2008-09-CCN

AMERICA BEYOND

CAPITALISM GAR ALPEROVITZ e are already experiencing a process in which attempts at reform achieve sporadic gains, but long trends of inequality, failing democratic accountability, unchanging poverty, ecological degradation and invasions of liberty challenge belief in the capacities and moral integrity of the overall system and its governing elites.

TOWARD A COOPERATIVE ECONOMY PART II

BY

W

Surveys demonstrate that thirty years ago three out of four believed government did what the citizens wished; now roughly three out of four believe it does what the rich, the corporations, and the special interests urge. That there might be other possibilities is the central thesis of my book America Beyond Capitalism (ABC).

The central problem is whether it is feasible to develop a system that allows for true democratic control of the political economy.

The book answers in the affirmative but stresses that the problem is far more challenging than is commonly understood in both capitalist and socialist nations.

It points out that the two main traditional capitalist strategies for controlling corporate behavior—anti-trust and various forms of regulation—are deeply compromised.

mon’ ownership models suggests a ‘pluralist’ vision, which may ultimately nurture greater diversity, decentralization, and democratic control of crucial economic institutions and processes. This vision might be called a “Pluralist Commonwealth.”

Local democratic experience and community ECONOMIC STABILITY.

Large-scale industry will ultimately require new institutional forms. In some areas, traditional public ownership is likely to be appropriate: perhaps the energy sector, expanding upon, and reforming, institutional models like the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). In Medicare and Medicaid we have a nationalized partial health insurance system, and this may well be expanded. European experience provides numerous other practical public ownership precedents and it underscores the obvious fact that corporate control is not the only practical economic option.

In a number of large industries—and at the ‘next’ stage of development (but not necessarily beyond), the most appropriate structure of ownership is something close to that suggested by Nobel Laureate James Meade some time ago and a variation suggested by John Roemer more recently: some form of “Public Trust.”

For many industries, there is no way around this form of social HEAR GAR ownership. However, such a SPEAK! mechanism alone would hardly Sat. Oct. 25th be adequate to achieve demo11am Santa Fe cratic accountability. The power 7pm Albuquerque of large enterprises—and of the market—would likely continue FREE to substantially dominate even a fully realized system of public ownership of this kind. To build towards genuine accountability requires other vectors of expanding institutional change.

The attempt to use the former to control corporate power is almost a forgotten relic of history, only very narrow cases are now even attempted. And repeated studies of “regulatory capture” have shown that various forms of regulation are commonly narrowed, and often redirected, by the powerful corporate interests they seek to control. In socialist systems, powerful institutional economic actors (and other socialist equivalents of the giant corporation) often dominate planning and other policy mechanisms.

The Heart of an Emerging MODEL What is actually happening in a number of key areas involves the build up of a mosaic that suggests new answers and a process that is both peaceful and evolutionary. At the heart of the emerging model is the principle that ownership of the nation’s wealth must be shifted, institutionally, to benefit the vast majority in ways that extend current efforts.

Literally thousands of real world efforts illuminate how wealthholding principles have developed in communities throughout the nation over the last several decades. The range of social or ‘com-

Local Ownership’s New MOSAIC The first of these vectors is the systematic development of local democratic experience, along with its precondition: community economic stability. ABC gives great emphasis to the strategic arguments of theorists like de Tocqueville and John Stuart Mill, and modern theorists like Jane Mansbridge, Steven Elkin, and Benjamin Barber, who hold that only if a strong and participatory democratic experience is nurtured at the local level can there ever be a strong and participatory capacity for democratic control in the nation at large.

To achieve local democracy objectives, the need to steadily develop local ownership institutions must be stressed.

Most important are enterprises that are practical, anchored locally (hence help stabilize the local economy), and which either alter inequality directly or use profits for public and/or quasi-public purposes. Employee-owned firms, co-

TAOS PUEBLO GOOD EARTH FAMILY FARMS:

Food-Shed

BY ROBYN SEYDEL Bringing the Land Back to LIFE aos Pueblo lands are about as clean as you can get,” says Curtis Miller. Some years ago he married Taos Pueblo Native, Nola, and has been living on the southwest face of Taos Mountain ever since. “I’ve been farming off and on for about 14 years now. Those first few years there was a bad drought, but things have been better.

This year our super sweet corn is looking really good, pure sugar on a cob—very sweet, very delicious.” Thanks to our Food-Shed Project, this year Co-op members and shoppers will get to enjoy fresh sweet corn, chicos and winter squash from Taos Pueblo’s Good Earth Family Farms.

Project

“T

A Co-op of sorts, Curtis and friends, the Archuleta brothers, Leonard, Luis and John, farm 8 acres of super sweet corn and an acre of winter squash and have recently incorporated to build their Pueblo-based farming business. Last year, thanks to the Food-Shed Project, the Co-op was pleased to be able to offer traditional Taos Pueblo Good Earth Farms chicos. “We keep expanding, and with the Co-op buying from us, we are putting more land around the Pueblo back into cultivation.

Some of our fields haven’t been cultivated for 40 years. People are really glad to see corn growing here again. We just leased 8 more acres of really prime land from a Taos Elder, so we can expand and grow a few more things. Next year we are planting two varieties of garlic and hope to have 6,000 heads of garlic for the Co-op,” says Curtis.

bringing FOOD to the people Curtis and the Archuleta brothers have been busy building an “orno” and drying racks to make their chicos in the traditional way. “We’re working like crazy to get our systems going,” says Curtis, who is Good Earth’s farm, field and marketing manager. They also have lots of honey bees, all of whom are doing extraordinarily well. Currently their 12 hives produce Taos Mountain wildflower honey. They hope to add more hives in the coming years and, hopefully, this too, will be available through the Food-Shed Project.

Weather and water are two things that Curtis watches carefully. “Our irrigation water is really clean; it comes from two different slopes of Taos Mountain, the Rio

ops, neighborhood-owned corporations, and a wide range of municipal and social enterprises, along with municipal and state investing agencies, are among the key locally based institutions of a“Pluralist Commonwealth.”

ABC provides information on the nearly 10,000 employee-owned firms now operating in the United States, on co-ops (more than 120 million members), on neighborhood corporations (4,600), and on numerous quasi-public land trusts and municipal businesses (including 2,000 public electric utilities).

It suggests that these and related efforts, including state and municipal investment strategies, already provide a practical basis for building and expanding a decentralized, socially owned, public and quasi-public sector. The quiet development of these institutions suggests the possibility of an evolutionary process organized around the principle that ownership of the nation’s wealth must ultimately shift to benefit the vast majority.

Models for a New ECONOMY Cooperative ownership—That individuals work harder, better, and with greater enthusiasm when they have a direct interest in the outcome is self-evident to most people. Accordingly, 11.2 million Americans now work in firms that are partly or wholly-owned by the employees. That is three million more than are members of unions. W. L. Gore—the maker of Gore-Tex apparel, is one of the most impressive modern efforts and has been owned since 1974 by 8,000 worker-owners in 45 locations around the world. (Editor’s Note: there are numerous other kinds of Co-ops: consumer, like La Montanita, producer, agricultural, artisan, marketing, housing and more.)

ESOPs—Although there are between 300-500 traditional worker co-ops, most worker-owned businesses are organized through “Employee Stock Ownership Plans” (ESOPs). Technically an ESOP involves a “Trust” which receives and holds stock in a given corporation on behalf of its employees. continued on page 2

Lucero and out of Blue Lake. The south west face of our fields lets us plant earlier and things don’t freeze so fast here. We can even plant the first week in May. Well, usually we can. This year, though, it snowed and delayed our planting. Just one mile away the weather is so different we wouldn’t be able to grow winter squash.”

Generally the acres that Curtis and the Archulettas farm are leased, but recently Curtis and Nola bought their first acre.

“There’s never been any pesticides or herbicides on any Pueblo lands. It’s a pretty stony field. I’ve pulled 300 wheelbarrows full of rocks out of it so far. I’m also finding some amazing arrowheads, a pure black one and a bunch of bird points. With some good compost and other organic fertilizers, one acre can grow a lot of food,” Curtis says, with infectious excitement in his voice.

“It’s been great working with the Co-op, sort of like being in business together. I worked at Amigos Coop in Taos until it folded and worked in the produce department at La Montanita to educate myself. You guys are notorious for good produce. The Co-op Food-Shed Project continues to find buyers for our produce. Things are going really well this year and we hope we will keep doing more each year. The potential of this area is amazing; some land has been vacant for 40 years, now it’s coming back to life. We are so glad to be bringing farming back to the Pueblo and food to the people.”

toward a cooperative

economy THE PLURALIST

A Community - Owned Natural Foods Grocery Store La Montanita Cooperative Nob Hill/ 7am-10pm M-S, 8am-10pm Sun. 3500 Central SE Albuq., NM 87106 265-4631 Valley/ 7am-10pm M-S, 8am-10pm Sun. 2400 Rio Grande Blvd. NW Albuq., NM 87104 242-8800 Gallup/ 10am-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 217-2010 Administrative Staff: 505-217-2001 TOLL FREE: 877-775-2667 (COOP) • General Manager/Terry Bowling 217-2020 terryb@lamontanita.coop • Controller/John Heckes 217-2026 johnh@lamontanita.coop • Computers/Info Technology/ David Varela 217-2011 computers@lamontanita.coop • Food Service/Bob Tero 217-2028 bobt@lamontanita.coop • Human Resources/Sharret Rose 217-2023 hr@lamontanita.coop • Marketing/Edite Cates 217-2024 editec@lamontanita.coop • Membership/Robyn Seydel 217-2027 robins@lamontanita.coop Store Team Leaders: • Mark Lane/Nob Hill 265-4631 markl@lamontanita.coop • John Mulle/Valley 242-8800 jm@lamontanita.coop • William Prokopiack/Santa Fe 984-2852 willpro@lamontanita.coop • Tim Morrison/Gallup 575-863-5383 timm@lamontanita.coop Co-op Board of Directors: email: bod@lamontanita.coop President: Martha Whitman Vice President: Marshall Kovitz Secretary/Treasurer: Ken O’Brien William Bright Lonn Calanca Stephanie Dobbie Ariana Marchello Tamara Saimons Membership Costs: $15 for 1 year/$200 Lifetime Membership Co-op Connection Staff: Managing Editor: Robyn Seydel robins@lamontanita.coop Layout and Design: foxyrock inc Cover/Centerfold: Co-op Marketing Dept.

Advertising: Robyn Seydel Editorial Assistant: Kristin White kristinw@lamontanita.coop 217-2016 Printing: Vanguard Press Membership information is available at all four Co-op locations, or call 217-2027 or 877-775-2667 email: robins@lamontanita.coop Membership response to the newsletter is appreciated.

Address typed, double-spaced copy to the Managing Editor, robins@lamontanita.coop website: www.lamontanita.coop Copyright © 2008 La Montanita Co-op Supermarket Reprints by prior permission.

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

AMERICA BEYOND

CAPITALISM

continued from page 1 hat is positive about this mechanism is that it offers major tax benefits for the creation of worker owned firms—especially, for instance, when an original owner retires and decides to sell to the employees (a very common way they are created). The negative is that, although there are exceptions, the ESOP form is not generally organized democratically.

However, greater democratic control of ESOPs is likely to develop as time goes on.

W

Municipal Enterprises—An extraordinary range of local municipal efforts also exist. One of the most important areas of activity is land development. As early as 1970 the city of Boston embarked on a joint venture with the Rouse Company to develop the Fanueil Hall Marketplace (a downtown retail complex). Boston kept the property under its own municipal ownership. A fast growing arena of new activity involves high tech internet and related services, including electricity, cable, telephone services, and high speed internet access.

Approximately seven hundred communities have built or are actively planning such networks.

Bush Administration demanded a 10-year option to purchase a third of America West’s stock at $3 per share in exchange for Federal loan guarantees. The government through the FDIC took a controlling ownership position (over 80%) in connection with the 1984 $8 billion bailout of the Continental Illinois Bank (at the time the seventh largest U.S. bank). Numerous other precedents can be traced back to World War II. Perhaps of greatest significance—and suggestive of future possibilities—are the more than 2,200 public employee retirement system boards at municipal, state and federal levels. These now control roughly $3 trillion in publicly owned corporate stocks and bonds. Many public pension funds have begun to explore new ways to use their ownership position for public purposes, including ecological and other noneconomic criteria for investment, analogous to those imposed today in California by CalPERS and other state pension funds. Such strategies, though modest and somewhat flawed in their current range of demands, have demonstrated a steadily growing capacity to bring together economic efficiency and larger goals. They also maintain the market mechanism and competition. Critical from the perspective of longer term democratic control are the possibility they suggest for a system of public accountability and transparency—and the accrual of major portions of all profits to the public.

An even more suggestive effort is the Alaska Permanent Fund that invests a significant portion of revenues derived from oil development on behalf of citizens of the state with each citizen receiving $2,000 per year. It is an operating system demonstrating the feasibility of the kinds of far-reaching Public Trust proposals that might ultimately be advanced at the national level in a fully developed Pluralist Commonwealth model.

creating a PUBLIC TRUST

Economic DEMOCRACY In general, it is also important to note that many of the emerging forms have demonstrated a capacity to develop much broader political support than most analysts realize. Though they have progressive redistributive and community-building impact, at the local level they are rarely divisive. Many “community-wealth” initiatives also resonate with new ecologCommunity wealth ically serious approaches to “the cominitiatives resonate mons,” and to the larger principles of with ECOLOGICAL sustainability.

Other areas of innovation include health services and environmental management. Denver Health is a municipal enterprise that has transAPPROACHES to the formed itself from an insolvent city agency ($39 commons.

Ultimately there cannot be effective million in debt in 1991) to a competitive, quasidemocracy—hence, control of major public health-care system that earns over $10 economic actors—unless inequality is million annually. Denver Health operates a satelaltered in fundamental ways. None of the existing models are adequate lite system of 8 primary care centers and 12 school-based at this stage of development. The question is whether over time they clinics and employs some 4,000 Denver area residents. might provide precedents for larger and more fully realized efforts. Reallocating capital and income is also key and ultimately tied to re-alloHundreds of municipalities also generate revenues cating time free from the pressure of long work hours. This in turn is through landfill gas recovery operations that turn the also the key to nourishing a citizenry with sufficient time to participate greenhouse gas methane (a by-product of waste storage) meaningfully in democracy and ultimate control of the political-ecointo energy. In Riverview, Michigan, site of one of the nomic system. Time not hedged in by necessity of work is also a funlargest such recovery operations, sale of gas for power damental long-term condition of liberty and of allowing the individual production helps produce over 40,000 megawatt hours to make truly free choices. Finally, greater free time is one of the strateof electricity per year. Royalties covered initial costs of gic keys to altering traditional male-female work-family roles. the effort in the first two years of operation and now add to the city’s cash flows.

Any system will be compromised unless it deals explicitly with how the power of large economic institutions can be constrained—and all too Community Development Corporations—The neighmany socialist and capitalist discussions simply ignore or treat extremeborhood-based Community Development Corporation ly lightly underlying questions of institutional power. ABC urges that (CDC) combines the community-serving mission of a local democratization, decentralization, and time are necessary condinonprofit organization with the wealth-building and tions of system-wide democratization and sees attention to these probownership capacities of an economic enterprise. The lems as a first priority. The most intriguing questions are: (1) how varCDC is a hybrid self-help entity that operates at both the ious sectors (e.g., health, energy, education, transportation, etc.) might community-building and economic levels. Since the be dealt with in evolutionary sequence; and (2) how technological 1960s 4,600 neighborhood-based CDCs have come into progress might permit more and more free time. being in American communities.

Non-Profit Organizations—Other nonprofit organizations with a service mission at the community, state, and national levels have picked up on the underlying principles of development. A leading example is Pioneer Human Services (PHS), in Seattle, Washington. Initially established with donations and grants, PHS is now almost entirely self-supporting. PHS provides drug and alcohol-free housing, employment, job training, counseling, and education to recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. Its annual operating budget of nearly $60 million is 99% supported by fees for services or sales of products. PHS’s various social enterprises employ nearly 1,000 (otherwise unemployable) people and include a light metal fabricator that manufactures parts for Boeing and other customers; a Food Buying Service that distributes food to other non-profit organizations; and two restaurants.

State and National Innovators—At the Federal level public ownership of stock in specific corporations is also a long established (if little discussed!) tradition. In the post 9-11 airline bailout, for instance, the

2

COMMONWEALTH

Energizing an Era of CHANGE Without practical experience and the development of real world forms, which embody social/community ownership principles, it is difficult to imagine further progress. Most Americans have been taught to think of continued on page 4

PART2

GAR is COMING! Gar Alperovitz, economist, teacher, author, activist is COMING to New Mexico!

HEAR HIM SPEAK ON: Cooperating for Community Wealth: Building a New Economy from the Bottom Up. Is there an America Beyond Capitalism?

FREE! Saturday, October 25th: 11am-Santa Fe Co-op 7pm-at the Lobo Theater, Albuquerque.

September 2008

just say NO TO

GMOS

campaign for healthier

BY JEFFREY

EATING IN AMERICA

SMITH he Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT) is organizing a national campaign to push genetically modified organisms (GMOs) out of the food supply. The natural food industry, food manufacturers, distributors, health care professionals, religious groups, schools and consumers are coming together to eliminate GMOs. IRT believes a tipping point can be reached in which a sufficient number of shoppers in the U.S. avoiding GM ingredients force the major food companies to stop using them. Europe reached the tipping JUST SAY NO point in April 1999, and within a single week, virtually all major manufacturers publicly committed to stop using GM ingredients in their European brands.

T

GMOs

The natural foods industry has led the way in the widespread consumer rejection of genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH or rbST) by educating their customers about the associated health dangers and making rbGH-free brands readily available. This wave that started in natural food aisles is being felt throughout the entire food industry.

Within the last two years, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Kroger and about 40 of the 100 top dairies removed rbGH products as consumer concerns reached a tipping point. Monsanto has just sold off that division.

We can make the next consumer tidal wave the complete rejection of remaining GMOs in food products. Already, 87 million consumers in the United States believe that GM foods aren’t safe but do not always avoid them because they do not know how.

Why Avoid GMOs? The Basics: No one but biotechnology companies benefit from GMOs. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), farmers’ yields and income have not increased with GMOs and have, in fact, decreased due to various factors such as crop failure, undesirable texture or flavor of products, collapse of the market due to rejection of GMOs and the high costs of seed and royalties on patented GMO seeds.

The two major traits in GM crops are herbicide tolerance, which allows farmers to spray herbicide on the crops without killing them, and pesticide production, in which the crops produce an insectkilling toxin in every cell. There is no evidence to show that these GM traits are safe for humans or the environment.

TO

To further our Co-op customer education on the health and safety effects of GMOs, so our shoppers can make wiser and more informed choices, the Co-op will have available the IRT’s new NonGMO Shopping Guide, which lists products that have enrolled in the Non-GMO Project, ensuring to the best of their ability, that their products are GMO FREE.

Companies that are participating in the project and are listed in the guide must complete an extensive enrollment process that includes third-party verification that they comply with the Non-GMO standards. Once the process of verification is complete, they receive an official Non-GMO Project seal.

Consumers will then know that the products labeled organic and Non-GMO are as pure as they can be and do not contain any hidden ingredients; thus they are the best consumer choice.

Valley

Please help educate your friends, families and larger community with the information needed to make the decision to start eating healthier and stop eating GMOs. Go to the GMO education center at your favorite Co-op location and pick up fact sheets, books and other information.

Choose organic and non-processed local foods to avoid GMOs.

Gallup

WE DON’T WANT NO GMOS

GMO FOOD

FACTS THE FDA

calls GMOs “substantially equivalent“ to traditional food and relies on biotech companies, who have been found guilty of hiding toxic effects of their chemical products to determine whether their GM foods are safe.

(The FDA official in charge of creating this official policy was Michael Taylor, Monsanto’s former attorney and after his stint as the head of the FDA their vice president.) ✖ Since 1996 Americans have been eating genetically modified (GM) ingredients in most processed foods. ✖ GMOs including soybean, corn, cottonseed,

HEALTH and safety at risk

and canola have had foreign genes forced into their DNA. The inserted genes come from species, such as bacteria and viruses, have never been in the human food supply before. ✖ GMOs are not safe. They have been linked to thousands of toxic and allergenic reactions; thousands of sick, sterile and dead livestock; and damage to virtually every organ and system studied in lab animals. ✖ Genetic modification is radically different from natural breeding. In contrast to the statements of biotech advocates, FDA scientists and others affirm that genetic modification is not just an extension of the conventional breeding techniques that have been used by farmers for millennia. Genetic engineering transfers genes across natural species barriers, using imprecise laboratory techniques that bear no resemblance to natural breeding. ✖ The primary reason companies genetically engineer plants is to make them tolerant to their brand of herbi-

September 2008

cide. The four major GM plants, soy, corn, canola and cotton, are designed to survive an otherwise deadly dose of weed killer.

These crops have much higher residues of toxic herbicides. About 68% of GM crops are herbicide tolerant. ✖ Another GM trait is a built-in pesticide. A gene from the soil bacterium called Bt (for Bacillus thuringiensis) is inserted into corn and cotton DNA, where it secretes the insect-killing Bt-toxin in every cell. ✖ GMO soy increases allergies. Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the U.K. soon after GM soy was introduced. A human subject showed a skin prick allergic-type reaction to GM soy, but not to natural soy. GM soy also contains an unexpected allergen-type protein not found in natural soy. ✖ Bt corn and cotton allergies: Hundreds of laborers in India report allergic reactions from handling Bt cotton; their symptoms are identical to those of workers exposed to Bt spray. Mice not only reacted to Bt-toxin; they also had immune responses to formerly harmless compounds. ✖ GMOs and liver problems: Rats fed GM potatoes had smaller, partially atrophied livers and the livers of rats fed GM canola were 12-16% heavier. GM soy altered mouse liver cells in ways that suggest a toxic insult. The changes reversed after their diet switched to non-GM soy. ✖ GM soy and reproductive problems: More than half the offspring of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. Male rats and mice fed GM soy showed changes in their testicles and altered young sperm cells. Many offspring of female rats fed GM soy were considerably smaller and more than half died within three weeks (compared to 10% of the non-GM soy controls). ✖ Bt crops: When sheep grazed on Bt cotton plants after harvest, within a week 1 in 4 died. Shepherds estimate 10,000 sheep deaths in one region of India. About two dozen U.S. farmers report that Bt corn varieties caused widespread sterility in pigs or cows. ✖ GM genes remain. Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment verified that genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of intestinal bacteria and continues to function.

This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us. If the antibiotic gene inserted into most GM crops were to transfer, it could create super diseases, resistant to antibiotics.

For more information and sources for all above information go to www.responsibletechnology.org

INFO

and sources go to:

www.responsibletechnology.org

Santa Fe

for more information

www.lamontanita.coop Co-op Values Cooperatives are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, cooperative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.

Co-op Principles 1 Voluntary and Open Membership 2 Democratic Member Control 3 Member Economic Participation 4 Autonomy and Independence 5 Education, Training and Information 6 Cooperation among Cooperatives 7 Concern for Community The Co-op Connection is published by La Montanita Co-op Supermarket to provide information on La Montanita Co-op Food Market, 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

harvest

happenings

Sparrow Hawk Farm:

SABINOSO WILDERNESS Halfway There

BY JOHN

OLIVAS-NORTHERN any within the Co-op community are aware of the work we have been doing at the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NMWA) over the past decade. For more than ten years, the mission of NMWA has been the creation, restoration and protection of wilderness in our state. Most folks know us for our work to protect Valle Vidal and Otero Mesa from oil and gas development or our work to establish the Ojito Wilderness, near San Ysidro, as the first wilderness protection in New Mexico in almost 20 years. Many have also taken part in our service projectsstream bed restorations, erosion control, native plantings, trail maintenance-or our public hikes to scenic wilderness areas all across the state. We are excited to inform you today that we are on the verge of another wilderness success here in our fine state!

M

On June 9, the Sabinoso Wilderness Act of 2008 (H.R. 2632) passed in the House of Representatives. If passed by the Senate, this will be the second wilderness bill in New Mexico to be created in the last

action

A L E RT

Sabinoso has a rich history that dates back to the PaleoIndian era.

three years. Prior to the Ojito Wilderness Bill of 2005, there had been no new wilderness created in New Mexico in almost 20 years.

Introduced in 2007 by Congressman Tom Udall (DNM), the Sabinoso Wilderness Act seeks to designate the majestic canyons and rugged beauty of one of the finest intact Great-Plains ecosystems left in New Mexico. Just 40 miles east of Las Vegas, New Mexico, the Sabinoso Wilderness Study Area encompasses approximately 17,638 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in San Miguel County and is home to a variety of wildlife. With elevations

S U P P O RT

the Sabinoso Wilderness Bill Now that the Sabinoso Wilderness Bill has passed the US House of Representatives, we are half way to another glorious victory for New Mexico.

This bill is likely to reach a vote on the Senate floor by the end of this year. You can support the efforts of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance today by contacting Senator Jeff Bingaman and encouraging him to support wilderness protections for Sabinoso (H.R. 2632). You can send a letter to Senator Jeff Bingaman at the US Senate, 703 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510 or by calling his office at (202) 224-5521.

September 2008 4 ranging from 4,500–6,100 feet, the area encompasses many cliff dwellings. Although no official archeological surveys have been conducted, the area has rich history that dates back to the Paleo-Indian era.

The Sabinoso Wilderness Act is widely supported by local governments, business and economic development interests, sportsmen, conservation groups and state officials. More specifically, the New Mexico State House of Representatives, San Miguel County Commission, Village of Wagon Mound, and the Town of Springer have passed resolutions supporting the designation of the Sabinoso Wilderness. This proposed wilderness will provide a pristine environment in northern New Mexico that will be secured from any development. This designation would provide an area that will be here for many generations to come and will be one of the premier Great Plains ecosystem landscapes in the West.

Currently there is no public access to the proposed Sabinoso Wilderness Area as it is entirely surrounded by private lands. The only way to access the area is to make arrangements with the Bureau of Land Management, Taos Field Office. The Taos Field Office is making efforts to purchase private lands within the proposed designation, which would provide a right-of-way to gain public access to the area.

WILDERNESS PROTECTION

TESUQUE PUEBLO’S

Food and Seed Sovereignty Conference Sustainability & Food Security for the 21st Century & Beyond The Native Earth Bio Culture Council in conjunction with the Pueblo of Tesuque farm program is hosting the third annual Symposium For Food and Seed Sovereignty September 26-27, 2008. The Symposium will include internationally renowned speakers as well as local and regional experts in the areas of food security and sustainable ecology and a heritage seed exchange as well as panels on youth issues in the 21st century, food and nutrition, water issues and traditional farming, land restoration and medicinal herbs.

An important theme will be pro-active community response in support of sustainable communities, ecologies, health and indigenous spiritual practices.

There will be a vendors’ market featuring natural earthfriendly products, information and services. These events, we hope, will contribute tremendously toward the goal of making the entire nation aware of the need for sustainable agriculture and the GMO food issue.

Speakers include: Galen D. Knight, PhD: Integrating Indigenous Wisdom, Nutrition, Environment & Immune Support Rowen Kanienten:hawi White: Haudenosaunee Native Seed Conservation; Creating a Community Based Seed Network Percy Schmeiser: The Control of Seed & Food Supply by GMOs Paul Stamets: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World.

Ben Powless: The Challenges of Climate Change & Climate Justice Evon Peter: Environmental Justice in North America All are welcome! For more information, registration form for this year’s conference, visit their web site: www.foodandseedconference.info or call Lorraine at 505-955-7723.

Poster art by Nicholas Dorame, age 19 • Speakers and topics subject to change.

AMERICA... Beyond Capitalism continued from page 2 social ownership as inherently inefficient, undemocratic, even the basis of tyranny. Social (community) ownership principles may also build and nourish a larger community and more cooperative culture.

ABC stresses that the fiscal crisis on the one hand and globalization on the other, are forcing ever greater attention to municipal, neighborhood and other forms of enterprise which anchor jobs in local communities. Not only are such efforts already politically viable; they are becoming major political responses to these two ever-increasing challenges. Thus these systems not only introduce into everyday life a set of political-economic principles, but they also do so in a manner that can help solve immediate problems.

At least four major political movements developed from very modest and unexpected beginnings during the last fifty years. Possibilities for change building beneath the surface are suggested by the Civil Rights, Feminist, Environmental movements and the once very marginal, modern Conservatism. All began to form at a time when there were few reasons to

believe they might achieve any serious momentum. A quietly building grass-roots politics is already evident in many parts of the country—and a more tumultuous, ardent and energized era of change could give new power to a serious pluralist vision. America Beyond Capitalism concludes: “…the first decades of the 21st century are likely to open the way to a serious debate about these and other systemic questions–and, further, that real world conditions during the coming period are likely to offer possibilities for establishing substantial foundations for a longer term systemic transformation.”

None of this is to predict the inevitability of positive change. History suggests that those who read the tea leaves of the times in a manner that assumes nothing fundamental can ever change have repeatedly been wrong. It is appropriate—perhaps urgent—that we clarify the principles and content of what might ultimately become the basis of a serious pluralist vision.

A N C H O R I N G C O M M U N I T Y W E A LT H F O R E C O N O M I C D E M O C R A C Y

consumer news ACTION ALERT! 3 0 - D AY

September 2008 5

PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD HAPPENING NOW

FDA APPROVES FOOD IRRADIATION for Fresh Lettuce and Spinach!

Tell the FDA we want clean up not cover up. A 30-day public comment period began in late Voice your concerns on related health and August and continues this month for consumers and other concerned members of the public to submit safety issues! their objections or request a hearing. n August 21 the FDA announced a final rule Please send written objections to: allowing the use of ionizDocket No. FDA-1999-F-2405, ing radiation for the control of eDockets Management Branch (HFA-305), coli and salmonella in fresh Food and Drug Administration, foods. The ruling is in response to organic 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, a food additive petition filed by at your Rockville, MD 20852.

The National Food Processors CO-OP! Association (now the Grocery Electronic objections may be submitManufacturers' Association) on behalf of The Food Irradiation Coalition. The rule ted to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http:// allows up to a maximum absorbed dose of 4.0 www.regulations.gov. Additional information rekilogray (kGy) of radiation for lettuce and garding the final rule is available by contacting Dr. spinach, which they say is effective in reducing Lane A. Highbarger, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-255), Food and Drug microbial pathogens and extending shelf life.

Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, 301-436-1204,

O

WHY NOT

FOOD IRRADIATION? ✖ Irradiation damages food by breaking up molecules and creating free radicals. The free radicals kill some bacteria, but not all! The free radicals damage vitamins and enzymes and combine with existing chemicals (like pesticides) in the food to form new chemicals, called unique radiolytic products (URPs). ✖ Some of these URPs are known toxins (e.g., benzene, formaldehyde). Some are unique to irradiated foods and not studied. In the approval of irradiation, the long-term effect of these new chemicals in our diet was never studied. ✖ Irradiated foods lose 5%-80% of vitamins A, C, E, K or B complex. Different foods lose different vitamins; the amount of loss changes when the dose of irradiation or storage time is changed. ✖ Irradiation by any source—electron beams, X-rays or nuclear gamma rays—has the same effect on the food.

Science has not proved that a diet high in irradiated foods is safe in the long term. ✖ The longest human feeding study was 15 weeks, in China.

The data is not available in English. No one knows the health effects of a life-long diet that includes a large number of foods that can already be legally irradiated in the U.S., such as meat, chicken, vegetables, fruits, salads, eggs and sprouts.

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

232-2358 www.EricsTreeCare.com ericstreecare@earthlink.net

FALL

It’s time to mulch and get your order in for firewood

SERVICES • Fruit and Shade Tree Pruning • Technical Removal • Planting • Cabling & Bracing • Fertilization • Root Rehabilitation Services

✖ A very small study from India on malnourished children showed negative health effects. ✖ Studies on animals fed irradiated foods have shown increased tumors, reproductive failures and kidney damage.

Some possible causes are: irradiation-induced vitamin deficiencies, the inactivity of enzymes in the food, DNA damage and toxic radiolytic products in the food. ✖ The FDA based its approval of irradiation for poultry on only seven of the 441 animal-feeding studies submitted. The approval for fruits and vegetables is based on a theoretical calculation of the amount of URPs in the diet from one 7.5 oz. serving/day of irradiated food. ✖ Current FDA labeling requirements are mis-leading. Calling irradiation pasteurization, and required only at point of sale.

Processed, institutionally and restaurant prepared foods may currently contain irradiated ingredients without consumer knowledge.

Irradiation covers up contamination problems that the agribusiness should solve. Irradiation is not permitted under organic certification rules. Organic foods cannot be irradiated. Food irradiation is one more reason to eat local and organic food. Contact the FDA today – tell them no irradiation of the food supply is acceptable in the light of the many health and safety unknowns.

An Annual Urban Farm and Harvest

FESTIVAL

BY KENT SWANSON, ALBUQUERQUE OPEN SPACE SEPTEMBER 27TH, 2–7PM • In addition to other important public lands such as the Sandia Foothills and the Rio Grande Valley State Park, the Open Space Division preserves over 366 acres of farmland within the Albuquerque area. At Open Space Division we’re proud to be a part of Albuquerque’s agricultural heritage, and this year we’re celebrating with a unique event for the whole family.

In the 1st Annual Urban Farm and Harvest Fest, we are joining forces with local farmers, businesses and conservation organizations to bring attention to the importance of preserving our agricultural heritage.

Come buy produce and other goodies from local farmers, participate in free workshops, talk to local

organizations working to preserve agriculture, explore the Visitor Center and view migratory birds and wildlife at the Visitor Center Farm.

There will be activities for all ages including live music, arts and crafts for the kids, face painting and henna art by Have on Art, food demonstrations, apple harvesting, an apple cider press, composting, urban chickens, wild plant harvesting, water conservation and more! Please call 897-8831 or see www. cabq.gov/openspace for more details.

The Visitors Center is located east of Coors at the end of Bosque Meadows Rd, between Montano and Paseo del Norte. Parking will also be available at the Spiritual Renewal Center, located at 6400 Coors Blvd SW, south of the Visitors Center. Turn right off of Coors at the sign that says Retreat Center. A FREE EVENT!

SHOCPO-OP

for NON-irradiated food

Presented by ALBUQUERQUE OPEN SPACE DIVISION

Musical Benefit for

ERDA GARDENS ERDA Gardens is located at 1305 Blake Rd SE. Donation $15 at the door. Info 610-1538 or 980-1693.

SEE: www.erdagardens.org and www.thehumanrevolution.org

WITH H UMAN AND THE H UMAN R EVOLUTION 9/17, 7-9pm

LA MONTANITA CO-OP WILL NOT KNOWINGLY SELL IRRADIATED PRODUCTS • FOOD IRRADIATION IS NOT PERMITTED UNDER ORGANIC CERTIFICATION RULES • LOCAL AND ORGANIC LETTUCE AND SPINACH, BEEF AND EGGS HAVE NOT BEEN IRRADIATED

co-op news

September 2008 6 in stocking your kitchen with a variety of whole foods. Whole foods are those that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before consuming.

Whatever HAPPENED TO

OLD-FASHIONED COOKING?

BY STEPHANIE DOBBIE am a better cook now than I was just a year ago. My husband thinks it’s because of the Food Network and he’s partially right. I often watch a 30-minute cooking show after our kids go to bed. My favorite chef is Jamie Oliver. In his show, Jamie at Home, he steps out into his vegetable garden and picks whatever is ripe. Then, he makes a beautiful dish out of it by adding a few, high-quality ingredients such as fresh herbs, decadent cheeses, flavorful meats and simple grains.

When he cooks in his outdoor kitchen, he throws vegetable scraps over his shoulder as if to say, “Who needs a compost pile?”

I

Another reason I have become more adept in the kitchen is my experience shopping at La Montanita Co-op.

In July’s newsletter, Co-op Board Member Ariana Marchello wrote about our Ends policies. These policies are the Board’s way of identifying and communicating the impacts that we hope to make in our community. The Co-op has impacted my life by teaching me how to shop for healthy food and gently nudging me toward the cooking skills required to prepare it.

If you have children at home, you know that feeding them can be a frustrating experience. Exposure to fast food, soda, packaged snacks and candy often turn young children into picky eaters. It’s amazing how long a 3 year old will hold out for a cookie. Nevertheless, I am committed to raising children who understand the importance of a healthy diet, who know where and how food is grown and delivered to the market, and who care about the earth.

The more I learn about nutrition and the impacts of industrial agriculture on our environment, the more I enjoy buying local and organic

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

ingredients from the Co-op and making nourishing meals for my family. I see it as a way of loving them and protecting the earth. Eating packaged food and out at restaurants just isn’t good for you. There is almost always more fat, sugar and salt in a restaurant meal than most things you prepare at home. Studies show that some organic produce, wild salmon and grass-fed beef are actually more nutritious and better for the environment. By eating locally grown food, we reduce carbon emissions, keep our farmers on their farms and support our local economy.

I like to tell a story about Joe from Joe’s Sausage and Ravioli, a small, specialty shop in the North Valley of Albuquerque. One day I was buying some fresh ravioli and we started talking about the Slow Food movement. Slow Food is about coming together as a community to create and enjoy food that is delicious, good for the environment and fair to the producers. Joe said, “You know, like regular old-fashioned cooking.” With this, Joe helped me find the missing piece to my local food puzzle. I wanted to buy local food. I just didn’t know what to do with it.

B

uying local food was presenting a challenge to me as a shopper. I wasn’t able to find fresh peas or berries in February. As a result, I began buying a wider variety of vegetables and grains than ever before and had to learn how to prepare them. I started by following recipes, but at some point it just made more sense to learn how to cook. It was more efficient and economical to look into the refrigerator and make something out of whatever was in there. I believe that the foundation of this skill, the ability to make a healthy meal out of whatever you’ve got, is

E

very week, I buy an assortment of fresh produce, meat, cheese and bread from the Coop. I’m not too picky. I just get whatever looks good that day. My grocery list says “fruit” and “vegetables” as opposed to specific produce items. Sometimes I try out a new product that is on sale. The key is to have an open mind. In my pantry, I keep a variety of bulk beans, grains, pastas, nuts and dried fruit. In the summer, I go to the Farmers’ Market and harvest from my little garden of vegetables, fruit trees and herbs. With a little creativity, I can make a satisfying meal without much effort at all. For great tips on how to shop smart at the Co-op, check out July’s newsletter on the Coop’s website.

It took desire and time to feel more comfortable in the kitchen, but the payoff is worth it. I no longer worry about the quality of food that my family consumes away from home, knowing that the bulk of their diet is healthy and safe. We eat less meat and more whole grains and vegetables than ever before. I spend less money on restaurant, take-out and prepared foods. I even create less waste since bulk foods and produce have less packaging. I know that I am supporting my environmental values by buying local and organic products. We eat together as a family and entertain friends more often. To top it off, I get a personal sense of accomplishment after making a delicious meal out of a bunch of random stuff.

Shopping at the Co-op and cooking for family and friends helps me live up to my values.

The Board of Directors for La Montanita Co-op would like to hear about your values and how we can help you live up to them. You are welcome to join us at our monthly meetings, the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 5:30pm at Immanuel Presbyterian Church across the street from the Nob Hill store.

OWNERSHIP GALLUP GROOVE: MEMBERSHIP IS

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

Phone (505) 385-0562 Albuquerque, NM

11th Annual Maize Maze!

Made in the Shade August 30th-November 2nd volunteer and receive a Maize Maze t-shirt and Maze entry ticket

SCHOOL PARTNERS UPDATE

BY ROBYN SEYDEL n the afternoon of August 6th nearly 20 teachers from Juan De Onate Elementary and David Skeet Elementary (just north of Gallup on Navajo land) gathered for a training session with Veggiegrower Gardens’ Chuck O’HerronAlex. The workshop was held both in the library at Onate Elementary and out around the micro intensives at the community and school garden across from the school.

O

Contact 999-1258 for details

LOCAL SALE ITEMS SHOP LOCAL & SAVE Sandia Soap

Albuquerque, NM Handcrafted Soap Bars, 6 oz. Assorted Varieties.

Sale $3.99. High Desert Soaps also on sale.

Sadie’s Albuquerque, NM Hot Salsa, 64 oz. Sale $6.99

The mini workshop covered a variety of topics important to the successful set-up, planting, watering, overall care and harvesting of the micro-intensive greenhouses. Chuck did an excellent job in the short time available (due to extensive day-long pre-school teacher trainings), answering a wide variety of how-to questions and brainstorming ways to get high levels of student participation, inspiration and success.

Now that school is in session the real work of the gardens has begun. Filling the gardens with the compost donated by New Mexico Compost

Products and planting with students will take place during the last weeks of August and into early September. Over the coming months we look forward to hearing from dedicated Gallup teachers and students as to how the project is progressing. Chuck gave his contact information to all the teachers and will be available to troubleshoot any problems that may arise.

Thanks to all the teachers for their participation after a long training day and for their interest and dedication to this project. Also a special thanks to our intrepid Food-Shed truck driver Tom. With his usual good humor he found space for all the gardens during weekly Gallup deliveries, during July and August. While this seems like a simple task, it was no small feat to fit the micro-intensive box and wagon-train-looking hoop covers onto the trucks along with all the usual food pick-ups and deliveries.

We look forward to updates on the gardening activities of our Gallup friends at both Onate and Skeet Elementary Schools in coming months.

GROWING good food choices

Rudi’s Organic Bakery

Boulder, CO Organic Sandwich Bread, 20-22 oz. Select Varieties. Sale $3.59

Infinitea

Boulder, CO Organic Kombucha, 12 oz. Assorted Varieties.

Sale $2.59

Your CO-OP

wants

YOU!

Tijeras Organic Alchemy

Abq., NM Unscented Daily Shampoo or Conditioner 12 oz. Sale $8.99

VALID IN-STORE ONLY from 9/3-9/30, 2008:

NOT ALL ITEMS AVAILABLE AT ALL STORES.

SEPTEMBER SPECIALS WANT TO SEE YOUR LOCAL PRODUCT ADVERTISED HERE? Contact Eli at eli@lamontanita.coop

SAVE the DATES!

August 14: Nominations for Candidates for the Board of Directors Elections open. All Candidates must have been Co-op members as of July 1, 2008. Packets available at all locations.

September 24: Nominations for candidates close.

Members should be sure to update their addresses at their local Co-op Information Desk if they have moved in order to receive ballots.

October 25: Annual Membership Meeting. Candidates have an opportunity to introduce themselves to the membership. Gar Alperovitz, noted economist and author, will be speaking on “Cooperating for Community Wealth”.

November 1-14: Annual Board of Directors Elections.

ELECTION CALENDER Watch your home mailbox for your Co-op Election Ballot. Return ballot in the envelope provided.

co-op news

September 2008 7

THE INSIDE On Friday, August 1st, I made one of my regular trips to Santa Fe. This time my trip had a dual purpose. One was a customary visit to the Santa Fe store, the other was to visit with and say good-bye to our former general manager CE Pugh. As you all know, CE accepted a job as the Development Team Director with NCGA (National Cooperative Grocery Association) in Iowa City, Iowa.

In that capacity he will be working with cooperatives throughout the country wishing to relocate, remodel or just improve their operation. This is a position in which he will excel.

Looking back over the years CE was the general manager at La Montanita, I realized that we are a much improved Co-op, thanks to his efforts. The progress made during his years as general manager can be seen throughout our cooperative. The jump from two stores to four stores, the CDC, warehouse, Food-Shed Project and Santa Fe

SCOOP

remodel are all due to CE’s leadership. At the same time as helping La Montanita make great strides, CE provided consulting services to other cooperatives and served as president of the NCGA board.

CE is dedicated to the success of the cooperative model. During my transition into the general manager position at La Montanita, CE talked passionately of his belief in the principals and values of the Coop. It was a hard decision for CE to leave La Montanita. Even after I had been on board for several months, he would call or come by to make sure all was well at La Montanita and I contacted CE countless times to seek counsel.

I know CE well enough to know that he does not expect or want to be recognized for his efforts. I, however, do want to say THANK YOU my friend, your efforts have put us in a better place. Terry

Calendar of Events 9/22 9/23 9/24 TBA

Member Engagement Committee, CDC, 5:30pm BOD Meeting, Immanuel Church, 5:30pm Board of Directors Nominations close Finance Committee Meeting, CDC, 5pm

COMNG SOON • FREE!

10/25 Gar Alperovitz • 11am Santa Fe Co-op • 7am Lobo Theater ABQ

CO-OPS: A Solution-Based System A co-operative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE & BODYWORK

NARA SHEDD

Health and Beauty Aids LOCAL Product Spotlight

CO-OP BRAND SUPPLEMENTS Liquid Herbal Extracts in Veggie Caps VALERIE SMITH, VALLEY CO-OP he Co-op’s private label line of vitamins, supplements and herbs now include liquid herbal veggie caps. La Montanita’s private label manufacturer, Vitality Works, has expanded their line of products available to us. Though we’ve had their great liquid herbal extracts on our shelves for a long time, we will now have access to herb capsules, including standardized extract capsules. Even more exciting is the addition of vegetarian liquid capsules, which contain highly concentrated and absorbable extracts using no gelatin. For example, Holy Basil is now on our shelves and contains a combination of ethanolic and supercritical leaf extracts, providing a very potent and full-spectrum product at a great value.

BY

T

In 1982, Mitch Coven started Vitality Works, an Albuquerque-based herbal clinic and liquid herbal extract company. A trained medical herbalist and a practicing clinical herbalist, he teaches and lectures widely on herbal therapeutics and oversees quality control and product development.

To ensure high quality extracts, all herbal preparations are produced locally in the Vitality Works manufacturing facility, an FDA registered and approved homeopathic drug manufacturing site. All Vitality

Works’ herbs are ethically and ecologically wild-harvested, organically grown by independent farmers, or selectively imported under strict standards. Their herbs are never fumigated or irradiated.

The fresh plant extracts are macerated within 12 to 48 hours from harvest while the dry plant extracts are ground minutes before extraction and are cold drip percolated to exacting standards to maximize potency. They use pharmaceutical grade (U.S.P.) grain alcohol, not industrial alcohol or hexane. Their glycerites (alcohol free) are first extracted in alcohol. The alcohol is then carefully removed in a manner that will not damage heat-sensitive polysaccharides and replaced with vegetable glycerine and raw New Mexico honey. All FDA Good Manufacturing Practices (G.M.P.s) are followed in a microbiologically clean environment. Tests show Vitality Works glycerites to be 99.998% alcohol free.

Co-op members and shoppers can get these high quality herbal extracts in liquid form and now new, veggie capsules in the Co-op’s own private label line of herbal extracts. Just ask our knowledgeable staff at any Co-op location for assistance if you cannot find a particular item.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

MEETING!

Sat. October 25 7pm at the Lobo Theater 3007 Central Ave. NE This year the Co-op is most pleased to announce nationally noted economist, author and activist Gar Alperovitz speaking on Cooperating for Community Wealth: Building a New Economy from the Bottom Up. "Is There an America Beyond Capitalism?"

His talk, a FREE event is open to all. SEE GAR IN SANTA FE on Sat. Oct. 25. 11am at the Santa Fe Co-op, 913 W Alameda.

support creativity for peace Creativity for Peace brings together Israeli, Palestinian and Christian Arab women ages 15-18, in leadership training for peace. A very special thanks to Big B’s Apple Juice and Old Windmill Goat Dairy for their most generous contribution to this effort. LOOK FOR OLD WINDMILL GOAT DAIRY CHEESE AND BIG B’S JUICE AND CIDER AT ALL CO-OP LOCATIONS.

save the

DATE THANYK OU!

BIG B’S JUICE AND OLD WINDMILL GOAT DAIRY

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SPECIAL! 1⁄2 gallon

myTepache $9.99 + $2 Deposit

Reg. Price $12.99

Sale ends 9/30/08

T YO-UORP !

A CO

kitchen creativity THE ABUNDANCE

of Late

Summer The abundance of late summer harvest is a perfect opportunity for kitchen creativity. The chile harvest is under way as well as summer squash and a variety of potatoes. Find all these foods and more in the recipes below, many of which are gluten free!

(Key: C = cup, T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, lb. = pound, oz. = ounce, qt. = quart) Summer Squash Soup with Vegetable Garnishes SOUP 2 T olive oil or butter 1 1/4 lbs. zucchini, crookneck or pattypan squash 1 large onion, chopped 1 bunch scallions, including half of the greens, chopped 2 T raw white rice 1/2 C chopped parsley 6 C basic vegetable stock or water salt and freshly milled pepper lemon juice Heat the oil in a soup pot, add the vegetables, rice and parsley. Stir to coat with the oil, then add 1/2 cup stock, cover and stew for 10 minutes over medium heat (OR heat the oil, add the squash and onion, and sauté over high heat until the squash begins to color, then add the scallions, rice and parsley). Add the remaining stock and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes.

VEGETABLE GARNISH 1/2 C zucchini, finely diced kernels from 1 ear of corn 4 scallions, thinly sliced 1 t butter or olive oil In a small skillet, briefly sauté zucchini, corn and scallions in butter or olive oil.

Garnish the soup with the vegetables and finely chopped herbs. Serves 4 to 6.

Corn with Squash 3 small summer squashes 4 T olive oil 1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped 3 C fresh corn kernels (sliced from 3 ears of shucked corn, or substitute defrosted frozen sweet corn) 4 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

September 2008 10

1 C raw cane sugar 2 large egg yolks 1/2 C applesauce 1/4 C grapeseed, rice oil or room temp clarified butter 4 large egg whites 2 C spelt flour 2 1/4 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1 t fine sea salt Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with the oil, or put paper liners in the cups. Spray a rimmed baking sheet as well, or line with parchment paper. Toss the squash with the coarse sea salt and spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the squash is cooked through and tender.

Butternut Squash Muffins

In a saucepan, combine the peppercorns, cinnamon sticks and coriander over medium-high heat and heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the coriander begins to smell like oranges. Remove from the heat. Let sit for 30 seconds, and then add the apple juice.

Return to the heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until reduced to 1/4 cup and thick. Pour the apple juice through a fine-mesh sieve. Discard the whole spices and push the reduced juice through the sieve with the back of a spoon, if necessary. Set aside.

flavorless vegetable oil spray (or grapeseed or rice oil in a mister or spray bottle), optional 1 lb. butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes (about 3 cups) 1 t coarse sea salt 8 black peppercorns 2 cinnamon sticks 2 T coriander seeds 4 C apple juice (or apple cider)

Transfer the squash and reduced juice to a food processor and process until smooth. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and egg yolks on high speed for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the applesauce, oil and butternut squash puree until just blended. Transfer to a large bowl.

Cut squashes in half lengthwise, thinly slice crosswise and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft. Add sliced squash and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until soft.

Add the corn kernels and cook 5 minutes more. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Season with salt and pepper. Serves 4 to 6.

Fit the mixer with the whip attachment and clean and dry the bowl. Add the egg whites to the bowl and beat on mediumhigh speed until there are very foamy, but not quite soft peaks.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and the fine sea salt. Add to the batter and stir just until mixed. Fold in the egg whites until just blended. There will be some white streaks in the batter, which is fine.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each one about three-fourths full.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tin on a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out of the tin and let cool completely on the rack before serving. Makes 12 muffins.

Roasted Green Chile Tortilla Bake The creamy filling cools the spice in this homey family-style dish. Use organic free-range chicken for the protein, or cooked black beans if you are vegetarian. To make it vegan, use soy cream cheese for the cheese layer. Make the green chile first.

GREEN CHILE SAUCE 2 C fresh or frozen roasted chiles, skinned, stemmed, seeded, chopped 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 2 vine-ripe tomatoes, seeded, chopped 3 C vegetable broth, reserve 4-5 T pinch of sea salt, to taste fresh ground pepper, to taste dash of golden balsamic vinegar 1 T agave syrup 2 T potato starch or sweet rice flour In a large saucepan, combine the chiles, garlic, tomatoes, broth, sea salt and pep-

Checking accounts

that pay you back.

CO-OP Food-Shed

With DOUBLE cash rewards.

Now through February 28, 2009, with a personal checking account and our Visa® Check Card, you can earn double cash rewards up to $500. Simply enroll in our Community Rewards Program and do your regular shopping. Each year we deposit your total cash rewards in your checking account; then match that amount for the community and category of your choice – all at no cost to you. Get full details at our website, www.nmefcu.org, or at any of our branch offices.

14 locations including Santa Fe 913 W. Alameda, west of St. Francis Drive (inside La Montañita Co-op)

Santa Fe 467-6000 • Albuquerque 889-7755

Member NCUA

PROJECT

Bringing together local farmers and Co-op shoppers for the best in fresh, fair and local food!

BUYL LOCAL SHOP CO-OP !

kitchen creativity per, vinegar and agave syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat; reduce heat and maintain a gentle, constant low simmer for ten minutes.

Add the potato starch to the reserved broth and whisk to make a thickening paste. Stir the paste into the green chile and continue to cook, stirring for another 7 to 10 minutes, until the sauce is thickened but not gluey. As always, taste test. If you used very hot chiles and the sauce is too spicy, add more agave to soften the heat. Remove from the stove and set aside.

CASSEROLE: 2 1/2 C green chile sauce (above) 10 to 12 corn tortillas 1 8-oz. pkg soft cream cheese, room temperature 1 C grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, or vegan cheese 1 medium red onion, diced fine 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 C cooked chicken pieces or cooked black beans 1/2 t cumin, to taste juice from 1 large lime Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray or oil an 8x8-inch baking dish. Spoon a half cup of the chile sauce into the baking dish to cover the bottom. Take four tortillas, one at a time, and dip each one quickly into the hot green chile sauce and place it into the baking dish to make a bottom layer. Tear some tortillas in half, if necessary, to cover the dish. Spread the softened cream cheese onto the tortilla layer; add the grated cheese.

In a bowl, combine the onion, garlic and chicken (or black beans). Season with cumin and lime juice. Add the chicken (or bean) mixture to the casserole and spread evenly. Spoon a half cup of green chile sauce over the chicken (or beans). Follow with another layer of dipped tortillas. Press down with a spatula.

Pour the remaining green chile sauce all over the top, allowing it to seep in around the edges.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until it is hot and bubbling. Allow the casserole to sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving. Serve with a cool green salad.

Serves 4.

2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled 2 oz. crumbled goat or shredded yogurt cheese Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a medium-large skillet over medium-high heat and cook the garlic for one minute. Add the spinach. Stir. Cook for a few minutes until most of the liquid has been reduced. Add the roasted peppers and white beans and stir gently to combine. Season with nutmeg, sage, sea salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Stir in the cheeses.

FOR THE SAUCE: Combine in a food processor till smooth: 1 14-oz. can Muir Glen organic fire roasted diced tomtatoes with green chiles 2 garlic cloves 1 T spicy salsa splash of balsamic vinegar TO ASSEMBLE: 4 white corn tortillas extra virgin olive oil, as needed 1-2 oz. feta cheese or goat cheese, broken into pieces Spoon enough sauce into two gratin dishes to cover their shiny bottoms. Heat a dash of olive oil in a flat skillet and fry one corn tortilla till soft and giving. Place it into the dish flat and fill it with one quarter of the filling; roll and snug it in, seam side down. Repeat for the second tortilla.

Repeat the above for the second gratin dish. Now you have two servings. Spoon sauce over both servings. Sprinkle pieces of feta cheese or goat cheese on the top of the enchiladas now, or wait until the enchiladas have almost finished baking about 25 minutes - then add the cheese, and warm through briefly. Serve with a crisp green salad.

These recipes have been adapted and reprinted from the following sources: Artisan Farming: Lessons, Lore, and Recipes

by Richard Harris with Lisa Fox Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

by Deborah Madison www.101cookbooks.com http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

Two Locations!

Nob Hill

Acupuncture Center Relief from stress, pain, digestive discomfort, colds & flu Most insurances accepted.

3415 Silver SE Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106 P: 505-265-5087 103 East Hill Gallup, New Mexico 87301 P: 505-863-8018

SHOP YOUR CO-OP Classical Homeopathy Visceral Manipulation Craniosacral Therapy

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

505-266-6522

JACK OF ALL TRADES

MASTER OF

DRIP

Enchiladas Griegos for Two Greek (and gringo) meets Mexican. Unorthodox meets classic. Simple and vegetarian.

FOR THE FILLING: 1 T extra virgin olive oil, more as needed 1 10-oz. pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 C roasted red peppers, drained, chopped 1 15-oz. can organic white beans, drained, briefly rinsed dash of freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 t rubbed sage sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

FRESH DELICIOUS & ORGANIC

IRRIGATION

345-9240 eat your

VEGGIES!

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September 2008 14

sustaining community

protecting North Valley agriculture and quality of life

Ditches TRAILS

with

BY CHRIS WELLER came to Albuquerque in 2001, seeking out a Far North Valley location where my son and I could walk to one of the three equestrian stables nearby. We loved all the livestock and small farms, mostly growing grass hay, alfalfa or fruit trees, some with vegetable gardens, along the ditch bank. This is a perfect place to live, I thought, ten minutes from work, yet in an agriculturally mixed community.

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Choosing between Change and Loss

Three years later the land had been sold to a developer from Arizona that sought a zoning change to put 19 houses where the stable had been. At the County Planning building I attended meetings, where several neighbors spoke for and against the zoning change. In the end the plans were modified to require a bit more open space, and the developer was allowed to build 16 luxury homes, retailing in the $400,000 range. Many of these homes sit unsold today, and several lots are undeveloped. Two families who bought homes originally have already left.

Now more of the agricultural land I love is either going fallow or being sold for development. The feed store closed, another stable

changed hands, my neighbors who had horses moved out, and the man who had spent his life farming several acres at the end of the road died, leaving his lands ripe for development. Driving the valley on errands I find my sense of anxiety increasing. Our food basket resource is rapidly being sold off to developers. It is apparent: we are at risk of “Scottsdale-itis.” The North Valley is potentially and realistically, on the verge of becoming just another suburb.

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ne day I read a notice for a public meeting of a multi-jurisdictional, cooperative citizen group forming to study the issue of recreational trail access along the irrigation ditches and to examine the feasibility of establishing a sanctioned trail system – including potential open space protections. This group became “Ditches with Trails.” I went to this meeting and several large follow-up meetings. I joined and then headed a working group, attended Steering Committee and workgroup meetings, met with engineers from MRGCD, made contacts in the community, met with representatives from City, County, Open Space, Parks and Recreation, Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) and Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) planners – among other activities.

The Ditches with Trails Steering Committee, (DWT) researched existing conditions, identified issues and looked for potential solutions, both locally and in similar communities across the West. We hosted information tables at a wide variety of public events for three years. We secured over $750,000 of state funding for the future

development of the North and South Valley Pilot Projects. We lobbied the Legislature to change trail liability laws — and won. We worked with MRGCD to conduct a ratepayer survey. We held a three-day public design workshop. Then, in a final flurry of effort, in July 2008, we produced and presented a report documenting our process: the 84-page “Feasibility Report.”

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WT presented this report to the MRGCD board on July 28, 2008, to both public support and outcry. Many community members had worked for years with DWT and were proud and supportive of the effort and the final report. Yet, many local neighbors, convinced that our group wanted to pave the ditch trails and create bike super-highways through their back yards, opposed DWT. DWT members asked the MRGDC Board to accept the report and facilitate a two-to-three month pubic review process. The neighbors who were against DWT, most of whom had not participated in the process and who, due to the timing of the report’s release, probably had not yet read it, wanted the project shut down.

That night, the MRGCD Board voted to accept the Feasibility Report and then swiftly voted to terminate the agreement of co-operation with DWT and affectively shut down the North Valley Pilot Project. With no public oversight and the handicapping of DWT as a multi-jurisdictional entity, they dashed the efforts of many citizens and legislators and disrespected the research and possible outcome scenarios detailed in the report.

The future of Ditches With Trails is now unknown. The open space and agricultural lands preservation many of us hoped would come along with a sanctioned trail system have been put out of reach. The MRGCD, in its current incarnation, has no legal right to fight for agricultural lands conservation or recreational trail access. Without some kind of formal protection, our ditches, acequias, drains and our unique network of 300 miles of flowing irrigation with beautiful, tree-lined trails is at serious risk. The ensuing dilemma is not a choice between change and no change; it is a choice between change and loss.

Chris Nyman Weller is a resident of Alameda, an MRGCD ratepayer, recent past president of the North Valley Coalition and citizen member of the Ditches With Trails Steering Committee.

Save the Ditches!

• Please consider contacting the MRGCD Board about this issue. Go to the DWT web site (ditcheswithtrails.org) and read the report, use the web link to view contact information for all the MRGCD board members. You may also contact your state senators or representatives. Dede Feldman, John Ryan and several state representatives helped secure funding for DWT. Have your voice heard on our most basic quality of life issue: our local irrigation system, agricultural lands and recreational beauty that goes with them are intrinsically and inseparably joined to our health as a community.

• The Ditches with Trails Feasibility Report can be viewed or downloaded via a link on the MRGCD web site, the DWT web site (ditcheswithtrails.org), or directly from: http://ditcheswithtrails.org/documents/DWTFINAL.pdf

EAT IT RAW AT T H E N O B HILL

DELI

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September 2008 15

Help Make Our Drinking Water

SAFE!

BY JANET GREENWALD, AGUA ES VIDA ACTION TEAM s we move toward drinking the Rio Grande, you can help make drinking water standards more protective. In early 2009, the City of Albuquerque will begin using the Rio Grande as drinking water. Though we call this diversion the San Juan-Chama diversion, the San Juan is diverted into the Chama and the Chama flows into the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico.

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Is this a good plan? Will the Rio be safe for us to drink? Many issues are involved. In June 2007, The Co-op Connection (www.lamontanita.coop) devoted

a page to the issues of concern, possible health affects and recommendations concerning drinking the river. All the information contained in that chart was provided by Albuquerque Drinking Water Quality Coalition. Some of the contaminants of concern are long-lived radionuclides from operations at Los Alamos, pharmaceuticals (as yet unregulated), toxic chemicals and Rio Rancho’s sewage effluent, which enters the Rio a mile or so above the diversion at Alameda. Though the diversion will do some filtering, Maurice Weisberg, a retired radiologist and Joe Wexler, an Albuquerque engineer, have questioned whether the filtering is adequate, given the many contaminants in the river.

The levels of certain radionuclides in the Rio Grande (radium, for example) are sometimes above current drinking water standards. However, for the most part, at this time, radionuclide content is

below current drinking water standards. The question being raised nationally is whether current drinking water standards, especially for long-lived alpha-emitting radionuclides, are protective of the young child, the unborn and human bone structure.

Since the mid-1970s when the current drinking water standards were promulgated, “the understanding of how radionuclides move within the human body once they are inhaled or ingested has improved greatly” (Science for Democratic Action, Bad to the Bone, September 2005).

Health effects of inhaling or ingesting these radionuclides can include cancer, birth defects and nerve disorders.

The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, IEER, and its leading scientist, Arjun Makijani, are leading a campaign to make drinking water standards more protective. Based on Environmental Protective Agency (EPA) and independent studies, the Institute is recommending that standards for long-lived alpha-emitting radionuclides be made one hundred times more protective than current standards.

Please stand with Agua es Vida Action Team (AVAT) and Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping (CARD) in support of the national campaign to make drinking water standards more protective.

Join us Sept. 16, 6pm,

New Mexico Solar Energy Association’s

9TH ANNUAL SOLAR FIESTA! September 20-21, 2008 • Highland High School • 10am-5pm Albuquerque, New Mexico

Don’t miss New Mexico's premier Renewable Energy and Environmental Educational Fair. Enjoy exhibits and workshops focusing on practical uses of renewable energy, energy efficiency and many other sustainable living practices. Learn about energy efficiency and conservation, energy-efficient appliances, environmentally-friendly and efficient building and finish materials, passive solar design and construction, solar electricity, solar thermal, sustainable fuels and efficient vehicles, water catchment and efficient use.

Highland High School is once again the site of the Solar Fiesta. NMSEA would like to thank Principal Nikki Dennis, Assistant Principal Frank Maestas and Activities Director Pat Arguelles for their support of this endeavor.

THE SOUND A

RAVEN MAKES

THE DUENDE POETRY SERIES

Body-Centered Counseling

Free Workshops Each day the Solar Fiesta will begin with a free workshop for the general public before the gates open. This is a great opportunity for a quick introduction to solar electricity and heating, passive solar design and alternative materials and fuels.

Adult Workshops Workshops will be arranged in topicfocused tracks including: Electricity, Thermal/Water, Design & Materials, Financial, Vehicles, Energy Efficiency, and a Professional Track.

Technical Sessions The Technical Sessions are back. These 20-minute presentations are designed specifically for the professional community, but the technically-minded public is welcome.

For more information, booth registration forms and schedules go to www.nmsea.org, e-mail: info@nmsea.org or call 505-246-0400.

Sun., Sept. 14, 7pm at Anasazi Fields Winery, Placitas, NM • "The Sound a Raven Makes": the poetry of Sawnie Morris, Michelle Holland and Catherine Ferguson. This event will feature final performances by out-of-town poets Regie Cabico, Sheri D Wilson, Catt Kidd and more. To get to the Winery, take I-25 to the Placitas exit 242, drive 6 miles east to the Village, turn left at the sign just before the Presbyterian Church, follow Camino de los Pueblitos through two stop signs to the Winery entrance. Suggested donation of $3 will pay the poets.

CONTACTS: Jim Fish 867-3062 anasazifieldswinery @att.net Cirrelda Snider-Bryan 897-0285 cirrelda@ laalamedapress.com or www.anasazifieldswinery.com

CREATIVE

DANCE Creative Dance is dance improvisation that allows the dancer to move from within. There is no specific style and no choreography. Barbara Mettler founded Creative Dance in the late 1930s and taught children and adults for more than sixty years. She also published nine books and directed a dance company.

CREATIVE DANCE Integrated Counseling, Therapeutic Bodywork and Movement

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

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

is suitable for dancers and nondancers alike, young and old. Its benefits range from group cooperation to personal growth. For information contact Leslie Best of A-Core-Dance, at hradistu@yahoo.com, or 891-2040.

at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice in welcoming Arjun Makijani to our community and find out more about how we can help improve drinking water standards.

For more information 266-2663, 242-5511, contactus @card nm.org.

Help Make Drinking Water Standards More

Protective

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