2009-02-CCN

coop february 2009

c onnec tion

! h t n o M t n u o c is D e February is Volum

free

up to 20%

New Mexico Organic

FARMING CONFERENCE “A

In February 2009, the NM Organic Farming Conference celebrates Aldo Leopold’s contributions to organic and sustainable farming with the keynote address: Aldo Leopold’s Enduring Legacy to Sustainable Farming by Paul Johnson, wildlife biologist and former Chief of the USDA’s Soil Conservation Service (now the Natural Resource Conservation Service). Johnson, an Iowa farmer, was the founder of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and is one of the country’s leading authorities on Aldo Leopold.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Aldo Leopold in New Mexico. Leopold is perhaps best known for his work as an ecologist and conservationist; his work to preserve wilderness resulted in the creation of the wilderness that today bears his name in New Mexico’s Gila Mountains. Less well-known is Leopold’s groundbreaking work in farmstead conservation—work that paved the way for what today is known as agroecology.

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 New Mexico Organic Farming Conference. The conference will be held at the Encanto Hotel in Las Cruces. La Montanita Co-op Natural Foods Market, Los Poblanos Organics and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture are co-sponsoring the gathering.

In addition, to the keynote six sessions of workshops will pull together information on a wide range of topics for organic and sustainable producers. The Sessions include livestock, crops, organic certification, farm support, marketing and more. A demonstration will include hands-on how-to training. Learn from some of the best in New Mexico farming and education including Nancy Coonridge; Jeff grow Shahczenski of Appropriate Techorganic! nology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA); Kelly James of Hobbs; Douglas Cram, Cooperative Extension Specialist for Animal Sciences and Natural Resources; Alan Lackey of Canyon River Ranch in Watrous; Frankie Benoist of J-Six Ranch in Mimbres; Dr. Ron Walser, Extension Urban Small Farm Specialist at NMSU’s Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center; Dr. Ron Godin, or-

The 14th Water Conservation and

XERISCAPE CONFERENCE WATERSHED & FOODSHED

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ince 2000, the Water Conservation Conference offered by the Xeriscape Council of NM has become the national outdoor water conservation conference. The February 2008 conference attracted almost 400 registrants from 18 states. Over 35 city water departments were represented. Registrants have also attended from Mexico, Japan, Canada and Argentina. This year the conference takes place at the Pyramid Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque on February 26-27 (Thursday/Friday). The Xeriscape Council of N.M. also presents a free to the public Water Conservation and Xeriscape Expo on February 28 and March 1 (Saturday and Sunday).

FEBRUARY

VOLUME DISCOUNT is

month!

Member Appreciation

DISCOUNT DAYS! Watch Your Home Mailbox for your VOLUME DISCOUNT SHOPPING COUPON. Bring it to any Co-op location during the month of February and get up to 20% off one shopping trip at your local community owned Co-op.

The more you SPEND the more you SAVE Up to 20%! CANNOT BE ADDED TO OTHER DISCOUNTS $0.00-$74.99/ Gets 10% • $75-$149.99/ Gets 15% $150 +/ Gets 20% PLAN AHEAD by placing special orders prior to your shopping trip, so we can have the items and quantities you want.

The 2009 global water keynote will feature Maude Barlow, the National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians, Canada’s largest public advocacy organization, and the co-founder of the Blue Planet Project. She works internationally for the right to water. Her landmark book Blue Gold initiated the global right-towater movement. She serves on the boards of the International Forum on Globalization and Food and Water Watch, as well as being a Councilor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council.

An increasingly current and relevant topic for 2009 is “Watershed-Food-Shed.” The “FoodShed” keynote address will be by Land Institute president, Wes Jackson. The Land Institute, founded in 1976, has worked for over 20 years on problems in agriculture with a primary focus on developing an agricultural system with the ecological stability of native prairie and a grain yield comparable to that from annual crops.

ganic production researcher at Colorado State University; Ramon Alvarez on cotton alfalfa and chile; Dr. Tess Grasswitz NMSU Urban and Small Farm IPM specialist; Dr. Connie Falk, NMSU Agricultural Economist; Sharlene Grunerud of the organic Mimbres Farms/No Cattle Company in San Juan, New Mexico; and garlic farmers Eli Burg and Amanda Mione of Chispas Farm.

Chief organic inspector for our state organic certifying agency, Brett Bakker, Vice President of CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

Other speakers include: Roger Doiron, founder and director of Kitchen Gardeners International; David S. Gutzler, Professor of Meteorology and Climatology in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at UNM; Toby Hemenway, author of Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture; Basia Irland, Professor Emeritus, University of New Mexico Department of Art and Art History, creator of international water projects in Africa, Canada, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the United States; Brad Lancaster, a permaculture teacher, designer, consultant and co-founder of Desert Harvesters; Andy Lipkis, founder of TreePeople in 1973, educating on taking personal responsibility for the urban forest; Deborah Madison, founding chef of San Francisco’s Greens restaurant; Andrew Parker, a Royal Society Research Fellow at Oxford; and Paul Stamets, whose writings and research on mushrooms has opened investigation into the use of mushroom spores for personal health, fine eating and environmental remediation.

Registration Fee: $200: Fee includes 2-day conference, all conference materials, lunches, coffee breaks and access to all exhibits. After 2/20/2009 registration is $225. For more information on the conference and the Free Water Conservation Expo, or to register, go to www.xeriscape nm.com.

FREE xeriscape, water harvesting &

Gardening EXPO On Saturday, Feb 28 and Sunday, March 1st, at the New Mexico Expo Fairgrounds, the Xeriscape Council is presenting the Water Conservation and Xeriscape Expo, featuring hundreds of our area’s most knowledgeable people, seminars and

booths from over 250 garden educators, xeriscape info, water harvesting, mulch, composters, designers, growers, gardening tools, plants and much more. This is the largest expo of its kind in our region. It is free to the public. The $4 parking fee at the fairgrounds is the only cost. Visit your Co-op Booth!

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or the past 3 years the Co-op has funded the Cooking with Kids Program at Gonzales Elementary School. Gonzales Elementary School is located about a half a block from the Santa Fe Co-op store. Thanks to the funding the Co-op provides, six times a year each class at the school gets a lesson in nutrition and local, natural and traditional foods that incorporates math, science and history. The students prepare foods from special recipes in their classroom with Cooking With Kids staff. They get to enjoy the fruits of their labor eating what they have prepared with their classmates.

The Co-op continues our commitment to this program that gets children excited about cooking and eating good food while giving them first-hand cooking experience.

We believe this program is one antidote to the obesity and diabetes epidemics among our youth.

Thanks to the Cooking With Kids staff for their devotion to the health and future of our children. -La Montanita Co-op Membership Department.

COOKING WITH KIDS

THNAK YOU CO-OP!

BY JOANIE QUINN, NEW MEXICO ORGANIC COMMODITY COMMISSION February 27-28 in Las Cruces ldo Leopold spoke of harmony between people and the land. When people do well by the land, and the land does well by people, then you have sustainable communities and sustainable agriculture. But when one or the other grows poorer, you do not have sustainability. We can have top production and the eagles overhead and the otters in the rivers. It’s not one or the other. You can have it all—why not?”

—Paul Johnson, Keynote Speaker for the 2009 NM Organic Farming Conference

winter skin care 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-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/Robin Seydel 217-2027 robins@lamontanita.coop • CDC/MichelleFranklin 217-2010 mf@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 • Alisha Olguin/Gallup 575-863-5383 alishao@lamontanita.coop Co-op Board of Directors: email: bod@lamontanita.coop President: Martha Whitman Vice President: Marshall Kovitz Secretary: Ariana Marchello Treasurer: Ken O’Brien William Bright Lonn Calanca Stephanie Dobbie Tamara Saimons Betsy Van Liet Membership Costs: $15 for 1 year/$200 Lifetime Membership Co-op Connection Staff: Managing Editor: Robin Seydel robins@lamontanita.coop Layout and Design: foxyrock inc Cover/Centerfold: Co-op Marketing Dept.

Advertising: Robin 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 © 2009 La Montanita Co-op Supermarket Reprints by prior permission.

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

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special

clear, healthy, well nourished

WINTER SKIN

Eating warm cooked foods, drinking warm water or herb/spice teas, and getting moderate daily exercise can help improve circulation, digestion and elimination, keeping skin healthy and clear. According to traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, the act of digestion is a warm process. Therefore, drinking water at room temperature, or warmer, is advised to increase digestive activity. It’s soothing and refreshing to wake up on a cold morning and start off with a warm or hot cup of water. Add fresh lemon, ginger, or other herbs and a little honey for flavor and increased circulation.

CARE TIPS I

KRISTIN WHITE t goes without saying that winter weather in New Mexico leaves our skin especially dry, rough, itchy, flaky and chapped. Here are some ideas to keep your skin nourished, healthy and clear this season.

BY

Turn it DOWN! Heated homes, workplaces and automobiles add even more dryness to the air and, as a result, affect our skin. Turn the heat down to the lowest level of comfort. Use a room humidifier to return moisture into your environment. Moisture balance in the environment helps prevent dry nasal passages and eyes.

Keep it NATURAL! Switch to a natural soap, such as a handmade glycerin soap, or mild, gentle cleanser for both face and body. For a homemade cleanser, try ground oatmeal or chickpea flour mixed with a little milk. If your skin is naturally dry, add some almond meal and a few drops of aloe vera or sesame oil. Scrub lightly and moderately, and dab skin with a soft towel after the bath or shower, just enough to remove excess moisture.

d ry skin

care

Water WISE! We here in the Southwest are well-instructed to drink plenty of water. Internal hydration keeps skin cells plump and healthy. Water also helps transport nutrients to skin cells, keeping them nourished.

Prolonged exposure to hot water can cause skin to become drier.

Take showers rather than baths, and keep them short. Limit them to one per day and use lukewarm, not hot, water. Add a few drops of bath oil to your bath to soften skin.

Water-rich vegetables like leafy greens and green-skinned squashes are great for internal hydration and skin nourishment.

Sprouts, too, have high water content and are full of nutrients (refer to the January ’09 newsletter for more information on sprouting). Avoid alcohol and caffeinated drinks, which are dehydrating.

Use a good moisturizer to keep skin lubricated. For best results, apply the moisturizer to damp skin immediately after cleansing. Give extra attention to knees, elbows, hands and feet, which tend to be drier than the rest of the body.

My personal favorite remedy for dry skin is dry skin brushing.

Dry skin brushing detoxifies the skin, our largest, most important eliminative organ in the body. It is an easy and inexpensive way to exfoliate the skin, generating skin renewal that is super soft to the touch. Other benefits to dry skin brushing include: cleanses the lymphatic system, removes dead skin layers, strengthens the immune system, helps digestion, stimulates circulation, tightens skin and tones muscles. For more information about this invigorating and beneficial dry skin care, visit the following web address: http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/ healingtechniques/Dry_Brushing_Technique.htm.

Local Product Spotlight:

EL MILAGRO HERBS

BY KRISTIN WHITE

E

l Milagro Herbs is a locally-owned, Santa Fe community herb store specializing in organic and ethically wildcrafted herbal extracts and body care products. It is unique in many ways. All of the plants used in processing their products are ecologically harvested, native and traditional plants from in and around Santa Fe, including gardens at their Canyon Road shop, and from indigenous peoples of the Southwest. On-site consultations and custom formulas are provided to maximize a person’s health based on individual experiences.

Tomas Enos, owner of El Milagro Herbs, is passionate about, and dedicated to, helping people heal themselves with plants. This sense of purpose is strengthened by Tomas’ knowledge and love of plants. According to Enos, the healing power of plants is strongest and carries the most vitality when harvested and picked on native soil. In addition, what we put on our skin, our largest organ and protective barrier, goes into our bloodstream. The creams, moisturizers, ointments, cleansers and serums made at El Milagro Herbs nourish our skin and cells.

Enos’ career developed out of an initial interest in using natural resources in New Mexico in a sustainable way. This fascination led Tomas to complete extensive study and research on how indigenous plants are used as medicine in various cultures and regions. He received a doctorate in ethnobotany and opened a community herb store in 1990 in the Gila area. Now in Santa Fe, Tomas maintains his dedication to serving the community, blending traditional and modern knowledge in the development and application of medicinal formulas to support optimal health.

I asked Tomas what skin care regime he recommends for New Mexico winter. His advice? A four-step daily routine will keep skin soft, healthy and protected: first, use a gentle cleanser; second, a mild exfoliant; third, an emollient cream for face and hands; fourth, and finally, use a serum on top of the cream to seal in moisture. Dead skin layers build up in relationship to temperature. More build-up occurs in winter, as our skin gets colder. Because of this, Tomas recommends a deeper exfoliation and a steam once a month to remove the dead layers.

A lot of focus is on women when it comes to health and beauty; but today, men are more concerned about looking and feeling healthy and youthful. They are also more

comfortable seeking advice on skin and hair care and using products. Because many men work and play outdoors, Tomas recommends sun protection cream. Many men are also concerned about the quality and strength of their hair over time. Milagro’s Natural Botanicals Shampoo contains the finest natural ingredients and bases, free of sulfates and scents, and include wild yucca root and Herba de la Negrita to stimulate hair growth.

A new addition to El Milagro Herbs is the opening of a custom spa. Spa offerings include full facial treatments, facial acupuncture, lymphatic drainage, head and neck massage and herbal oil therapy. All treatment products are developed and blended on location, at the shop and laboratory, and used by a trained staff of herbalists and estheticians.

Look for a variety of El Milagro products, including the amazing Desert Dweller Moisturizing Body Lotion, Oasis Revitalization Crème, Bloodroot Crème, Horsechestnut Crème, Royal Jelly Serum, Shampoo, Hair Conditioner and other “miraculous” El Milagro products at Co-op locations in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

Email El Milagro Herbs at drenos@elmilagroherbs. com or stop by the store at 1020 Canyon Road, just past El Farol, for a special consult or treatment. Their phone number is 505-820-6321.

SHOP

CO-OP!

Valentine’s Day

SPECIAL! local potions, lotions and fair trade flowers

Saturday, Feb 14th At the Santa Fe Co-op, 1-3pm: Valentines and Art Button making party for all ages, music, food tastings and fun for all!

February 2009

winter skin care

special

Desert Woman Botanicals:

PLANTS THAT TEACH AND HEAL

BY ROBIN SEYDEL onica Rude, the “Desert Woman”, herself has been a familiar sight at Co-op events for well over a decade.

Her products, all handmade from herbs, many of which she grows herself in the Mimbres Valley in southwestern New Mexico, are some of the finest available anywhere.

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Says Monica, “I left a twenty-year nursing career behind to be outside with the plants. Gardens became my habitat. Plants became my teachers.

I especially love weeds; they have a lot to offer.

I studied with Michael Moore, well-known Southwest herbalist and author, then became an herb grower, starting my own nursery business and herbal product line.” Monica has taught numerous classes and seminars and continues to organize continuing education gatherings for Southwestern herbalists.

“Over the years, I’ve tried to supply the world with bulk herbs, sold plants from my own commercial greenhouse, grown thousands of Cayenne plants and nurtured a few dozen apprentices. Presently, I grow herbs for my Desert Woman Botanicals (DWB) product line and run the entire operation, from new product creation, ship orders and maintain inventory to educating consumers on the Desert Woman products and herbs in general.”

Monica’s cultivates nearly 100 medicinal and culinary herbs in her organic gardens. DWB is currently expanding its Demonstration SOUTHWESTERN

HERBALIST AND EDUCATOR

Gardens with many new varieties of medicinal and culinary herbs. If you'd like a tour of the facilities, please go to www.desertwomanbotanicals.net and contact her to arrange a tour.

The Co-op has long carried a variety of Desert Woman’s fine products, including her most famous “Fab Foot Crème” and “Fire Cider”. Fire Cider’s blend of herbs make it a general health tonic, mood lifter, Chi mover, digestive aid, decongestant, and anti microbial. It strengthens normal functions of the heart, liver and immune systems. The Fab Foot Crème is a supreme healer for badly cracked skin and foot calluses, the bane of life in our dry desert environment. DWB’s St Johns-wort/ Comfrey Salve is excellent when used for shingles, nerve injury, cold sores, herpes, and to decrease nerve pain. DWB Calendula/ Lavender salve can be used to heal just about anything from cuts, burns, sunburn, diaper rash to dry, itchy skin conditions. It’s aromatic too; just rub on temples for headache or mood lift or use under a band-aid for first aid. As Monica says,“Opening a jar of one of my products is like stepping into my gardens.”

Valley

Look for Monica’s fine Desert Woman Botanical products at your nearest Co-op location or talk to your friendly and knowledgeable Co-op staff to special order a product for you.

LOCAL PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT:

THE JANECKA COLLECTION

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he Janeckas are a family of four that moved to New Mexico to find relief from their Texas allergies. Out of necessity, their all-natural skin care products were created. Now based in Jemez Springs, they use no petroleum products, chemical preservatives, synthetics or fillers. All skin care and make-up is 100% natural. With JANECKA products you are taking care of your skin the natural way.

Many skin care products contain natural ingredients, but they also contain chemical or man-made ingredients which void the benefits of these natural oils and herbs. When Janecka Skin Care says it is 100% natural, “we are saying that we do not put any chemical or man-made ingredients into our products. There are no secret formulas either. We proudly list all our ingredients so you know exactly what you are putting on your body. Our formulas are concentrated, with no fillers, so all ingredients are active ingredients and beneficial to you. Skin care should be caring for your skin, not damaging it and the environment. This is what we believe and this is what we do.”

La Montanita will be carrying both their face care products and their mineral makeup. Ingredients for face care include those that heal problems from acne and rosacea to eczema and psoriasis. The products use a variety of soothing herbs which also repair dry, damaged skin, help prevent premature aging, and aid in the treatment of wrinkles and swelling. Proud of their allnatural ingredients, they use a wide variety including: organic cayenne pepper, cinnamon and cinnamon oil, citric acid, coconut oil, Dead Sea salt, organic echinacea root, grapefruit seed extract, jojoba and olive oils, lavender oil and petals, oatmeal and other high quality ingredients.

NATURAL

ORGANIC

Farming Conference CONTINUED FROM PAGE

1

the Accredited Certifiers Association, will talk about recent and coming changes in the national organic standards.

The Demonstration Sessions will give participants some hands-on experience in the following sessions: Keeping Bees Without Chemicals; Appropriate Tools for Small-scale Farms — BYOT (Bring Your Own Tools); Season Extension Choices: What is Right for Your Farm; Putting Poultry to Pasture: A New Design for Chicken Tractors; Pruning and Grafting Techniques for Healthy and Happy Trees; and Drip Irrigation and Microsprayers in Orchard Applications.

Take advantage of this great opportunity to visit Las Cruces and bask in the warm southern sun this year as the Organic Farming Conference heads

Janecka Mineral Make-up uses only cosmetic grade ground minerals, oxides and micas that will not clog pores. Some of their minerals include: titanium dioxide - a white colored inorganic salt that offers sun protection as a broad spectrum UV absorber; zinc oxide - a natural sun-block astringent that is antiseptic and soothes and heals irritated skin, making this ingredient great for acne prone or rosacea sensitive skin; serecite mica, a low luster mica that reflects light and reduces the appearance of enlarged pores and fine lines; magnesium stearate - magnesium is a naturally occurring metal and stearic acid is derived from vegetable oil; oxides purified iron salts, used as a pigment to color mineral make-up instead of man-made colorants; ultramarine blue - a clay discovered by the Egyptians, that has been heated to a high temperature and used as a colorant; micas - a reflective mineral which is added to provide a satin finish. They use micas which are coated with titanium dioxide that gives mica its color, as opposed to dyes or lakes; and they use 100% silk powder - a natural moisturizer, an ancient aid to dry skin.

Look for this new high quality product at your favorite location, and watch for special Janecka Collection skin care and makeup demos at the North Valley and other locations during the month.

SKIN CARE south for the winter. Conference extras include a HACCP Workshop conducted by Nancy Flores, State Food Technologist, for those considering starting a processing business, on Wednesday, 2/25/09. There is a discount for those attending the Organic Farming Conference. Call 505-6461179 for more information. On Thursday, 2/26/09 join a Guided Tour of NMSU and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to find out more about the work going on there. Call Del Jimenez at 505-852-2668 to sign up for the tour.

Before you head back home, join us for a Farm Tour, on Sunday, March 1, at 10am, as 2008 New Mexico Organic Farmer of the Year, Sally Harper, guides you around her pecan orchard and answers all your questions about organic pecan production.

Registration for the two-day conference, including Saturday’s lunch, is $100. For more information call 841-9067, 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.

Gallup

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 February 2009

3

updates Lazy Ewe Goat D A I RY food-shed

ROBIN SEYDEL Telling Stories urtis and Jenny Knoblauch and their daughter still ranch land that was homesteaded by Curtis’ family back in the late 1880s. Their 250 acres at the top of the Co-op’s Food-Shed region in southern Colorado has pastured both beef and sheep over the years and now is home to Jenny’s 130 head of goats. “The name Lazy Ewe (pronounced lay zee u) came from the original Knoblauch family cattle brand which was a “U” turned on it’s side, so it’s a kind of play on words. We started keeping goats to feed the orphan lambs that my daughters were keeping back in their 4-H days,” says Jenny. “Eventually we sold the sheep and kept the goats. I’m quite attached to them, they’re my friends. When I retired three years ago—I taught middle school science for 29 years—I realized they were getting to be more than a hobby, and they had to start paying their way.”

BY

C

As you read this Jenny is in the middle of kidding season. She has 25 expectant mothers all probably going to kid, with twins, some with triplets, during the first week of February. “It will be a crazy week!”

Jenny says with a laugh. The Knoblauch’s divide their herd into two sections so that they have goat milk all year long. “We’ve been milking 30 head all winter, till late January. “The other part of the herd will kid and freshen in early February so there is always fresh milk for Lazy Ewe’s delicious fresh chevre and feta cheese. The amount of milk their

Fun Bun Bread

Timeless Baking

BY ROBIN SEYDEL avid Vargo has always wanted to bake bread. Upon graduating from cooking school he became a chef at a fancy country club in the midwest. “One morning I woke up and thought what do I really want to do in my life? What can I do happily for the next 30 years?

I paid off all my bills, quit the country club and as I have always loved baking bread wrote a business plan for a bakery that I thought I would open in the midwest.” But that was not to be and after 5 years as a chef at the famous Omega Institute, in New York State, his spiritual practice and the need for the quiet of the woods brought him to the Lama Foundation in Taos. “During my 5th year at Lama I began to feel a need to come back into the larger community. With some help in writing a business plan from the people at the Taos County Economic Development Center (TCEDC), I put together another bakery business plan and began baking bread at the commercial kitchen there.”

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February 2009 4

FAMILY TRADITIONS SUSTAIN THE herd produces varies with the lactation season. All their cheese is made by hand in small batches.

“Right now we are making cheese in 20-gallon batches. At the height of milking season we might have as much as 90 gallons of milk for a batch, which is still pretty small. All our cheeses are fresh.

We don’t have an aging facility and to sell raw

LAND

manage their fields to sustain the native grass, moving their herds in a timely way from pasture to pasture. “The goats do get a bit of grain during milking.

Food is a great motivation to them, keeps them lining up in the barn.” Jenny says ”We don’t give antibiotics routinely in feed, only when an animal is sick; an untreated animal is animal abuse. Milk from animals that are being treated, of course, is never used.

All our hay is untreated from our fields.”

The Co-op’s Food-Shed project is now one of the biggest buyers of Lazy Ewe Cheese and it is clear that the Knoblauch family and the Co-op share many of the same values. “We’re just trying to operate a ranch that’s been in our family for generations, keep it sustainable and produce a good, healthy, high quality product. We put all our land into a conservation easement, which will keep it in agriculture. We don’t want the most valuable land in the U.S. to be paved!” says Jenny.

milk cheese you have to age it for 60 days. So as a Grade A licensed dairy, our milk is pasteurized.”

Curtis, Jenny and their oldest daughter Amy all share the tasks of keeping the ranch on track. Daughter Amy is the herd manager, and Jenny oversees the cheese making. The goats are all grass/pasture fed.

Curtis sees to the pastures. All the winter feed hay is grown by Curtis on their acres and is their primary plant crop. They grow alfalfa and a grass mix and

Look for Lazy Ewe chevre and feta in all our Coop locations. Try all the delicious flavors of the chevre, including chive and garlic, Southwestern style, tomato and herb, garlic herb and the tried and true plain that can be used to great delight in both sweet or savory recipes. And try the plain or chive and garlic feta in salads, lightly sauted spinach or with other greens or pop in the blender with some olive oil, lemon and herbs for a fabulous salad or grain dressing.

This month David is celebrating the 2nd anniversary of his Fun Bun Bakery. And for those of us who love good bread, it is great fun to be able to enjoy David’s bread at both the Santa Fe Co-op and the Nob Hill location.

David’s bread is made the traditional way: small batches (10-15 loaves at a time) with high quality ingredients. “I use organic as much as possible and local products too: local honey and wheat from the Northern New Mexico, Sangre de Christo Wheat Project when I can get it. I love the challenge of making a high quality loaf with consistency in size, texture and weight over and over again. Spelt is the most difficult to work with; sometimes I get a really nice rise, but it is more challenging than regular wheat. I like that challenge.”

“It’s my calling— if there is that one certain thing that seems timeless and satisfying, baking bread would be it!” says David. David’s Fun Bun Bakery bread comes to both the Santa Fe and Nob Hill Co-ops on Mondays and Fridays in the afternoons. Look for his whole wheat, multi-grain, spelt and cinnamon raisin spelt breads. Also, he has reintroduced his challah. Originally an oversized loaf meant for a celebration, his new smaller loaves are perfect for families or individuals. Or look for his delicious challah or spelt rolls on the bread racks. And for a special treat try his Roasted Three Seed (flax, sunflower and pumpkin) Buttermilk Wheat Bread under the Land of the Rising Dough label, also at both Co-op locations.

LOCAL PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT:

Valentine’s Day

Special!

Saturday, Feb 14th At the Santa Fe Co-op, 1-3pm: Valentines and Art Button making party for all ages, music, food tastings and fun for all!

BAKERY

ONE WORLD FLOWERS:

FAIR TRADE ROSES

BY ALAINA PARADISE Beauty on All levels his year give your beloved flowers that are beautiful on all levels. One World Flowers is one of only a few companies that holds a Fair Trade license for flowers. They work with TransFair USA to import Fair Trade flowers from certified farms. A local woman-owned business in New Mexico, 10% of what they pay for their roses gets donated directly back into a fund for the workers on the farms in developing nations to use for scholarships and community development programs.

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TransFair USA works with rose farms to certify them as Fair Trade by helping them to establish a living wage, human rights compliance, insurance and benefits programs, community development programs and educational efforts for workers and their children.

They also maintain close oversight and interaction with the farms to ensure that practices are continued even after TransFair USA staff has left the farm. They place high priority on maintaining the high standards of humanitarian and environmental sustainability permanently, rather than certifying them once with little to no follow up afterwards.

Below are some of the social benefits of the Fair Trade program. For more information on the TransFair USA program go to www.trans fairusa.org.

give the gift of fair trade flowers

What a TransFair USA Certification Means: A Fair Price The Fair Trade Certified label guarantees that farmers and workers received a fair price for their product. The Fair Trade price means that farmers can feed their families and that their children can go to school instead of working in the fields.

Quality products By receiving a fair price, Fair Trade producers can avoid cost-cutting practices that sacrifice quality. The Fair Trade producers' traditional artesanal farming methods result in exceptional products.

Care for the environment Care for the workers and the environment require monitoring of chemical use and safety standards. Fair Trade products work to maintain biodiversity, provide shelter for migratory birds and help reduce global warming.

Worldwide Fair Trade impact Empowered by the economic stability provided

by Fair Trade, members of the COSURCA coffee cooperative in Colombia successfully prevented the cultivation of more than 1,600 acres of coca and poppy, used for the production of illicit drugs. In Papua New Guinea, the AGOGA cooperative is investing in a medical team to meet the healthcare needs of its isolated rural community.

In the highlands of Guatemala, indigenous Tzutuhil Mayans in the La Voz cooperative are sending local kids to college for the first time.

agua es

vida

ABRUPT

February 2009 5

NEW WATER STRATEGIES NEEDED NOW!

CLIMATE

CHANGE: PAST & FUTURE

MICHAEL JENSEN, AMIGOS BRAVOS n the film, The Day after Tomorrow, the northern hemisphere is struck with mega tornados, huge hail storms, a massive rogue wave inundating New York City, extremely rapid melting of polar ice, the consequent shut down of the warm Atlantic current (formally known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation), and the beginning – in the space of a day or so – of a new ice age.

BY

I

• The Southwestern United States may be beginning an abrupt period of increased drought; • It is very likely that the northward flow of warm water in the upper layers of the Atlantic Ocean will decrease by approximately 25-30%, but it is very unlikely that this flow will collapse or weaken abruptly; • There is unlikely to be an abrupt release of methane to the atmosphere, but it is very likely that the pace of methane emissions will increase.

This is abrupt climate change according to Hollywood. However, abrupt climate change is also the subject of serious analysis by scientists across the globe.

The likely potential for abrupt climate change in this century due to global warming varies by type.

The report’s conclusions are that: • Rapid and sustained September Arctic Sea ice loss is likely; an abrupt change in sea level is possible, but predictions are highly uncertain;

The new USGS report stresses that the volatility of hydrologic conditions in the West, with long underlying trends punctuated by extremes in either direction, makes it difficult to say with certainty whether the recent drying pattern is a result of global warming and climate change, a brief foray into drier weather within the recent wetter trend, or the beginning of a new periodic long-term drier climate regime.

However, increasingly sophisticated climate models over the past decade have led to a clearer picture of future hydroclimatic change over North America. The models indicate that drying trends in the subtropics are likely to intensify and persist as greenhouse warming continues. This projected drying extends toward the poles and increases the likelihood of severe and persistent drought in the future.

If the models are correct, then this drying may have already begun in the Southwestern US. Water Management he predicted changes in global hydroclimates will increase both floods and droughts. Arid and semiarid regions (such as the Southwest) will experience highly stressed water supplies while wet areas will experience worsening flooding and erosion. Both areas will experience increased intensity of storm events.

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In December 2008, the US Geological Survey issued a new report updating current understanding of four types of rapid climate change that have happened in the past and assessing the likelihood that these abrupt changes could happen again – or, in some cases, may have already begun (http://downloads. climatescience.gov/sap/sap3-4/sap3-4-finalreport-all.pdf).

The four types of abrupt change were chosen because, “if they were to recur, they would pose clear risks to society in terms of our ability to adapt.” The four are: (1) rapid change in glaciers, ice sheets and sea level; (2) widespread and sustained changes to the hydrologic cycle; (3) abrupt change in the northward flow of warm water associated with the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; and (4) rapid release to the atmosphere of methane trapped in permafrost and on continental margins.

conditions; the last ten years have pushed the West back into a hydrological situation that is drier than the historical average, with record low reservoir levels across the West.

Drought in the West statements regarding “wetter” or “drier” conditions are relative. The “normal” state over the last 1,200 years is for nearly 40% of the West to be in drought conditions. Still, the Western US experienced a long period of drier weather lasting from about 850-1300 AD. It was this long dry period, punctuated by a series of “megadroughts” that is thought to be a primary reason for the collapse of some important Anasazi sites and the general migration that led to modern Pueblo culture along the Río Grande.

For the last 500 years or so, the West has been relatively wetter than the “norm”, despite the fact that there have been some short periods of intense drought, such as in the 1950s and 1970s. However, the trend during the 20th century was toward drier

MIDDLE RIO GRANDE WATER ASSEMBLY

The projected drying of the Southwest is a critical issue because our water resources are already under stress from over use and pollution. Meanwhile, population in the region is projected to continue its rapid growth. Development of new water resources – such as desalination – will be difficult and we are likely to see increased tension between urban and rural/ agricultural water users.

The “permanent” (long-term) drying of the Southwest could begin by the mid-21st century; many of the models indicate this could happen even earlier. Developing strategies to deal with declining water quantity and quality will take many years to develop and implement, given the complexities and the politics involved. The models may not be perfect but, knowing that the region’s peoples and environment will suffer severe hardship from a new drought-like climate regime, we need to start planning now for the potential hydroclimatic changes predicted to arrive in the next several decades.

fresh, delicious organic...co-op

WATER MINING F O R U M Desalination: Silver Bullet or Pipe Dream? The Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly and UNM's Water Resources Program are sponsoring a forum on the promises and perils of desalination of saline or brackish waters to produce drinking water.

The forum will be on February 21, 2009, at UNM Dane Smith Hall from 9am to 1pm. The agenda includes presentations by advocates for the development and use of saline or brackish waters and opponents presenting the limitations and risks.

For more information on the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly contact them at PO Box 25862, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87125, or call them at 505.293.9208 or go to www.waterassembly.org, to learn more about the N.M. Legislative bill on deep water mining that is being considered during this session.

WWW.WATERASSEMBLY.ORG

COME HEAR BRAD LANCASTER

L A M O N TA N I TA PA R T I C I PAT E S I N

READ TO ME BOOK DRIVE Feb 15-March 31 at Nob Hill and North Valley Locations La Montanita Natural Foods Co-op is partnering with the Albuquerque Business Education Compact (ABEC) to help sponsor the 2009 Read to Me Book Drive. This year’s Read to Me Book Drive runs from February 15th through March 31st.

The goal of the drive is to get books into the hands of children whose parents do not have the means to supply books, making it more difficult for them to read to their children. Statistics show that children who are read to at an early age will have an easier time learning to read and will enjoy reading more. We want all of our children to read well and enjoy reading.

Last year the community collected and distributed some 27,000 new or gently used children's books.

The books were distributed to children throughout 90 different schools, preschools and community groups. La Montanita Co-op patrons collected over 700 books.

We would like to expand this program and be able to provide books to more children! The books collected can be gently used or new children’s books (from newborn through elementary). There will be collection boxes at our Nob Hill and North Valley locations. There is a special need for Spanish and bilingual books. If you have any questions please contact Paula Delap-Padilla at 767-5849.

F E B R U A RY 2 5 6:30PM

L E A R N T O T U R N W AT E R S C A R C I T Y I N T O W AT E R A B U N D A N C E W I T H T H E E I G H T U N I V E R S A L P R I N C I P L E S O F W AT E R H A R V E S T I N G A N D S I M P L E E F F E C T I V E S T R AT E G I E S !

ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY, PERFORMANCE HALL, BUILDING 22,

SAVE THE DATES! 10th Annual Valley Garden Party Saturday April 4th • 20th Annual Celebrate the Earth Fest in Nob Hill, Sunday April 26th

AUTHOR OF RAIN WATER HARVESTING FOR DRYLANDS

BE THERE!

INFO: 505-828-3200

co-op news

February 2009 6

Membership is OWNERSHIP

MATURING IN THE CO-OP MOVEMENT

BY MARSHALL KOVITZ , BOARD VICE PRESIDENT y purpose in writing this article was to trace some of the changes I have gone through over the years as a board member at La Montanita. As I started thinking about it, I realized my own growth paralleled that of other co-op board members around the country.

did not fully appreciate and support management.

And yet La Montanita was relatively fortunate. In those days, many boards around the country were making such bad decisions that they were literally driving their co-ops out of business. This happened to more than one co-op in the Southwest.

For me, as a long-time board member, the most striking aspect of the early years was how strong all of us in the co-op movement were in our ideals and how weak we were in the kind of governance needed to realize those ideals. Part of the reason for the weakness was the lack of good models of governance in the “alternative world”, but additionally, most of us were unwilling to even consider the possibility that there might be something in the corporate world worth examining. And since good governance is partly about clarifying roles—the role of the board vs. the role of the general manager—all too often, inept boards caused serious problems in operations, leading to high turnover in management.

I joined La Montanita's board fairly early in its history and even before becoming a board member, I attended board meetings regularly. Why did I participate? I was attracted to the open, democratic process.

Meetings were often disorganized and even chaotic, but many of us ignored this, feeling that it was more important that anyone who really wanted to participate could do so. Over time, I became a meeting junkie. I loved sitting around discussing, and not particularly caring if we reached a timely decision. All too often my board colleagues and I were oblivious to the fact that the general manager was going crazy waiting for us to make the right decision.

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I recently spoke to Kenneth Kiesling, one of the founders of La Montanita and the Co-op's first general manager. Kenneth had a business background and brought rigor to the management process.

And even though the Co-op had its ups and downs in the years following Kenneth's departure, management continued to learn and improve. But while Kenneth and other managers were successful in maintaining an overall healthy financial condition as well as meeting owner needs, the board of La Montanita continued to repeat many earlier mistakes. In the end, Kenneth said he left because of transient boards, erratic governance and no job security. He felt that the board

Valentine’s Day

SERENADE

DAVE HOOVER plays Celtic harp and flute 3:30-5pm at the North Valley Co-op

AT YOUR

CO-OP!

But as my years on the board went by, I, too, began to be frustrated with the slow pace of learning at the board level. As management became more experienced and skilled, the board's underachievement only became more obvious. In response, I started to organize the board's work. I created procedures. I wrote documents. I issued numerous written communications to the general manager and to other board members. In those days, I was serving on another board where I was instituting the same kinds of processes. In response, a board colleague started referring to me as Memo Marshall.

My approach was admittedly piecemeal and incomplete. Although I was able to organize much of the board's internal processes in a systematic way, I did

not understand how to comprehensively delineate board and general manager roles. As a result, the board continued to interfere in management issues and hold the general manager accountable for areas in which the board failed to give her/him full authority. Furthermore, the board was not even beginning to approach in a systematic way its most important jobs: creating a vision for the future and laying out its expectations for the changes in the world we wanted to make on behalf of our owners. It was not until the board started to implement a system of governance called Policy Governance that I began to understand how to accomplish these tasks.

Roughly 10 to 15 years ago, co-op boards around the country began adopting the Policy Governance (PG) model. These days many use the process and it has been praised not only by boards but by general managers, who say it clarifies roles and promotes a healthy, cooperative relationship between them and their boards. Wide adoption of the model has had the additional benefit of giving boards around the country common tools and a means of creating best practices at the governance level that can then be shared with others. Of course the idea of determining best practices at the management level has been around for a long time, so boards have a lot of catching up to do.

At a personal level, the codifying of our governance practices has had three impacts. First, I find myself less nervous about my role as a fiduciary. While I and my board colleagues must remain vigilant in order to safeguard owner assets, I believe we can do this more effectively using the PG model. Second, my immersion in the process has led me to collaborate with other boards around the country who are also striving to improve their governance work.

Finally, adopting the model has given me and my colleagues the time to dream the future in a systematic way. Although we have just begun this process, it has already born fruit: Gar Alperovitz recently shared his visions of a more cooperative world with La Montanita owners at our annual meeting, and the board subsequently hosted a World Café event to build on his vision.

I find all of this very exciting and once again wish to extend an invitation to all owners to participate in our work. See you at a board meeting.

Monthly Board Discussions:

THE COOPERATIVE MODEL and Social Wealth

BY TAMARA SAIMONS MEMBER ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE

A

LOCAL SALE ITEMS SHOP LOCAL & SAVE

High Country Kombucha Eagle, CO Organic Kombucha, 16 oz. Reg. $3.79, Sale $2.99

Rudi’s Organic Bakery Boulder, CO Organic Honey Sweet Wheat Bread, 22 oz. Reg. $4.59, Sale $3.29 Organic Sliced Tuscan Roasted Garlic Bread 19 oz. Reg. $4.89, Sale $3.99

Even more LOCAL products on SALE in our stores!

VALID IN-STORE ONLY from 2/4-3/3, 2009 Not all items available at all stores.

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

re cooperatives more stable than conventional, shareholder-owned business entities? Are coops any less likely to succumb to the groundswell of greed and corruption that has been so prominent in the headlines lately? Are co-ops invulnerable to Ponzi schemes and the sort of sleight of hand financial shell games that leave investor/owners with empty pockets and retirement accounts? Of course, there are many critical differences between the cooperative ownership structure and those in the conventional corporate world.

Understanding those differences will help answer the questions that the board poses for 2009 in its monthly investigation of the cooperative model and what it means.

Beginning in February, the Co-op board will start a new series of discussion sessions during the monthly board meeting that will revolve out of what emerged from the World Café event last November and the board’s fall retreat in September. The first topic we will focus on is a question; how can we take the cooperative model seriously? We’ll explore what’s happening in New Mexico with new and emerging cooperative/collective ventures, the folks behind those efforts and the relationships and collaborations between local entities that lead to cooperatives supporting cooperatives. We will also look at international cooperative models such as the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation in the Basque Country of Spain.

The MCC is the world’s largest worker cooperative with 150 companies doing business in many diverse enterprises. Other European and Asian countries have very well-developed cooperative sectors of their economies and these cooperatives play a major role in the economic and social stability of their nations as well as having a huge effect on the global economy.

We’ll also look at the disadvantages of the cooperative model. If it’s so great, why aren’t there more co-ops around?

We will inquire about the barriers to cooperatives and why so many co-ops around the U.S. struggle to survive. Along these lines, we’ll learn about the histories of co-ops in the U.S. and the particular political biases that have accompanied co-ops from the 1930s onward.

With the recent nationalization of several banks and corporate requests for financial help plastered on the front pages day after day, concerned citizens must ask whether the U.S. dollar will be worth anything in the times to come. Are we heading into an economy that will lean more heavily on alternative commerce? How can wealth be created that is not dependent on the ups and downs of the stock market and commodities like oil, corn and soybeans? Will only the very rich have money? Will there be a growing underground economy where goods and services are increasingly bartered and negotiated with currency other than dollars? What do alternative forms of ownership look like and how can we foster them?

In the second half of the year the discussion will shift in order to deepen our focus on what came out of the World Café event in November. The discussion groups at World Café launched a variety of high energy trajectories and the question that got that energy going was about how we can create more forms of social ownership. Social ownership is a phrase that can be broadly defined to include monetized and non-monetized transactions and relationships that pool resources for the common good. This type of networking may rise exponentially as the collapse and decay of conventional ownership, much of which has been built on rickety, opaque financial devices, continues to rain down its shards and cut the social safety net that state governments, especially, will be hard pressed to maintain. Social ownership discussions of great interest to Co-op members seem to center around energy, food and health.

The board expects these sessions to be interesting and informative. The sessions will be lightly structured and facilitated but the aim is to create a free flow of ideas, commentary and insight that will help the board steer the Co-op toward a position of strength and advance the board’s understanding of conditions that affect La Montanita and the broader communities in which we live. We welcome members of the Coop to attend the sessions, so check the board agenda in the stores for times and topics. The board can also be contacted through bod@lamontanita.coop for any additional information.

ARE WE SERIOUS OR

WHAT?

co-op news

February 2009 7

THE INSIDE One of the best benefits of being employed at the Co-op is the communication I have with other Co-ops all over the country. It’s a luxury to have resources available with just an e-mail or phone call, and to be a source to other Co-ops as well. We are fortunate at La Montanita to have talented staff that are happy to share their expertise when needed. Within the past month, our staff have shared their talents with Co-ops in Iowa, Maine and North Carolina. Many thanks to everyone for their effort and cooperative spirit.

The New Mexico Organic Farming conference is being held in Las Cruces Feb., 27-28. Our own Michelle Franklin and Steve Warshawer will be meeting with farmers to discuss opportunities within our Food-Shed Project. We will also have a table at the conference providing informational materials

SCOOP

about La Montanita and the work we do. I highly recommend this conference to anyone who has an interest in New Mexico farming.

February is Volume Discount Month Please watch your home mailbox for your discount coupon. Volume discount month is the perfect time to save money on the wonderful Co-op food you enjoy. It also provides us with the opportunity to talk to and visit with our members, and reminds us all of the benefits of shopping at La Montanita. If you have friends who are not yet members, please encourage them to join the Co-op this month and enjoy as much as a 20% discount on a purchase.

There is great comfort in knowing the source of the food you eat and the people that serve you. If “you are what you eat” was the aphorism that built food cooperatives, let us hope “we are our Co-op” propels us forward.

-TERRY

Calendar of Events February is Member Appreciation Volume Discount Shopping Month

2/4 Transition Town Meeting, Santa Fe Co-op, 6pm 2/17 BOD Meeting, Immanuel Church, 5:30pm 2/23 Member Engagement Committee, CDC, 5:30pm TBA Finance Committee Meeting, CDC, 5pm SAVE THE DATES: 10th Annual Valley Garden Party, Sat., April 4th 20th Annual Celebrate the Earth Fest, Sun., April 26th

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.

Making the Most of Cooking at Home

Cooking from

Scratch

BY KRISTIN WHITE Share Your Favorites: Shop at an 18% Discount for Delicious Co-op Food Below is a recipe from a La Montanita Co-op member, a continuation from our series on Cooking from Scratch. Enjoy! And thanks again to our Co-op Connection News readers for healthy and tasty Cooking from Scratch Recipes.

Got any great recipes for spring tonics or lighter spring fare that you want to share: Great grain dishes, salads, special spring, holiday, family favorites or anything else Co-op friends and neighbors might enjoy. Please e-mail them to kristinw@lamontani ta.coop and get an 18% discount shopping card for each recipe we print.

Misser Wat (Ethiopian Lentil Stew)

by Elaine Schwartz This recipe for Misser Wat has been in my family since 1972. A friend returned from a Peace Corps stint in Ethiopia with many lovely gifts, and perhaps the most lasting, this recipe for Misser Wat. It’s been

a hit at numerous potlucks. Folks always ask for the recipe. Enjoy!

1 C lentils 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2/3 C oil (I only use as much oil as necessary) 1-2 t berberi* 1-2 garlic cloves 1 15oz. can tomato sauce** 1 24oz. can tomatoes salt to taste Cook lentils until soft and mash. Cook onion in oil for a while. Add berberi (see below) and garlic. Add tomatoes and lentils to onion mix. Add salt and cook well. The fragrance will be enticing. One cup of lentils is plenty for 2 people. Eat with sour dough bread. *Berberi 1 t each: red pepper and chile powder 1/2 t each: paprika, curry powder, ground cumin and garlic salt 1/4 t each: cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and black pepper ** Substitute fresh tomatoes whenever possible.

Classical Homeopathy Visceral Manipulation Craniosacral Therapy

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

505-266-6522

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR FOOD DOLLAR

Beans!

B

eans, beans the more you eat… the healthier you get! Beans get a bad rap because of intestinal gas they can sometimes produce but legumes, the technical class of beans that include peas and lentils, are a rich dietary source of quality proteins, carbohydrates, fiber, minerals and vitamins. Legumes are especially good in winter because they’re hearty and provide sustaining energy.

One scientific study in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that “a higher legume intake is the most protective dietary predictor of survival amongst the elderly, regardless of their ethnicity” (2004; 13 (2): 217-220).

What makes beans so healthy? A staple food in all parts of the world, legumes are rich in soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fibers are known to reduce blood cholesterol levels and normalize blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber also reduces the amount of cholesterol manufactured by the liver. Insoluble fiber keeps the digestive system functioning optimally by maintaining bowel regularity. Bowel regularity is associated with a decreased risk for colon cancer and, in certain cases, hemorrhoids.

Eating beans can aid in maintaining desired weight levels and are beneficial for diabetic patients. They can help reduce blood glucose, insulin, and cholesterol buildup, by slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates.

Beans have considerable antioxidant properties, making them a terrific anti-aging food. A study conduct-

ed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, published in the June 9, 2004 edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, analyzed the antioxidant benefits of foods. Three varieties of beans, red, kidney and pinto, ranked in the top four.

In order to get the most antioxidants from beans, choose ones with a darker coating.

Beans are plentiful in protein. Onequarter cup of any legume is equivalent in protein to an ounce of meat. Combine them with grains like barley, oats or rice, and you have a complete source of protein.

A cup of legumes contains about 15 grams of protein. Soybeans are the exception; they contain a mighty 29 grams of protein to one cup.

Beans are a cook's delight. They readily absorb the flavor of seasonings used in most recipes and easily combine with vegetables, herbs and spices. Some studies about the cancer-fighting benefits of beans have suggested that incorporating 3 cups of cooked beans a week into the diet can have significant health benefits. Beans make wonderful main or side dishes, and can be added to salads and soups. Mash or puree them for burritos and dips.

There are two easy ways to avoid the intestinal gas that beans can produce. The first is by soaking the beans for 12 to 15 hours before they are cooked.

Pour off the water used for soaking, rinse, and add fresh water for cooking. The second way is to cook the beans with herbs and spices. Cumin, garlic, anise, fennel seeds, rosemary, caraway seeds, turmeric, lemongrass and coriander go particularly well with beans. You can also add Kombu, a sea vegetable, while cooking.

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SHOP SMART shop and save during volume discount month

In the last several months there’s been more talk about the tightening of belts than many of us have heard in decades. Almost everyone is staying home more, and buying less—even essentials, like food. Happily, that doesn’t have to mean settling for less. A good meal at home, for example, can be an occasion for creativity as well as for saving money. With a little extra planning, together with the kind of thoughtful shopping most Coop customers are already good at, belt-tightening can be accomplished without a squeeze. Here are a few things to remember: Check our specials. Remember to pick up the Co-op’s weekly and monthly sales flyers every time you shop.

Look for local products. Supporting our local economy means better deals for everyone.

Buy in season. Produce is better, tastier, and more abundant when it’s grown according to Nature’s calendar.

Try something new. Make watching your pennies an excuse to experiment.

Stock up. Buy in volume—the more bulk foods you buy, the more you save. Stock up on n on-perishables, and foods that can be frozen, when they’re on sale.

Volunteer. Helping out in your spare time earns you not just brownie points, but special discounts, too.

Treat yourself and your family. Shop smart, eat well, save money… and splurge a little once in a while.

Plan ahead. Place special orders prior to your Volume Discount Shopping trip, so we are sure to have the quantities and items you want.

BUY IN BULK

it pays to buy what you need Why buy in bulk? Foods from the bulk bins have at least one clear advantage over packaged foods–namely, they’re not packaged foods.

Even when care is taken to reduce wasteful packaging, there’s still an awful lot of it around. Bulk foods allow you to use and reuse your own containers, from water jugs to tins and glass jars, even paper bags. And since you pay for whatever packaging you buy things in, your savings on bulk products can really add up. Bulk isn’t only about bulk, either. It allows you to purchase as much or as little as you need. So if you want all the long grain brown rice you and four friends can carry but only one tea cake’s worth of almonds, the bulk foods aisle is the place. The Co-op stocks some four hundred bulk items, so bring a canister or two.

TREAT YOURSELF indulge yourself with small luxuries

During these hard economic times, it’s hard to splurge and indulge yourself. Even the smallest of treats can be the pick-me-up you need and not break the bank. Volume discount month is the ideal time to stock up on these small luxuries!

up to 20%

Chocolate

Ice Cream & Sorbet

Candles & Incense

Bath Products (ie bubble bath, lotion)

Cookies

Cosmetics (ie lipstick, eye shadow)

Coffee & Tea

Sparkling Waters & Juices

Magazines

6-pack of Natural Soda

Fresh Flowers

Carry-out dinner from the Co-op Deli

Case of Protein Bars

NM Salsas & Green Chile Sauces

Imported Cheeses

Gifts from the Mercantile Department

one pot

recipes

easy winter

COOKING Make cooking in winter easy with these one pot recipes. Most of the recipes include beans or legumes, which have many health benefits (see article on p. 7).

Two recipes require a crock pot; for the rest, a large pot or skillet will do.

(Key: C= cup, T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, lb = pound, oz = ounce, qt = quart) Pritiken’s Potato Stuffed Cabbage 1 head cabbage 5 lbs potatoes, peeled 2 onions 1/2 C rice, raw 1 t dill, dried 1/4 t black pepper, ground 2 egg whites 1 can tomatoes (28 oz) 1 apple, peeled & sliced 1/4 t ginger, dried & ground Parboil cabbage and separate the leaves.

Slice off part of the heavy stalk of each leaf by slicing parallel to the leaf (do not cut into the leaf).

Grate potatoes, small inner leaves of cabbage, and one of the onions. Mix together. Add rice, dill, and black pepper. Beat egg whites until frothy and add to potato mixture.

Set aside two or three of the largest leaves. Fill each remaining cabbage leaf with approximately 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture. Fold up bottom of leaf, then fold in the sides, and roll up. Secure with toothpick if necessary.

Slice reserved leaves and line the bottom of the crock pot with them. Slice second onion and layer on top of cabbage. Add tomatoes, apple, and ginger. Place rolled stuffed cabbages into pot. Cook on low heat for 4 to 5 hours.

Cauliflower and Potato Curry 4 C potatoes, peeled and quartered 1 small cauliflower, cut into florets 1 pinch of asafetida 3/4 t ground turmeric 1/2 t chili powder 1 1/2 t ground cumin 3/4 t salt 1 big pinch of sugar 2 tomatoes, chopped 1 1/4 C water 1/2 t garam masala 1/2 C wheat berries (optional) Add all ingredients to a crock pot and cook on low for approximately six hours.

If you're adding wheat berries, cook them on high with an additional cup of water for an hour, then add remaining ingredients and cook on low. With the wheat berries, if things start drying out, add more water.

Curried Lentil and Spinach Soup This soup can be made one day ahead.

Chill soup, uncovered, until cold, and then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm soup over medium heat, thinning with water if desired before serving.

2 T olive oil 1 1/2 C chopped onion 1 C chopped celery 1 C chopped peeled carrots 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 T curry powder (preferably Madras-style) 1 T minced fresh ginger 1 t ground cumin

February 2009 10

1 bay leaf 1/4 t dried crushed red pepper 9 1/2 C (or more) water 16-oz dried lentils (about 2 1/2 C) 6-oz baby spinach leaves 1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro GARNISH: 1/2 C plain nonfat yogurt Heat oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add next 4 ingredients; sautĂŠ until golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in curry powder, ginger, cumin, bay leaf, and dried crushed red pepper.

Add 9 1/2 cups water and dried lentils; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to mediumlow and simmer uncovered until lentils are tender, about 25 minutes. Add more water by 1/2 cupfuls to thin soup, if desired. Add spinach and cilantro; simmer until spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with a spoonful of yogurt.

Sweet Potato Soup with BlackEyed Peas and Beans Make this soul-satisfying soup as mild or spicy as your taste buds prefer. The peanut butter turns the broth into a savory, garlicky, peppery brew. The lime juice and cilantro give it a citrus-y finish.

1 T light olive oil or peanut oil 1 1/2 t curry paste, hot or mild, to taste 1/2 t cinnamon 1 medium red onion, peeled, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled, diced 1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced 1 jalapeĂąo or other hot chile pepper, seeded, diced fine 1 14-oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed, drained

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1 14-oz. can white beans, rinsed, drained 1 14-oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained 1 qt light broth 1/2 C natural peanut butter or Sunbutter ÂŽ, melted in a 1/2 C of boiled water 1/2 t crushed hot red pepper flakes, or more, to taste 2 T chopped fresh cilantro 2-3 t organic brown sugar, or raw agave nectar, to taste juice from 1 big juicy lime sea salt and black pepper, to taste GARNISH: fresh cilantro, chopped Heat oil in large soup pot. Add the curry paste and cinnamon; stir for a minute to infuse the oil with spice. Add the onion, garlic, sweet potato, yellow pepper and jalapeĂąo. Stir and cook the veggies for 57 minutes, until softened.

Add the black-eyed peas, white and black beans, broth, peanut butter, red pepper flakes and cilantro.

Bring the soup to a high simmer, cover, and lower the heat; keep the soup on simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir in the lime juice and brown sugar or agave. Add salt and ground pepper, to taste. Warm through and taste for seasoning adjustments. Serves 4 as a hearty meal.

Chickpea Hot Pot Leftovers are going to thicken up overnight; thin with a bit of water or stock while reheating, and adjust for seasoning again. You can find bulgur in the bulk bins at the Co-op. olive oil, splash salt, a few pinches 1 large yellow onion, chopped

one pot

recipes

February 2009 11

2/3 C uncooked bulgur 1 14-oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 4 1/2 C vegetable stock 1/2 C orange juice 1 1/2 C cauliflower, trimmed into small trees 2 C kale or chard, stem removed, cut into thin ribbons olive oil, drizzle for finishing red onion, chopped for garnish

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onions, celery, carrot, bell pepper and garlic.

Reduce heat to low. Cook vegetables for 10 minutes or until soft.

In a large pot, over medium-high heat, sautĂŠ yellow onion in olive oil along with the salt for a minute, or until the onion begins to soften slightly. Stir in the bulgur. Stir in the chickpeas and stock. Bring the ingredients to a simmer.

Winter Cleanse Soup Here is a cleanse method especially suitable for winter, as it preserves the integrity of the digestive fire and body's warmth; and it is in soup form, which is ideal for this season.

Cook for another few minutes; it should start to thicken. Taste to see if the bulgur is cooked through. if so add the orange juice. If not, simmer for a couple more minutes before adding the juice.

2 qts water, more or less.

3-5 carrots, to taste, and depending on size, sliced lengthwise and chopped 1 beet, sliced 3-5 celery stalks, chopped 1 bunch dandelion greens (sub kale if not available) 1 bunch parsley 1 burdock root, sliced lengthwise and chopped 1 4-inch piece of kombu sea vegetable, or dulse 2-3 slices of raw ginger root

Stir in the cauliflower and kale; simmer another few minutes, until the cauliflower is just tender.

If the stew is on the thick side, thin with a bit more water or stock. Taste, and add salt if necessary. Serve garnished with a drizzle of olive oil and red onions.

Barley Pilaf One-Pot Meal 1 T butter or oil 10 scallions, chopped (whites and greens) 4 large cloves garlic, minced 2 stalk celery, small dice 2 carrots, finely diced 1 1/2 C pot (aka scotch or milled) barley 1/2 t sea salt 4 1/2 C stock 2 T fresh parsley, chopped 3/4 C pine nuts or slivered almonds black pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat butter or oil in a frying pan, and sautĂŠ onions, garlic, celery, and carrots for 3 minutes. Stir in barley, salt and pepper. Add 2 1/2 cups stock; cover and bake in oven proof dish for 30 minutes. Add remaining stock, sprinkle with nuts and bake uncovered for 45 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Millet Chili For a quick, nutritious solution to your dinnertime dilemmas, try this vegetarian chili.

1 T olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped 2 stalks celery, diced 1 carrot, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 T chili powder 1 can diced tomatoes with juice 2 1/2 C vegetable stock 1 C millet 2 C pinto beans 1 C corn kernels

Body-Centered Counseling

Louise Miller, MA LPCC NCC

Increase heat to medium, and add chili pepper. Stir for one minute. Add tomatoes and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Add beans, millet and corn. Return to a boil, and simmer until millet is tender.

Place all the ingredients except the parsley and greens in a large pot with the water and bring to a low boil. Low boil until the vegetables are almost fully cooked, and add the greens. Simmer until the greens are well darkened.

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Open Studios Friday March 6th 6 - 8:00 pm

Integrated Counseling, Therapeutic Bodywork and Movement

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

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farming &

gardening

February 2009 12

HOPE FOR THE BACKYARD GARDENER

Using Weeds as a

RESOURCE T

Another use for weeds is to provide habitat for beneficial insects. In my garden wild lettuce houses lady bugs. Weeds can also serve as “trap plants” for not-so-beneficial insects, i.e. aphids. Allow them to congregate and then remove the plant to the burn barrel or trash or chicken yard.

BY MONICA RUDE, DESERT WOMAN BOTANICALS here’s a war going on against weeds. They are considered a huge problem in agriculture. Billions of dollars are spent annually studying them and developing chemicals to get rid of them. The USDA has a “hit list”of the most hated and despised weeds they would most like to see go away. Most of us hate weeds, “battle” them, and think negative thoughts toward them. However, I’m against war, either abroad or in the garden; there are better ways to resolve our differences.

A permaculture principle encourages folks to view “problems” as resources. I was pondering this idea as I was weeding the garden and realized I was already doing this to some extent by using the weeds in the compost pile and sometimes as mulch. I started to change my attitude toward them as I learned more about their habits, what they have to offer, and how they can be used to benefit the garden.

To Know Them is to LOVE THEM The first step in this kind of weed management is to get acquainted with your weeds. Who are they? What are their names? What family do they belong to? Are they annuals or perennials or biennials? How big do they get? How does the character of the plant change as it grows from a seedling to a mature plant? What does it smell like? Are the leaves smooth or rough or prickly? What do the flowers and seeds look like?

When does it flower and go to seed? When does the plant appear in the garden, i.e., is it a winter or summer weed? Are there any insects hanging around it and if so, who are they and are they beneficial or not?

Identifying a weed and its habits is key to learning how to use it as a resource instead of an enemy. It makes it possible to do further research to learn if it’s edible, medicinal or poisonous. Is it good forage for goats?

Pigs like to eat bindweed and Johnson grass roots. I learned that the acids in spurge function in breaking down soils and rocks. English knotgrass just started appearing in my garden last year; after I identified it, I saw in a book that it’s used medicinally in Greece to control bleeding.

Now I probably will not use it for this and it doesn’t change the fact it’s an aggressive, spreading, hard-to-get-rid-of plant, but it does help to know it has some use besides being a nuisance.

Purslane’s sprawling habit makes it a useful groundcover between plants; it shades the ground and keeps other weeds from coming up.

Let’s face it, the soil surface wants to be covered. You can either choose what the cover will be or Nature will do it herself and you might not like the results. In addition, purslane is very edible and probably more nutritious than the plants you are trying to grow instead. It is high in cancer-fighting antioxidants, loaded with Vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and omega-fatty acids that have been linked with reducing cholesterol. Other edibles include plantain, tumbleweed, lambsquarters, pigweed, evening primrose seeds, chicory, sow thistle, dandelions, burdock root, mallow leaves and immature fruit, sunflower seeds, mustard greens. The seeds of all grasses are edible and chickens love them. The dreaded goat heads or puncture vine (Tribulus terrestris) can also be used to lower cholesterol (and without the side-effects of pharmaceutical drugs).

Other medicinal weeds are: orange globe mallow, Mexican arnica, Canadian fleabane, horehound, Syrian rue, cocklebur, mullein, thistles, plantain, yellow dock, shepherd’s purse and nettles.

View problems as resources, forget about eradicating every weed. Work on the soil and MULCH, MULCH, MULCH. Weeds BUILD SOIL Weeds that are legumes are usually nitrogen-fixing and improve the soil. The deep roots of weeds can reach down farther than many domesticated plants, where they absorb minerals other plants can’t reach. When these weeds are pulled and used as mulch or composted and then added to the garden, the minerals become incorporated into the topsoil.

Another key to this process of weeding is mastering the principles of “selective weeding.” Allow the plant to grow big enough to be useful, but pull before the roots get too deep; do not allow it to go to seed, and pull it after rains when the soil is still soft. It makes fantastic mulch. Some of the most common garden weeds are my favorites for mulch, including pigweed, lambsquarters, kochia, mustard,

plant a

TREE!

BY ROBIN SEYDEL f every American planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion pounds annually” -www.TreeNM.com.

February is a great time to plant a tree. The soil is still moist from winter storms and the tree will have the benefit of still being dormant. Hopefully it will also catch some of our prayed-for late winter precipitation events. Make it a fruit or nut tree and in a few years you’ve got some food to boot.

“I

Why Plant a Tree Facts: Energy Conservation It is estimated that an additional one million strategically placed trees could save $10 million in energy costs in a city like Albuquerque!

horehound, wild lettuce, sunflowers when small, and tumbleweed. When they are 4-8 inches tall is ideal. Just pull them and put them right around your garden plants to cover the ground. Leave the roots on top where they’ll be dried by the sun by the day’s end.

Make the layers thick enough so you don’t have to weed there again for a while. The weed seeds won’t be able to germinate. If you weed and mulch, you’ll only have to do it once. A few weeds might sneak up but they’ll be easy to pull and add to the mulch layer.

Mulching is one of the best things you can do for your soil. It adds organic matter and feeds the worms and soil microbes, an essential consideration since low biological activity is inherent in every weed problem, according to several weed experts I have consulted. The mulch also reduces water need by keeping the moisture in and stabilizes soil temperatures.

Sheet mulching can be used to cover large areas and walkways. Simply wet the ground, lay down a layer of cardboard and cover it with weeds. If it’s windy, add rocks to keep the cardboard from blowing away. Eventually, the cardboard rots, keeps feeding the worms and microbes, and you can add additional layers. I am so enthusiastic about mulching, I sometimes run out of weeds. I find myself looking enviously over the fence into my neighbor’s garden and wondering what his plans are for his weeds.

There is a lot of information out there on how to improve your garden soil. Forget about eradicating every weed, work on the soil and the weed war will be over. In the meantime, keep mulching.

Monica Rude, the originator of the Desert Woman Botanical line of fine herbal products, (see page 3 for more information), is offering a series of monthly weekend intensives. Study herb cultivation and use in numerous preparations, materia medica, body systems, and food for healing at the hands-on, beginner level for 9 weekends, February through September.

See. www.desertwoman.net for details.

Trees save 10 to 30 percent of total summer air conditioning costs when placed on the west and south side of a building, and save 10 to 25 percent of winter heating costs by allowing sun through leafless branches or blocking winter wind.

Trees reduce the "heat island" effect of concrete, asphalt and other hard surfaces by 5 to 10 degrees.

Carbon Sequestraton A single tree reduces the same amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) as released by a typical car driven 388 miles!

A tree absorbs one ton of CO2 over its normal lifetime. The average person in the U.S. generates approximately 2.3 tons of CO2 every year.

1,840 trees will mitigate your carbon debt if you are lucky enough to live to be 80. Get planting now for good karma!

Trees minimize health problems related to sun damage such as skin cancer, cornea damage and heat stroke.

Go to www.treenm.com for more information or to make a donation to help them plant their next one million trees.

FARMERS MARKETpresents: Santa Fe

Two Locations!

Nob Hill

GARBAGE! THE REVOLUTION STARTS AT HOME: Feb. 18 GARBAGE takes us on a dirty and humorous journey that few people ever get to see or experience in their lifetime. Hear the real dirt about garbage, recycling, and choices we can make.

ONE MAN, ONE COW, ONE PLANET: March 18 Winner of 7 international awards, the film follows the father of biodynamic farming, Peter Proctor, in this inspiring journey in India.

After the film, meet local farmers.

NM Film Museum 418 Montezuma Avenue (formerly Jean Cocteau Cinema) All shows: 7pm More info: 505.983.7726 www.santafefarmersmarket. com/events

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

farming &

gardening

OUT TO PASTURE...

AGAIN!

BRETT BAKKER, NMOCC CHIEF ORGANIC INSPECTOR he USDA/National Organic Program rule for organic livestock simply states ruminants must have “access to pasture.” There are thousands of acres of native grass pasture for organic beef production in the west. Cows graze year-round (even dry grass is edible and nutritious) with only supplemental feed given seasonally. Dairy pasture is different. Unlike beef cattle, the lactating cow must be milked daily, not left to wander a vast ranch. Since they are daily producing a product (milk), they need higher concentrations of nutrition than a meat animal which isn’t expected to produce until slaughter. At its best, milk pasture access means leaving it up to the dairyman and their organic certifier to compromise on the best solution for the locale and size of the operation. At its worst, organic dairies become feedlots by merely leaving a gate open so livestock can amble out to pasture when they feel like it. Which of course they tend not to do when there’s abundant feed available.

BY

T

A top quality organic dairy has a feed station (centered at the milking parlor) surrounded by pasture. Grain, hay or silage, given at the morning milking is followed by grazing. Weather, climate, soil quality and crop suitability play a regional role. Dry grass pasture during a New Mexico winter is available but feed rations must increase to make up for lack of fresh greenery. A dairy in New England might be under snow all winter and pasture is simply not available.

After years of pressure to tighten up, the NOP recently issued proposed pasture changes, some needed and practical, some ill-conceived and costly. Here are a few key items.

At least 30% Dry Matter Intake must come from grazed vegetation. Putting a number on anything as variable as farming is tricky. Pulling this off year-round in the arid west or snowy north will be tough, if not impossible. And if the number isn’t met — no matter the reason — the organic operator can lose certification.

Reasons for temporary confinement have been narrowed, which cuts the feedlot option altogether. This is good but it can also lead to practical problems. Weather (any weather) has been

February 2009 13

THE CHALLENGES OF ORGANIC FARMING removed as reason for temporary confinement. Worst of all, the NOP failed to define “confinement.” Does it mean a veal cage, an acre dry-lot or a pen?

And what of weaned dairy calves that must be bottle-fed until they’re sturdy enough to graze on their own? Lactating cows can’t

or the grass was bad that year due to drought? You can’t confine the livestock to feed them but neither should they waste energy and risk their health in deep snow; nor should they graze on pasture that needs a rest period to regenerate.

All streams, ponds and rivers must be fenced from livestock access. This won’t affect dairies as much as it does beef ranches, but what about intermittent waterways (arroyos, seasonal dirt tank impoundments, etc.)? The larger the pasture, the more costly it will be. In other words, the ranches that are already closest in intent to the rule (highest ratio of pasture acres to head of livestock) will be hit with the most prohibitive expense.

feed their own young if they are to be producing commodity milk. Natural? No. A fact of commercial dairy production? Yes.

There’s much, much more. The biggest obstacle to perfecting organic certification is that we are trying to quantify something that is by nature qualitative.

Truly sustainable food production means extremely localized production. If you want certified organic food available year round in stores, rules and regulations will apply. Interpretation of rules (ask any lawyer) will always vary, for good or ill. There’s no doubt the rule needs clarification but if its based on figures rather than reason, no one will meet them.

Pastures must be managed for year round grazing.

But the rule contradicts itself by saying grazing is only required during the growing season. So what happens if your pasture is under three feet of snow

NEVER EVER FORGET that every farm and ranch must turn a profit in order to survive.

OVERREGULATION ALWAYS KILLS THE LITTLE GUY FIRST.

itchy green

thumb

ALBUQUERQUE

WILDLIFE FEDERATION

FEB. 21: Los Padillas Wildlife Sanctuary.

HELP 5-ACRE SOUTH VALLEY SANCTUARY BECOME REALITY THE PLACE: This year we are proud to kick off the season with a one-day project helping Los Padillas Elementary School in the South Valley.

Near the school is a 5 acre patch of land that used to serve as part of their filtration system for gray water before the city finally ran sewer lines out to the school. The land dried up and has just sat there ever since. With help from Explora! a new vision is moving forward for this patch of land –

to turn it into a restoration and education site for the kids at Los Padillas school. We will help make Los Padillas Wildlife Sanctuary a reality.

THE PROJECT: We will meet at the school at 10am to get an overview of the project and a history of the site. We will help them follow through on their Noxious Weed Control Plan by pulling up non-native species. The two main target species are Perennial Pepperweed and Spiny Aster.

ALL VOLUNTEERS: Please bring your own brown bag lunch. CONTACT: Michael Scialdone at 505232-8756, rioscial@gmail.com, for more info.

legislative

alert

real choices

Healthcare for America

NOW!

BY JULIA DEUPREE

T

hink back to your last visit to the doctor or hospital. Now think back to the unexpected bill, or maybe to the bill you are still trying to pay. Think back to the quality of your visit. Did you leave feeling cheated out of your time with your doctor or nurse? Ideally, you have never had any of these problems, but think of all of those that have.

The Health Care for America Now campaign believes everyone deserves quality and affordable health care. That is why we have developed a set of principles that will hold elected officials accountable for creating health care reform in 2009. This year, we are saying ENOUGH! We’ve had enough of insurance companies putting profits before people and discriminating against those of us with pre-existing conditions. We’ve had enough of small businesses not being able to afford health insurance for their employees. And ENOUGH of our broken health care system!

The Health Care for America Now (HCAN) campaign is a grassroots effort. It was launched across the nation in July of 2008. In October of 2008 then-Senator Obama signed on to the campaign followed by Representatives-Elect Martin Heinrich (D-1) and Harry Teague (D-2) here in New Mexico. Since then, we've brought together community organizers, nurses, doctors, small business owners, faith-based groups, organizations of people of

February 2009 14 color and seniors who believe it's time we had an American solution that provides quality, affordable health care for everyone.

In 2009 our job is to continue building the grassroots effort here in New Mexico with voices from people, like you, that are tired of our broken health care system. Together, we need to create a clear contrast in the minds of constituents, elected officials, the press and other policy makers between the kind of health care reform that turns more power to the insurance industry while everyday Americans continue to struggle and that which guarantees affordable and quality health care through slidingscale premiums, government support and regulations within insurance companies.

We all know there has been little success with health care reform in the past. This year is differ-

ACTION ALERT If you, too, have had ENOUGH of our broken system, there are several ways you can make sure we win health care reform this year.

1) Sign-on in support of the Health Care for America Now campaign. Look for sign-on postcards at your local La Montanita branch. These postcards list several different options-from calling your senator to writing an article in a local newspaper-as to how you would best like to volunteer. We will follow-up with you and guide you through the process of making your action a success.

2) Join us for our various events. Keep your eyes open for up and coming events in March and April. • Thursday, Feb. 5th at 7pm: The Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice (202 Harvard Dr SE) is hosting a viewing of SICKO. Learn more about how to win health care reform, NOW! (No RSVP required. Free.) • Tuesday, Feb. 10th at 4pm: Lead coalition members will be meeting to further plan upcoming events.

Anyone is welcome to offer input on increasing community awareness and urging elected officials to support HCAN (Please RSVP, see contact below). • Wednesday, Feb. 18th: Small Business Owner forum on the urgency of health care reform. Let your voice be heard – media, congressional representatives or staff will be present. (Free, RSVP required.) • Volunteer Activist Trainings. Learn how to get your friends, family and co-workers involved to win health care reform, NOW. (Please RSVP, see contact below.)

3) To sign a document of support on behalf of your business contact Julia Deupree, the local Health Care for America Now representative, at (cell)240-475-8665 or at nmacornal@acorn.org.

4) For more information on the campaign please visit our website at www.healthcareforamericanow.org.

ent. We have learned from our mistakes. We are more organized and more energized. We will hold our elected officials accountable to their promises of health care reform. And, not only are we fighting on a moral level but also an economic one.

The economy is worse than ever, which means more people are unemployed and uninsured. We need to fix our health care system so we can fix our economy!

The Health Care for America Now campaign is centralized around the question Which Side Are You On? Unfortunately, insurance companies want to leave you alone to fend for yourself in the unregulated, bureaucratic health insurance market. We want to make sure you have the quality coverage you need at the price you can afford.

We're offering a bold new solution that gives you real choice and a guarantee of quality coverage you can afford: keep your current private insurance plan, pick a new private insurance plan, or join a public health insurance plan. SO WE ASK, WHAT SIDE ARE YOU ON?

Health Care for American Now Some important points of the plan include: • Guaranteed coverage and care for everyone in America. • Affordable coverage and care, with premiums and outof-pocket costs based on a family’s ability to pay. • Choice of health insurance plans, including the right to keep your current insurance, choose another private plan or to join a public health insurance plan. • Standard, comprehensive benefits, with a choice of providers that meet our families’ health care needs, from preventive care to serious illness. • Equity in health care access, treatment, research and resources to people and communities of color and strengthening health services in low-income communities. • Coverage that is predictable and affordable for working families, retirees, small businesses and other employers. • Rules on insurance company practices and charges set and enforced by the government, requiring them to put our health care before their profits. • Controlled costs and improved quality, with measures such as: lowering administrative expenses, investing in preventative care, actively managing disease, setting standards for performance, reducing medical errors and using the public’s purchasing power to lower drug and other prices.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND MEETING TIMES call 202.955.5665, or (fax) 202.955.5606. www.healthcare foramericanow. org or locally at 505-242-7411

D O N ’ T Y O U B E L I E V E I T: F D A P L A N T O R E V E R S E M E R C U R Y

WARNINGS

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O

n Friday, December 12, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) made public internal government documents disclosing the Food and Drug Administration's secret plans to reverse federal warnings that pregnant women and children limit their fish intake to avoid mercury, a neurotoxin especially dangerous to the fetus and infants.

EWG obtained and made public the FDA plan, stamped "CLOSE HOLD," and memos by senior Environmental Protection Agency scientists attacking FDA's rationale.

The Washington Post reported in late December â&#x20AC;&#x153;The FDA's recommendations have alarmed scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency, who in internal memos criticized them as "scientifically flawed and inadequate" and said they fell short of the "scientific rigor routinely demonstrated by EPA. Benjamin H. Grumbles, the EPA's assistant administrator for water, said, "EPA is working closely with other agencies in the scientific review of this report to better understand the risks and benefits of fish consumption." â&#x20AC;&#x153;The FDA and the EPA both play a role in protecting the public from mercury contamination. The EPA investigates and regulates mercury and other contaminants in recreationally caught fish, while the FDA regulates mercury in seafood sold in markets

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and restaurants. States rely on the federal agencies in issuing their own advisories.â&#x20AC;?

The two agencies are supposed to work together on these kinds of health and environmental risks and issued their first joint advisory in 2004. The advisory recommended that women of childbearing age, pregnant women, nursing mothers, infants and children stop eating four species of fish considered especially high in mercury: swordfish, shark, tilefish and king mackerel due to mercuryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to damage neurological development of fetuses and infants. In adults mercury has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The Washington Post also reported that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kathryn Mahaffey, who was the EPA's top mercury scientist until she left the agency in August to become a lecturer at George Washington University School of Public Health, said the FDA used an "oversimplified approach" that could increase the public's exposure to mercury.â&#x20AC;?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit watchdog organization that uses the power of public information and education to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. For more information go to www.ewg.org.

community

forum

CREATIVITY FOR PEACE MAKING PEACE IN A TIME OF WAR

P

ublic Talk to Focus on Peace Efforts of Girls in Israel and Palestine. On Wednesday, February 11, from 7-9pm, Dottie Indyke, executive director of Creativity for Peace, will speak about her recent trip to Israel and the West Bank and how young women from the Middle East are rising above prejudice and violence to work for peace. The event takes place at the Santa Fe Complex, 624 Agua Fria. Admission is $15. Coffee and dessert will be served.

Creativity for Peace’s three-week summer camp outside Santa Fe has helped 126 girls from Palestine and Israel transform suspicion, fear and hatred into compassion and friendship. When they return home, the obstacles to their peacemaking efforts are overwhelming. In the West Bank, Palestinian girls are frequently called “traitors” for speaking about peace. Many girls are shunned by friends and family for expressing their dreams of peace.

Despite the barriers, an active corps of 40 girls is working against the mainstream. Baraa, a Palestinian living in Israel, spoke before her village of 5,000 people encouraging her peers to vote their conscience in local elections rather than simply voting as their parents have. Adi, a Jewish Israeli, makes presentations to her fellow army officers about her work with Creativity for Peace. Jwana, a Palestinian, works with human rights and civil rights groups in her hometown of Jenin. Mai, Tali and Reem lead dialogues, similar to the dialogue used at Creativity for Peace’s summer camp, to achieve reconciliation between young Arab and Jewish boys in their village.

Khadrah, from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, says, “Sometimes it seems like too much trouble to work for peace but then again I have to. It’s hard. I come

February 2009 15

THE COURAGE TO LEAD THE PROMISE OF CHANGE to Creativity for Peace meetings because it keeps all of us girls connected and because this is life the way I want it to be.”

Dottie Indyke has served as executive director of Creativity for Peace for two years and was the first president of its board of directors. A longtime journalist, art critic and consultant to nonprofit organizations, she is the former vice president of programming for the National Cable Television Association and the founder of the Peabody Award-winning Children’s Radio Theater, based in Washington, D.C. This talk is sponsored by Lamia Faruki and Downtown Subscription, with support from the Santa Fe Complex.

For more info contact: Dottie Indyke, Executive Director, Creativity for Peace, 369 Montezuma Avenue, no. 566, Santa Fe, NM 87501, 505.982.3765 www.creativityforpeace.com, dot tie@creativityforpeace.com

SAVE THE DATE: VA L L E Y G A R D E N PA R T Y , S AT U R D AY , A P R I L 4 T H

AVA I L A B L E M E D I A :

A NEW COMMUNITY VOICE

F

or Available Media (AMI), a communitybased non-profit media collaborative, 2008 was a busy year and 2009, looks to be even more exciting. They have grown from an organization which presents a weekly progressive cable access TV program to an umbrella organization with 3 weekly shows. Last year, AMI was awarded two FULL POWER FM RADIO construction permits, one in Gallup and one in Grants, NM. Two more construction permits, including one with service to Albuquerque, are still pending approval from the FCC. AMI is working with local folks where the permits are located to provide programming that supports their communities. AMI also films local events, makes documentaries and is starting to build radio stations.

It’s party time!!!

Come party with AMI on Sunday, February 8, 2009, at a great mid-winter free gathering, at the Channel 27 studios at 5th and Tijeras off Civic Center Plaza. Free food, music, and dance (you have to provide the dance). Come one, come all. Start at 5pm and party through 9pm. Participate in a recorded TV program, have a discussion on what you’d like to see in true community media outlets, and learn how you can get involved. For more information contact them at www.availableme dia.org.

It’s radio time!!!

If you believe that the airwaves, being owned by the public, should be in the hands of the public and

that an informed community is a healthy community, please support AMI. AMI needs: • Used, but not used up, audio equipment – professional or higher-end consumer stereo equipment would be nice. Like directdrive turntables, receivers, speakers, CD players, cassette players, mixers, preamplifiers, microphones, mike stands and booms, compressor/limiters, recorders, MP3 players, USB sound cards, equipment racks, etc. Computers, if they are not too old and slow, LCD monitors, portable digital recorders.

• Tax-deductible donations (the barebones budget for each station is roughly $75,000). Send your check to AMI, PO Box 1434, Albuquerque, NM 87103-1434.

• Volunteers! There is much to do and not a lot of time to do it! The FCC gives them 3 years to build their stations, and a recently applied for grant would match every dollar donated three to one.

Tune in, turn on…

Check out their live shows. On Friday evenings from 7pm to 8pm there is Indy Media, on Mondays there is the 9/11 show 8pm to 9pm and finally at 10pm to 11pm every Friday there’s Connect the Dots, where you’ll see cutting edge documentaries from many sources.

FEBRUARY 9TH

On Feb 9th at noon at the State Capitol Rotunda NM Repeal will be asking our state legislators to repeal the dealth penalty and put murder victims’ family members first. NM Repeal is a statewide, grassroots coalition formed in 1997 by a concerned group of citizens that has now grown to over 3,600 individual members and 100 supporting organizations in 2009, including the New Mexico Conference of Churches. They work to repeal the death penalty in New Mexico and replace it with life without parole. Additionally, they support legislation that would divert the millions of dollars wasted each year on the death penalty in New Mexico into programs for murder victims’ families.

WEEKEND

AS PART OF THE FESTIVITIES, Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice will be holding free workshops in the creative arts at CNM’s Smith Brashner Hall on Saturday 4/18 from 1-4:30pm. The theme of the afternoon is exploring the connections between art and social justice. We would like to offer workshops in the following areas: storytelling, creative writing/prose, performance art and poetry.

PROPOSALS: WE ARE LOOKING FOR ARTISTS to volunteer to lead the workshops. Submit your proposal, including workshop details and target audience, by 2/15. Email: mail@abqpeaceandjustice.com (pease write creativity in subject line), or bring a hard copy to the Peace Center, 202 Harvard SE. Questions? Call Mary at 268-9557.

These shows are available on cable channel 27. If you don’t have cable you can catch them live, streaming over the Web at www. quote-unquote.org. For more info go to www.availablemedia.org.

NEW MEXICO REPEAL THE DEATH PENALTY

DAY:

PEACE AND JUSTICE

In 2009, NM Repeal will be organizing speaking and outreach events around the state to educate the public about the death penalty and encouraging people to let elected officials know they are opposed to the death penalty as they continue their work with family members who have lost a loved one to murder.

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

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

FIREWOOD SALE

$235 a cord, mixed hardwood (includes delivery)

Contact us at webmaster@nmrepeal.org, or for more information on the Feb 9th gathering at the State Capitol Rotunda contact them at 505986-9536 or go to www.nmrepeal.org.

P U T T I N G V I C T I M S A N D FA M I L I E S

FIRST

SHOP CO-OP AND SAVE BUY LOCAL SHOP CO-OP AND SAVE

Don’t forget: time to schedule Pine and Pinon pruning

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

February is Member Appreciation Volume Discount Month!

Join La Montañita Co-op!

Your community-owned natural foods grocery store

Why Join?

-You Care!

–about good food and how it is produced -You’re Empowered!

–you help support the local/regional food-shed -You Support!

–Co-op principles & values and community ownership -You Vote!

–with your dollars for a strong local economy -You Participate!

–providing direction and energy to the Co-op -You Receive!

–member discounts, weekly specials and a patronage refund

You Own It!

–an economic alternative for a sustainable future

In so many ways it pays to be a La Montañita Co-op Member/Owner!

Great Reasons to be a Co-op Member • Pick up our monthly newsletter full of information on food, health, environment and your Co-op.

Spend... $0.00 - $74.99 and receive a 10% Discount $75.00 - $149.99 and receive a 15% Discount

$150 + and receive a 20% Discount

The more you spend the greater the discount!

Not a member? It’s a great time to join!

• Member refund program: at the end of each fiscal year, if earnings are sufficient, refunds are returned to members based on purchases.

• Weekly member-only coupon specials as featured in our weekly sales flyer. Pick it up every week at any location to save more than your annual membership fee each week.

• Banking membership at the New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union.

• Member only discount days: take advantage of our special discount events throughout the year–for members only.

• Special orders: on order large quantities or hard-to-find items at a 10% discount for members.

• General membership meetings, Board positions and voting. Coops are democratic organizations. Your participation is encouraged.

• Membership participation program: members can earn discount credit through our community outreach committees or skilled member participation program.