Suite 228Albuquerque, NM 87102Tel/Fax: 505-452-9387 email: bravos@amigosbravos.org or www.amigosbravos.org

COMMUNITY

forum

February 2007 14

Legislative ALERT

Health and Hunger: Legislative Efforts Support Farmers and Residents

How can you help? Connect with your state representative and senator. Ask them to support legislation that increases access to farm-fresh foods for New Mexicans who need it most! To find your legislator, visit http://legis.state.nm.us/ or call the associated clerk (House 505-986-4751; Senate 505-986-4714).

by Joanne McEntire ome families in New Mexico cannot serve their children healthy fresh food. Some have limited access to farm grown produce. Others have forgotten that nutritious food is important to every growing child. Children with sufficient food intake and physical activity are better students than those without. And, New Mexico’s farmers need secure, local markets to become sustainable.

Last school year, the Healthy Eating by Design program, developed by the Albuquerque Alliance for Active Living, brought fresh fruits and vegetables to schoolchildren at Valle Vista Elementary School. With our one-year program and support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the children became familiar with local peaches, pears, plums, and many varieties of apples, and they really developed a healthy regard for fresh fruit! One of the third graders held onto her pear, and asked her teacher if she could save it for her little brother, who had never eaten a pear. This year, a very similar program is being considered by the NM Legislature, with support from the New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council. The Council has worked many months on identifying solutions related to the well being of our residents who are most in need of nutritional support, and New Mexico’s farmers. (See below to access the report, “Closing New Mexico’s Rural Food Gap.”) If approved by the legislature and governor, the Healthy Kids, Healthy Economy bill will provide an additional two servings weekly of fresh fruits and vegetables in school meals for more than 200,000 school children statewide throughout the school year, using New Mexico grown produce when available. Funding for the program will cost $1.4 million, to be administered by the state Department of Agriculture.

KUNM GLOBAL WARMING SERIES and TOWN HALL MEETING Listen to a week-long series on global warming. Begining Feb. 12 during NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. KUNM:s GLobal Warming Town Hall Meeting on February 18, from 2-3:30pm, at Immanuel Presbyterian Church (Silver and Carlisle). Panelists include: UNM climatologist David Gutzler, Alternative energy activist Ben Luce, Green building architect Howard Kaplan, Former NM Secretary of the Environment and transportation advocate Judy Espinosa. For Information: call Danny Hernandez at 256-7647 or danny@ swcp.com.

Classical Homeopathy Visceral Manipulation Craniosacral Therapy

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

505-266-6522

L o s Po b l a n o s Organics

Get more information. If you would like to receive email updates on the status of the bills, send an e-mail to joanne@1000friends-nm.org, and note “Food Ag Alerts.” Quick Fact sheets are available. For more details on Farmers Market related bills, contact Denise Miller of the NM Farmers Market Assoc., at dmiller@farmersmarketsnm.org. The New Mexico Food and Agriculture Policy Council has prioritized four other bills, equally important to seniors, families and farmers. Bills requesting state funds are the NM Farmers Market Nutrition Enhancement Program, NM Farmers Market Promotion and Rural Economic Development Program, and NM Food Bank System. One memorial, Closing New Mexico’s Food Gap, is also proposed. In addition, funds for a Senior Food Stamps Supplement Program and Elementary School Breakfasts is proposed are state department budgets.

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

View the report “Closing New Mexico’s Rural Food Gap” http://www.nmhunger.org/files/Closing_New_Mexico_s _Rural_Food_Gap.pdf Joanne McEntire is director of the Albuquerque Alliance for Active Living, based at 1000 Friends of New Mexico.

Farm Subsidies: The Old Shoe Just Doesn’t Fit

n the Depression-era of the 1930’s, millions of farmers were suffering from rapidly falling crop prices. To save rural America, the Roosevelt administration created the first ever federal program to support farm income and help lift up rural communities, which at the time made up 45% of the population. Over the last 70 years, this New Deal program has morphed into what is now an out of control $10 billion dollar per year set of subsidy programs fraught with problems.

because their land was farmed in the past. This has cost taxpayers $1.3 billion since 2000 according to The Washington Post. Why is this going on, you might ask? Because lobbyists and farm-belt politicians want to bring the big bucks home to their state. In the 1990’s, Representative Armey (R-TX) led an unsuccessful fight to limit subsidy payments. He was recently quoted by The Washington Post saying, “The strength of the farm lobby in this town is really

Two-thirds of farmers in the U.S. don’t receive a dime of subsidies, according to the USDA. Most of these are small farmers whose sales are limited and many rely on off-farm jobs Corporate to make a living. Large family-owned farms agri-business (>$250,000 annual income) and corporate operations agri-business operations receive the majorireceive over ty of farm subsidy payments (57%), and have taken a bigger slice of the pie over the 50% of all last 15 years. Subsidies are also not equally farm subsidy distributed across the landscape. Looking at payments. a map of payments from 2005, the Midwest stands out as the region receiving the most money. Nor are payments equally distributed across crops. Funding goes to growers of wheat, corn, cotton, and soybeans. Growers of fruits, vegetables, and nuts get virtually nothing. There are also many loopholes and backward policies that are wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money. 2005 was a record-breaking year for farm profits, reaching $72 billion. Despite this success, farm subsidies did not wane, yet their stated purpose is to help farmers in times of need. Part of the problem is that “loan deficiency payments” are meant to keep the price of a crop at a set value, but even if the market drives up the price of the crop above the government’s set value, the farmer can keep a subsidy payment made when the price was lower.

Schedule February 8 for a visit to the Legislature in Santa Fe for Schools Nutrition Day! Visit your legislator and personally state your interest in these bills.

Another unbelievable reality of farm subsidies is that you don’t even have to farm to get them. All across the country, family farms are being sold to suburban developers. In some cases, residents who move in are able to cash in on subsidies

unbelievable. I don’t think there’s a smaller group of constituents that has a bigger influence.” This year the Farm Bill will yet again be reauthorized, but this time things could be different. Last year, the World Trade Organization ruled that some U.S. cotton subsidies are illegal. And the last international trade talks broke down over subsidies. There is growing international pressure to limit U.S. subsidies that are lowering world crop prices. And the American public is beginning to take notice of the inefficiency, inequality, and unjust policies of the subsidy programs. There is a mounting effort to make the 2007 Farm Bill one that focuses on real support to family farmers and rural communities, protecting the environment, and providing healthy and affordable food to all Americans. And you can be a part of it. Stay tuned for more Farm Bill articles in upcoming issues of the Co-op Connection.

Clarifying Meditative Work – A Fresh Look. A workshop for people from any meditation tradition or no tradition at all. We’ll explore directly what meditative work is and how it sheds light on the concerns of our lives, not theoretically, but from a simple meditative listening. Saturday, Feb. 10, 2 to 5 pm at the Wat Center, 145 Madison NE, corner of Madison and Copper, east of Washington in Albuquerque. $5 donation. This event will also take place on Saturdays 3/17 and 4/21. Retreats also offered. Reservations, info, Jay Cutts, New Mexico Center for Meditative Inquiry and Retreat, at 281-0684 http://www.cuttsreviews.com/jcutts/meditation/

COMMUNITY

forum

February 2007 15

Statewide

Open Secr ets: Monitoring Washington’s ’Revolving’ Door by Massie Ritsch, Center for Responsive Politics s Congress debates ways to slow the “revolving door” between Capitol Hill and K Street lobbying firms, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has added a new feature to its award-winning website, OpenSecrets.org, that profiles more than 6,400 individuals who have worked in both the federal government and the private sector.

“There’s a backstory to every law, regulation and government contract, and OpenSecrets.org’s Revolving Door Database helps tell those stories,” said the Center’s Executive Director, Sheila Krumholz. “With the shift in power in Congress, Washington’s version of the NBA draft is underway right now. People are trading on their connections to score plum jobs, and sometimes that makes for cozy relationships between government and private interests that affect the rest of us.”

See which Lobbyists are capitalizing on their past CONGRESSIONAL

The people profiled in the Revolving Door Database have worked in approximately 1,200 congressional offices and more than 350 executive branch agencies and judicial courts. In the private sector, they have been employed by nearly 2,000 lobbying, law or public relations firms and other organizations.

Researchers at the Center for Responsive Politics compiled data for the Revolving Door site from a variety of sources. The primary source for the core data was Columbia Books’s comprehensive directory of federal lobbyists, Washington Representatives combined that data with publicly available information, such as lobbying disclosure reports filed with the Senate Office of Public Records, and other resources. As with all databases on OpenSecrets.org, the Revolving Door will be continually refined, and the Center welcomes suggestions, corrections and tips by e-mail to revdoor@crp.org. “The intent in this project is not to accuse individuals of benefiting from a conflict of interest,” said Tim La Pira, the database’s lead researcher. “We have identified relationships that we think the public should be aware of, and we leave it to our users to interpret what we’ve found.” For more info go to OpenSecrets.org or call the Center for Responsive Politics at 202/857-0044 x111 or email: editor@capitaleye.org)

Paul Barlow

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

242-1795

EMPLOYMENT.

Freely available to the public, the Revolving Door Database is the most comprehensive source to date for learning who’s who in the Washington influence industry, and for uncovering how these people’s government connections afford them privileged access to those in power. Users can see, for example, which federal regulators are now working for the industries they once oversaw and which lobbyists might be capitalizing on their past employment with congressional committees that award government contracts, subsidies, earmarked appropriations and tax breaks.

Women & Creativity The National Hispanic Cultural Center and an enthusiastic group of community partners are offering eleven days of diverse programming designed to celebrate and honor “Women and Creativity.” This programming is developed, funded and implemented as a collaborative endeavor with local organizations, individuals and businesses. Events occur at the National Hispanic Cultural Center and at sites around Albuquerque. The definition of creativity for this programming includes arts and culture as well as entrepreneur-

After the White House and the House of Representatives, the federal agency with the most records in the database is the Federal Communications Commission. Often criticized for favoring the telecommunications industry over consumers and the public interest, the FCC has employed more than 100 individuals who now work in the private sector—many of them on telecom matters—according to lobbying disclosure reports and other sources. The FCC-connected individuals in OpenSecrets.org’s database range from former commissioners now lobbying for telecom companies to chiefs of FCC bureaus who have become telecom executives.

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

in the Old Town Area

ship and leadership. The programming appeals to groups of all ages and diversity of backgrounds. The events are diverse in terms of content, format, admission fee and time of day. Included in this year’s line-up of events are Films, Art Openings and Talks, Book Readings, Poetry Performances, Hands-on Art and Science Workshops, Concerts, Theatre, Dance Workshops and Classes, and Motivational Workshops. There will also be a number of workshops and panels focusing on issues such as Wellness, Activism, and Entrepreneurship.

For more information please go to www.nhccnm.org or contact Kateri García at 505-246-2261 extension 166 or Kateri.Garcia@state.nm.us.

A New Approach to Spine and Posture

ALIGN FOR LIFE WORKSHOP athleen Porter’s insights about spinal alignment will change the way you think about and move with your body. Genuine, natural strength is not about “developed” muscles so much as a natural interplay between elastic muscles and aligned bones. In this workshop, you’ll learn to maximize your inherent strength and flexibility without having to work hard at it, and experience a new sense of comfort and ease. Unlike strength gained by developing your muscles, the natural strength learned in this workshop has its power in aligned bones; it is inherent and reinforced in ordinary daily activities and promotes flexible open joints, extends the spine, and maintains elasticity and relaxation. Maintaining your natural alignment is essential to healthy living.

Kathleen Porter is the author of Ageless Spine Lasting Health - The Open Secret to Pain Free Living. Kathleen will guide you to be aware of how your body works,

breathes, creates and holds onto tensions, releases, and how it feels when you’re aligned. Learn how to apply natural rules of alignment to all you do – sitting at a computer, lifting a heavy box, practicing yoga, running a race, bending to tie your shoe – even sleeping. Workshops will be held twice at BODY 333 Cordova Rd, Santa Fe 505-986-0362 Feb 10 Sat 2-5pm &Feb 11 Sun 14pm. Only 12 students per workshop. For costs and registration contact Kristin Carlson design@bodyofsantafe.com 505-9861111 x117. Meet Kathleen Thursday at BODY Feb 8 at 7:30pm for her only book signing in Santa Fe, and a brief introductory talk. Visit www.bodyof santafe. com for more information.

NUTRI-CON: THE TRUTH ABOUT VITAMINS AND SUPPLEMENTS The Organic Consumers Association's (OCA) "Nutri-Con: The Truth About Vitamins & Supplements" will focus on the problems, hazards, and rampant industry mislabeling and disinformation in the conventional and so-called "natural" vitamin and supplement sector as it works to implement certification and labeling standards for vitamins, botanicals, and supplements. Identify ingredients and brands to avoid and find companies selling 100% NOS plant and food based vitamins and supplements. To learn more watch upcoming Co-op Connection News editions or go to: www.organic consumers.org/articles/article_3697.cfm

Rally to Oppose Desert Rock Power Plant! Feb. 5, 2-3pm Round House Rotunda (northwest corner of Paseo de Peralta and Old Santa Fe Trail) Desert Rock is just one of over 150 coal-fired plants that the coal industry is attempting to rush into construction before Congress imposes limits on greenhouse gas emissions. The company proposing Desert Rock, Sithe Inc., claims the plant will be "clean" but in reality the plant will: * Spew over 10 million tons of CO2 per year * Increase the total net emissions in the State by an estimated 16%. * Increase mercury emissions in the state by about 40%. * Overall levels of controlled pollutants will put the 4 Corners region over the top on EPA air quality standards if Desert Rock is built. A better alternative to Desert Rock is a concentrated solar power system, which has NO environmental downsides. It would also create jobs in the Navajo Nation, just as Desert Rock does. This IS a renewable energy/energy efficiency issue: • Hear environmental leaders describe why Desert Rock is bad news for New Mexico • Help demonstrate that New Mexican's don't want Desert Rock. • Deliver your views to your legislators in person You can quickly find your representatives by visiting the website www.votesmart.org, and entering your zip code. For more information about the Rally, robbm@toast.net

Rally at the Rotunda!