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2001 » Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter | Special Edition
2002 » Spring | Summer | Fall | Winter | Special Edition
2003 » Spring | Winter
Inside this issue:The co-op is now hosting free seminars and workshops open to the public on various alternative healing therapies and related topics. These classes offer an opportunity to meet local practitioners and gain knowledge on a variety of subjects. Thanks go out to May Lin and Valerie Cherin for our first workshops in April on Falun Gong and basic massage techniques. In the following months, we will host seminars on herb gardening, homeopathy, herbalism and more. Check out the calendar in back of this newsletter for dates and times, or look for our flyers in the front of the store for details. Classes are held here at the store and are free and open to the public. Hope to see you there.
Did you miss this year's General Membership Meeting? A group of 32 Members met March 11th to celebrate the principles of cooperation in which we run our business. Robert Warren, Board of Stewards President called the meeting to order with an introductory speech highlighting events of the previous year. Then my turn came to present the financial status of the Co-op for our last fiscal year, July 1st 1999 through June 30th 2000. I had the pleasure of reporting improvements from the previous year and the last decade.
We are not the only ones. Improving the natural foods industry reached sales of $28 billion in 1999, with a predicted increase of 10% in the next year. We have captured a piece of the pie that's growth is fueled by the aging American consumer, an increase in the supply of natural products, and the natural products industry's investment in marketing and advertising. Despite our losses in the past decade, our Co-op does have the ability to succeed in today's marketplace. We distinguish ourselves by adding valued service and information to our customers. In addition, we provide a knowledgeable staff and a wide variety of quality products at reasonable prices.
With the help of the Board of Steward members, staff members, working members, our Co-op has realized a second positive bottom line in many years. This team effort truly reflects how the philosophy of a cooperative business structure can survive, and even prosper, in a world of corporate dominance.
Our current fiscal year (July 1st 2000 through June 30th 2001) is going very well. We are not only exceeding budgeted goals, but have experienced an increase in sales of 9% over last year ending March 2001. The most recent figures are discussed at each Store Meeting, held at 7 P.M. at the Co-op the second Thursday of each month. The meetings are a great way to become involved and earn work credit.
As we plan for the next fiscal year 2002, our main goal is to succeed as a sustainable business that reaches as many people as possible. We will also continue to provide good product selection at fair prices and great customer service. Making the Co-op a better workplace and increasing member participation are also on the list of goals for the next year. As a Member, you have a say in how the Co-op is run. Please share this information with us as we create the budget for the next year. Our Co-op has the tools and ability to grow with our industry, to outperform competition, and to educate even more people in our community about the benefits of whole foods.
Almost everyone needs to detox and rest their body from time to time. Our bodies have natural cleansing cycles. When they want a lighter diet, more liquids and greater elimination, than intake. Spring and fall are the important times for detoxification.
It is wise to begin new programs, diets or lifestyle changes with a few days at home. Try starting your program on a Friday, as the first days are usually the hardest.
Once our internal body is cleansed, it is important to eat a nutritious, high fiber, low fat, low protein diet, including lots of organically grown grains, beans, vegetables, fruit and lots of water. Sometimes it is not what you "do" that creates health, but what you "undo." Internal detoxification will help you "undo" the dietary and environmental abuse your body experiences on a daily basis in this modern world. Each year people are exposed to thousands of toxic chemicals and pollutants in the earth's atmosphere; water, food, soil, and building interiors. It is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid the ingestion of these toxins.
According to Dr. Jeffery Bland, Ph.D., common symptoms of a body overburdened with toxins include headaches, fatigue, skin problems and gastrointestinal pain. Other doctors and researchers believe that toxicity can result in immune suppression and chronic diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer's. Internal cleansing can alleviate many of these acute and chronic diseases. Among the benefits of internal cleansing are disease prevention and treatment, weight loss, clear skin, improved flexibility and slowed aging.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been a recurring topic in the news for a couple of years now. This is a scary subject for many people. We've come to depend upon antibiotics in so many ways. In fact, the overuse of antibiotics in our society has been linked to the phenomenal rate of antibiotic resistance in the bacteria world.
Stephen Buhner spoke on this subject two years ago at a gathering of herbalists in Iowa. He described for us the incredible rate of information sharing among bacteria. Not only do they pass on information to their offspring, but they actually communicate through physical contact with other bacteria. When bacteria meet, they exchange filament which contain pieces of DNA. Encoded in the DNA is information on antibiotic resistance, such as: "natural immunity,...how to disable or destroy an antibiotic,...and how to prevent the antibiotic from having an effect." (Buhner, pg. 8) The DNA then becomes part of the receiving bacteria. Thus bacteria that have never come into contact with an antibiotic can "learn" to become resistant by "talking" to other bacteria.
Stephen invited us to imagine the bacteria world as forming an invisible skin around the entire planet. When we touch the bacteria world in New York, he said, the effects are felt in Japan within a very short timespan. Through overuse of antibiotics for minor infections, as well as their widespread use in factory farms, we are quickly rendering one of our most powerful medical discoveries useless. Buhner drives this point home in his book Herbal Antibiotics when he states, "bacteria are in fact intelligently communicating to each other how best to fight the weapons we have created to destroy them."
What alternatives do we have? Well, if we want to be able to rely on antibiotics during emergencies, we had better find ways to cut back on their use for minor problems. Herbs with antibiotic properties have been used for centuries and are very effective. Plants are much more complex than man-made antibiotics (Yarrow has 120 constituents; penicillin has only one) and are therefore much more difficult to develop resistance to.
Recently, one of our customers came in with a recurring sinus infection. Her doctor had prescribed antibiotics but she wanted to find an alternative before filling her prescription. I showed her Stephen's book and she decided to try a nasal spray formula he recommends. We found the ingredients and she went home to put it together. A month later, she cane into the store to replenish her supplies. The nasal spray had worked! She was so happy she wanted to make sure she had more to travel with. The following is the recipe she used:
A moist tight-textured Mexican cake to serve with fresh fruit or ice cream.
A great recipe for all of our shoppers who are unable to eat wheat! Employees at the coop tried this and it tastes just like cake!
Lemony Garbanzo Bean Cake Recipe
This recipe was from The Brilliant Bean by Sally and Martin Stone. Marian Peleski, one of our members, brought in this recipe to share with the Coop family!
Your tootsies contain more than 7,200 nerve endings that correspond to every part of your body, including, essential organs, glands and muscles.
The philosophy of reflexology is often misinterpreted to be the same as massage. Reflexology is not massage, nor is it a replacement for modern medicine. Reflexology is based on theories that nerve pathways exist throughout the body. When any of those pathways or zones become blocked, most times due to everyday stresses, the body experiences levels of discomfort. If stress is a factor in your life, reflexology is worth investigating. Every good reflexology session will greatly reduce stress and tension in the body.
Reflexology can be used for a variety of conditions - it helps reduce stress, assists in pain control, balances hormones and can enhance a person's mental state. It may also help in boosting the immune system, increasing circulation and removing toxins. Reflexology elicits an autonomic nervous system response and this response from the nervous system helps create balance throughout the entire body. The body can then begin to heal from within. Reflexology induces an optimal state of relaxation, conducive to healing. It can be more relaxing than a massage. It can also be very helpful for those who have touch issues and boundaries. With reflexology, you only have to take off your socks and shoes!
To schedule a reflexology session, please contact Terry Meyer @ Massage and Reflexology of Delaware - Kirkwood Hwy. at entrance to Delaware Park or call (302) 633-4035.
What do you think about natural childbirth (that is, childbirth without anesthesia or pain medication)? Do you see it as painful? Frightening? A worthy ordeal? Or, do you see it as a natural part of life that can be empowering and blissful? Most of us in North America relate to childbirth as a scary, dangerous, painful event which is best managed by medical intervention, and with lots of drugs! Not very "natural," is it...Would it surprise you to know that women in other parts of the world experience childbirth comfortably and safely with little intervention, allowing the birthing process to naturally take its course? We can have that, and it is not difficult to achieve if you believe it can happen. One method of childbirth preparation is out to radically change the way we think about birth, one woman at a time.
The HypnoBirthing method of childbirth preparation is as much a philosophy of birth as it is a technique for achieving a rewarding, relaxing, and stress-free method of birthing. The mother learns, along with her birthing companion, the art and joy of experiencing birth in a more comfortable manner, most often free of discomfort and the need for medication. When a woman is properly prepared for childbirth, and when mind and body are in harmony, nature is free to function in the same well-designed manner that it does with all other creatures.
Through HypnoBirthing , mother and companion learn how to relax deeply, trust her body and natural birthing instincts, and release prior negative programming about birth. Through these techniques, the woman is able be awake, alert, and in good humor as she experiences gentle birthing, free from the fear which causes tension and pain.
As the name suggests, self-hypnosis forms the foundation of the HypnoBirthing curriculum. So what is hypnosis? Hypnosis is a naturally occurring, naturally induced state of relaxed concentration - a state of mind and body in which we communicate suggestions to our subconscious mind. This part of our mind influences what we think, how we feel, and the choices we make. It can actually control or eliminate pain. There is no magic to achieving success with self-hypnosis. Almost anyone who chooses to can reach deep relaxation and redirected focus.
When having a baby with HypnoBirthing, a woman experiences a state similar to the daydreaming or focusing that occurs when engrossed in a good book or staring at a campfire. She is able to be conversant and in good spirits, totally relaxed, but fully in control. She is aware of her uterine contractions and is able to determine the extent to which she chooses to feel them. Since she is so relaxed, her fight-or-flight response is quieted and her body's own natural anesthesia (endorphins) are released to comfort her further. When it is time for the baby to be born, the mother is fully awake and involved, having lots of energy to bring her baby into the world.
Women's bodies are exquisitely well built for birth. We just forgot that somewhere along the way. So, what do you think of birth now?
Anne Shuman is a Certified Hypnotherapist and HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator in Wilmington. For more information about HypnoBirthing, please go to www. hypnobirthing.com.
National Organic Standards Here At Last In December 2000, the United States Department of Agriculture announced the passage of national standards for organically produced agricultural products and for organic certification - after ten years of work and a record number of comments from consumers across the country. In large part, these national standards represent a victory for supporters of natural and organic foods who took the time to voice their opinions during this long process.
Most important to consumers, the final standards do not allow sewage sludge, GMO's, or irradiation in any foods labeled "Organic." There are new requirements for the labeling of processed foods, based on the percentage of organic ingredients. Only foods containing 100% organic ingredients can be labeled "100% organic." Products labeled "organic" must consist of at least 95% organically produced ingredients. The other 5% of ingredients must consist of approved substances or non-organic ingredients that are not available in organic form. Products that contain at least 70% organic ingredients can use the phrase "made with organic ingredients" on the label. If a product contains less than 70% organic ingredients, it can't use the term organic on its main label.
Manufacturers will begin phasing in these new national organic labels in the coming months, although full implementation is not mandatory until 2002.
For more information, visit the National Organic Program's web site at http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop.
As the grass turns from a dull brown to a vibrant green and the trees blossom with the first signs of spring, many of you are thinking about gardening. Preparing the earth is one of the first steps in the garden process because it is important that there are enough nutrients to grow happy and healthy plants. Composting can ensure the soil provides enough for the plants and passes on the benefits by growing wholesome food. Composting has many other virtues as well.
Every thing on this earth is linked in a delicate web of birth, death, and rebirth. Nature continues this cycle, providing continuity of life. From the time people began harvesting the land, they have imitated nature by composting. In the Rodale Book of Composting (Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, 1992) available in our book section, compost piles are described as, "intricate and complex communities of animal, vegetable, and mineral matter, all of which are interrelated, and all of which play a part in the breakdown of organic matter into humus."
Composting helps the world around us in many ways. First, composting improves soil texture and structure. This is important to retain the nutrients, moisture, and air the plants need for a healthy life. Secondly, composting is a great way to recycle. A large part of the garbage we pay to have put in landfills is compostable food material. The grosser it is in the fridge, the better for the pile! It is also helpful to add compost to the soil to create a healthy balance of organic matter where there is mostly stone or a loss of soil due to construction or natural disasters. In addition to offering drought protection and stopping erosion, compost neutralizes toxins and stimulates plant growth.
Composting is amazingly easy. Besides providing a space and minimal management, it's pretty simple. There are pre made composters available or materials to build a bin at most hardware stores, but this is a perfect project for scraps. While there are many methods of composting to choose from, there are some basics to consider. It is important to make sure compost is getting enough air, either by layering bulky mass that allows circulation or by manually turning This is in order for the raw materials to decompose aerobically and will minimize odors...Moisture is important for the rate of decomposition and heat . The compost should be "as damp as a moist sponge". Warmth is important for bacteria to aid in the decomposition of materials.
Another way to get your compost kicking, inoculation, is a method where you "simply sprinkle a thin coating of good topsoil or finished compost, saved from a previous batch, over each layer of materials that you add" that maintains the right mix of bacteria. Just like making yogurt. Equally important is the carbon / nitrogen ratio, carbon for energy and nitrogen for growth. You can explore the many methods (Indoor, University of California, City Peoples, Raised Bin, Tumbler, Pit, to name a few) of composting in the Rodale Book of Composting or other books available in any bookstore, library or our book department to decide which method is right for you. The truly lazy can just make a nice pile and let Mama Nature do her work. The best way to learn is to do, and the end result is truly satisfying for the gardener looking for rich organic matter.
So whether you are planting a vegetable garden or reviving your house plants, compost can enrich their lives. If you don't have enough to use liberally, put it in the furrows of your garden or in the holes when transplanting seedlings. You will be helping maintain the delicate balance between people, plants, animals and the soil, minerals, and water. Not only will you be providing your plants with more nutritious soil, but sustaining the natural cycle of life.
