Organic, locally grown brussels sprout stalks are $1.87 a stalk at the food coop. We have hundreds of stalks. I bought a stalk yesterday morning and it barely fits in my fridge. There are 3 brussels sprout recipes in the 101 Thanksgiving recipes article in the New York Times, so stock up on stalks.
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Brussels sprout stalks
Organic, locally grown brussels sprout stalks are $1.87 a stalk at the food coop. We have hundreds of stalks. I bought a stalk yesterday morning and it barely fits in my fridge. There are 3 brussels sprout recipes in the 101 Thanksgiving recipes article in the New York Times, so stock up on stalks.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Were we hornswoggled by Silk?
Grocers around the country report feeling misled -- "hornswoggled," in fact -- by the reformulation of Silk Soymilk from organic to 'natural'. A recent article from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram depicts the same scenario that we experienced here at the Coop earlier this year.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sprouted Sunflower Seeds
Our friends at Kaia Foods have come up with a new way to feed your raw snack cravings: flavored organic sprouted sunflower seeds. Yummy flavors include Cocoa Molé, Sweet Curry, Garlic & Sea Salt. Kaia says "All we do to our sunflower seeds is sprout, season and dehydrate them at low temperatures instead of roasting them. The nutrients (and great taste) stay intact and aren't processed away." Pick up a cute reseal-able pouch in Aisle 7A.
Monday, July 13, 2009
No More Silk Soymilk
The Coop will no longer be selling the half-gallon cartons of Silk Organic Soymilk. We will continue to sell Organic Valley Soymilk in the same four flavors that shoppers are used to seeing from Silk: original (plain), vanilla, unsweetened, and chocolate. This decision was prompted by recent actions taken by the Silk company (described below), and their integrity as a producer of organic soy products continues to be called into question. The major factors influencing our decision not to sell Silk are as follows:
1. In January 2009, Silk – whose soy products were formerly 100% organic -- reformulated their product line by converting almost all their products to conventional soybeans. They did this quietly, without telling retailers or changing the UPC code numbers on the products. Many retailers, including the Coop, didn’t find out about the change until consumers noticed and complained. The non-organic soymilks are labeled “Natural.” When we questioned Silk representatives about the change, we were told “there is a shortage of organic soybeans in North America.” However, it has been argued that Dean Foods (which owns Silk) “helped create these shortages by opting for cheaper organic imports instead of supporting domestic farmers with sustainable prices.1” (For the full report, please read the Cornucopia Institute's Soy Report & Scorecard)
2. Silk does not guarantee that all of their soybeans are free from GMO contamination. Organic Valley’s organic soybeans are 'Identity Preserved' - meaning each batch is tested to ensure there is no GMO contamination.
3. Silk is unwilling to share their sourcing information with consumers. Dean Foods “refused to transparently participate in the [Cornucopia Institute’s] study—depriving their customers of an independently verified review of their practices.” This stands in contrast to many other prominent soy food brands around the country that are fully transparent In their sourcing and production practices.
4. Silk brand is owned by Dean Foods - an agribusiness giant that owns over 50 milk labels around the country including Horizon Organic, a brand that heavily depends on factory farms each milking thousands of cows. Organic Valley is owned by CROPP Cooperative, a cooperative of organic family farmers. The Coop supports other cooperatives, wherever possible, and we try also to avoid companies that source from factory farms.
We will also replace the Silk soy creamers (made from non-organic soybeans) with Wildwood soymilk creamers (made from U.S. organic soybeans).
The Coop will continue to sell the quarts of Silk soymilk because this size is currently unavailable from any other company. Shoppers should beware, however, that these quarts are not organic. The quart sizes of Silk soymilk in plain, vanilla and chocolate flavors are all made from non-organic soybeans. Silk no longer sells their organic soymilk in a quart size carton.
1. Cornucopia Institute. (2009). Behind the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry (1st ed.) [Report]. Cornucopia, WI: Charlotte Vallaeys.
1. In January 2009, Silk – whose soy products were formerly 100% organic -- reformulated their product line by converting almost all their products to conventional soybeans. They did this quietly, without telling retailers or changing the UPC code numbers on the products. Many retailers, including the Coop, didn’t find out about the change until consumers noticed and complained. The non-organic soymilks are labeled “Natural.” When we questioned Silk representatives about the change, we were told “there is a shortage of organic soybeans in North America.” However, it has been argued that Dean Foods (which owns Silk) “helped create these shortages by opting for cheaper organic imports instead of supporting domestic farmers with sustainable prices.1” (For the full report, please read the Cornucopia Institute's Soy Report & Scorecard)
2. Silk does not guarantee that all of their soybeans are free from GMO contamination. Organic Valley’s organic soybeans are 'Identity Preserved' - meaning each batch is tested to ensure there is no GMO contamination.
3. Silk is unwilling to share their sourcing information with consumers. Dean Foods “refused to transparently participate in the [Cornucopia Institute’s] study—depriving their customers of an independently verified review of their practices.” This stands in contrast to many other prominent soy food brands around the country that are fully transparent In their sourcing and production practices.
4. Silk brand is owned by Dean Foods - an agribusiness giant that owns over 50 milk labels around the country including Horizon Organic, a brand that heavily depends on factory farms each milking thousands of cows. Organic Valley is owned by CROPP Cooperative, a cooperative of organic family farmers. The Coop supports other cooperatives, wherever possible, and we try also to avoid companies that source from factory farms.
We will also replace the Silk soy creamers (made from non-organic soybeans) with Wildwood soymilk creamers (made from U.S. organic soybeans).
The Coop will continue to sell the quarts of Silk soymilk because this size is currently unavailable from any other company. Shoppers should beware, however, that these quarts are not organic. The quart sizes of Silk soymilk in plain, vanilla and chocolate flavors are all made from non-organic soybeans. Silk no longer sells their organic soymilk in a quart size carton.
1. Cornucopia Institute. (2009). Behind the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry (1st ed.) [Report]. Cornucopia, WI: Charlotte Vallaeys.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Banana News
We don’t know all of the market forces that are driving banana prices to unprecedented levels, but they certainly include social unrest in Ecuador and flooding in Peru.
Several weeks ago the conventional price started to climb, until last week when a 40 pound box of conventional bananas actually cost $5.00 more than the organic. Now the organic price is climbing and availability is becoming problematic.
It is becoming harder to find the bananas that we like, the Fair Trade, and we are forced to buy whatever we can get, including bagged and Dole.
Our price has been about $.69 per pound for so long. So long to that. The organic banana price will approach $1.00 per pound by March 10th and we don’t know where it is going.
—Allen Zimmerman
Several weeks ago the conventional price started to climb, until last week when a 40 pound box of conventional bananas actually cost $5.00 more than the organic. Now the organic price is climbing and availability is becoming problematic.
It is becoming harder to find the bananas that we like, the Fair Trade, and we are forced to buy whatever we can get, including bagged and Dole.
Our price has been about $.69 per pound for so long. So long to that. The organic banana price will approach $1.00 per pound by March 10th and we don’t know where it is going.
—Allen Zimmerman
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